VIENNA - Just over four years ago, the United States and Russia joined with Serbia, the IAEA and other partners to remove nearly 50 kilos of high-enriched uranium - the kind classed as "weapons-grade" - from Serbia´s shutdown research reactor at the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences. Last month, they took another big step to rid the reactor site of old "spent" nuclear fuel that´s posing a serious radiological hazard.
For Serbia, it´s a welcome milestone on a long and winding road. The Vinca research reactor was bu...
BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Science and Environmental Protection Aleksandar Popović announced today that the contract on transportation of used nuclear fuel from the Nuclear Institute "Vinča" to Russia will mark the beginning of the “Green Vinča” programme in a move to eliminate any potential ecological danger.
Popovic told a press conference that the $10 million agreement was signed by the representatives of the Vinča Institute, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a consortium of three Russian co...
BELGRADE - The Environmental Protection Bureau, Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection of Serbia, announced that they signed a contract with the Institute of Nuclear Sciences "Vinča", on the realization of the sanitation project for remaining land contaminated with depleted uranium at the locality "Reljan", in the territory of Preševo (Southern Serbia), whose value is around 300,000 Euro.
The realization of this project will end the sanitation of all localities contaminated with depleted uranium, state...
BELGRADE - The research performed in 16 towns and municipalities in Serbia dedicated to the use of water, condition of drainage and sewage systems, as well as systems for irrigation and protection against floods, shows that Serbia needs more water than estimated.
The research was performed by Dr Sava Petković in Belgrade municipalities: Voždovac, New Belgrade and Palilula, as well as in towns: Pančevo, Sombor, Zrenjanin, Smederevo, Zaječar, Jagodina, Niš, Pirot, Vranje, Čačak, Kraljevo and Loznica.
BELGRADE / VIENNA – A contract on the transport of used nuclear fuel from Serbian Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences to Russia has been signed today in Vienna.
Serbian Minister of Science and Environmental Protection Aleksandar Popovic said in a statement that the contract was signed by representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vinca Institute and a consortium of three Russian companies that will transport the used fuel.
In his speech at today's session of the 50th general assembly o...
BELGRADE - Five Roma non-governmental organisations from five deprived communities of Southern Serbia have started the project entitled “Recycle today for better tomorrow”, financed by the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), which will include children from elementary schools in Surdulica, Vranje, Bujanovac, Vladicin Han and Vlasotince, with the goal to educate them on the importance of recycling, but also for them to participate in the collecting of secondary raw materials, their repurchase and recycling.
The...
Reuters Foundation and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) launch 2006 Media Awards for Excellence in Environmental Reporting
LONDON and GLAND, SWITZERLAND - Reuters Foundation and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) launch today the 2006 Media Awards, a worldwide competition aimed at raising global awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues, by encouraging excellence in environmental reporting worldwide.
The Awards, established in 1998 by Reuters Foundation and IUCN, aim to help raise globa...
NOVI SAD - Members of science research society „Josif Pancic” of biology students from Faculty of sciences in Novi Sad, in cooperation with Scouts' Ecology Movement from Sremska Mitrovica, keeper of Special Nature Reserve Zasavica, have organised a research camp that lasted from July 31st to August 6th. The camp consisted of 15 activists, who worked within several sections (botanical, mycological, herpetological, ornithological, terriological, fotographic ...). Similar camps were also organised during 2003 and 2004, with th...
VRBAS (Serbia) - Authorized institutions did not react in time concerning the appearance of a new oil spill in the Great Backa canal near Vrbas, Vojvodina. This is estimated by some to be the most polluted watercourse in Europe, which once more raised the question of responsibility of polluters and officials for its condition.
The Ecological movement of Vrbas claims that the representatives of Public Water Management Company "Vojvodina Waters" and the Hydrometeorological Institute did not arrive at the place of the a...
BELGRADE - Inspectors of the Plant Protection Society of Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management have destroyed a crop of soybeans yesterday, at an allotment of 1.4 hectares, property of Branimir Sokic from village Stitar in Macva (Western Serbia). The production of genetically modified soybeans is illegal in Serbia.
“The message we are sending to all manufacturers with eradication of genetically modified soybeans is that this kind of continuous conduct against regulations will absolutely not be ...
BELGRADE - Hungarian customs officers at border crossing with Serbia at Horgos have recently prevented an attempt to smuggle 181 tortoises of the species Testudo hermanni, which were hidden in the back of a bus trunk.
Legal procedure was instigated against Serbian citizen Novak Jovakovic for the attempt to smuggle tortoises to Hungary. The Hungarian customs office collaborated with Hungarian environmental inspection to confiscate the turtoises, which were then placed in an animal refuge of the Szegedin zoo.
BELGRADE – Serbian Assistant Minister of Energy and Mining Aleksandar Vlajcic said today that Serbia could overcome its problem of electricity shortages, until new capacities are built, relatively painlessly when compared to other countries in southeast Europe, by having suitable regulations and tariff methodology, thus creating conditions for rational consumption of electricity.
In an interview for the informative paper of the Serbian Electric Power Industry “KWH” Vlajcic said that a rational approach and change in beh...
BELGRADE - Belgrade authorities have set aside 5.2 million dinars (62,000 euros) for massive sterilization of abandoned dogs at the shelter for dogs and cats in Ovca, near the Serbian capital.
Unwanted and unsterilized stray dogs and cats are one of Belgrade’s biggest problems.
The city of Belgrade has assigned the funds to the Veterinary Station „Belgrade”, for the project „Plan for massive sterilization of abandoned dogs in multipurpose objects of the Shelter for dogs and cats" in Ovca.
BELGRADE - News coverage of environmental problems has been rare in Serbia, and often biased or sensationalist, despite the media's natural capacity to raise awareness. To promote environmental reporting, the OSCE Mission to Serbia helped organize a series of workshops for journalists.
Working with journalists
The OSCE Mission and UNESCO supported a one-year programme aimed at promoting in-depth coverage of environmental issues and enhancing not only the field of journalism, but also public dialogue in general.
...
BELGRADE - The Energy Efficiency Agency of the Republic of Serbia will organize the First National Conference on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources 'Serbia 2006'. The conference entitled 'Energy Policy and Instruments - the Role of Energy Efficiency Agencies' will be held from October 3rd till October 6th 2006, in Belgrade.
The conference will be held within the Second International Energy Fair, which takes place from October 3rd till October 6th 2006, at the Belgrade Fair, Belgrade. The Energy Efficiency Ag...
BELGRADE - Feature-documentary „My friend the Goldfinch“, by the authors Oliver Fojkar and Dusan Cekic, produced in part by the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia, participated at the International Ecofilms Festival, held from June 20th to June 25th in Rodos. The warm reception of the film was proven when „My friend the Goldfinch“ became one of the five films, together with two Dutch, one Greek and one French film, which were used to promote the festival, and were translated to Greek and shown to a large audience with...
BELGRADE - Serbian Ministry of Science and Environment Protection - Directorate for the Environmental Protection, with assistance of the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), prepared the draft-National Environmental Protection Programme, under the auspices of the 2003 Environmental Capacity Building Programme.
After a series of inter-ministerial consultations and collection of positive opinions from all relevant ministries, the Government adopted, on June 15, 2006, a Decision to Define National Environmental Prog...
BELGRADE - Predrag Markovic, Speaker of Serbian Skupstina (the parliament), and Lance Clarke, UNDP Permanent Representative in Serbia, signed a letter of understanding on assistance to five parliamentary committees, for activities dedicated to reduction of poverty.
The implementation of the Civil Society Inclussion in Creation of Poverty Reduction Policies is financed by the EU, through the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), with the goal to promote and improve the legislative activities of parliamentary committee...
PODGORICA (Montenegro) - The Network for Affirmation of Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) announced that it will demand from the State Prosecutor to bring up criminal charges against all persons involved in cover-up of information on environmental situation at the Podgorica Aluminium Corporation (Kombinat aluminijuma KAP).
MANS says that past experience in the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information demonstrates that state institutions are inclined to hide the most important data regarding the process of pr...
VRSAC (Serbia) - A collection of around 5,200 eggs of over 200 bird species was found in the possession of a citizen of Vrsac, town in the north Serbian province of Vojvodina.
Many of these species represent true natural rarities of Serbia, and some of them belong to globally endangered species.
Based on the report by the Special nature reservation ‘Slano Kopovo’, as well as earlier suspicions concerning this citizen of Vrsac, the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia initiated the operation at the Provincia...
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