HU OSA 203-13-1:34/1

Rivers of Life or Rivers of Death? Environmental Conference at CEU

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4 hours

English (Original), German (Original)

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Recording the international conference entitled "Rivers of Life or Rivers of Death? Transboundary Environmental Issues in Central and Eastern Europe" hosted by the CEU Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy. The conference is formally opened by CEU Academic Pro-Rector Stefan Messmann. The opening remarks are offered by Zoltán Illés (CEU) who reads a message from the Árpád Göncz, President of the Republic of Hungary. György Enyedi of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences welcomes the participants. Geoffrey Evans (Mineral Policy Institute, Australia), Teodor Lucian Constantinescu (Romanian Waters, Romania), Péter Literáthy (Water Resources Research Centre, Hungary) and Zoran Cukic (Water Pollution Control Association, Yugoslavia) give presentations summarizing the events of the Tisza River incidents. Other presentations were provided by: Anders Renlund (UNEP Task Force), Phillip Weller (EU Task Force), Joachim Bendow (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River). The "ecological aspects" group was chaired by Ruben Mnatsakanian (CEU), and the rapporteur was László Gallé of the University of Szeged, Hungary. The "economic considerations" group was chaired by Zoltán Illés (CEU), and the rapporteur was Diana Ürge- Vorsatz (CEU). The "legal aspects group" was chaired by Stephen Stec of the Regional Environmental Center, and the rapporteur was Alberto Costi (CEU). The groups’ conclusions were presented in a session chaired by Zoltán Illés and Yuriy Samoljenko, Chairman of the Environmental Committee of the Parliament of Ukraine. Issues related to monitoring systems in Europe, international environmental-related conventions, and environmental mergers and acquisitions in Central and Eastern European countries were presented by János Fehér (European Environmental Agency), Tibor Faragó (WWF, Hungary) and Róbert Reininger (Deloitte & Touche, Hungary), respectively. The media panel was organized and led by Miklós Sükösd (CEU) and Diana Ürge-Vorsatz. The role of international and local NGOs was discussed following presentations by WWF International (Jasmine Bachmann) and Greenpeace (Andreas Bernstorff). At the end of the session, János Vargha (Prime Minister's Office, Hungary) gave a presentation on the politics of prevention.