| South East European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation |
Issue 7, April 2013
Newsletter Dear reader, The latest issue of the Newsletter for the South East European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation (SEEFCCA) brings you the latest news from the region, reviews of our networks’ activities and the announcements of upcoming initiatives. Read more about the new technological advances of the Forum, participatory videos, sustainable development and the Earth Hour. Furthermore, you can find out about the foundation of the Climate Forum East and other European developments in the field of climate change.
SEE Forum Network Coordinators Meeting On 17-18 April 2013 coordinators of national networks on climate change adaptation will come together in Sarajevo to discuss developments on national level, develop a joint regional project application to be submitted for external funding, and work on the regional coordination structure to ensure sustainable regional exchange and continuation of the SEEFCCA. The meeting will bring together coordinators of national climate change adaptation networks from Croatia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia as well as representatives of the Austrian Red Cross, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, Environmental Improvement Center and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat.
Contents
SEE Forum Meeting
1
New Technologies
2
Floods in Macedonia and Serbia 2 CCA Videos Serbia
2
Participatory Video in MNE
3
EU Strategy Launched
3
Green Pearls in Belgrade
4
Timely Information
4
Eko Kvarner
5
Earth Hour in Serbia
6
Climate Forum East
6
Exhibition about Energy
7
ENVSEC Initiative
7
2
New Technologies in Education on Climate Change SEEFCCA continues to support the educational system in the area of climate change through a new quiz application for "smart devices" on the Android platform - "Adaptiraj se! 2.0". The application was made as a part of the joint regional activities and was prepared in the languages of national networks - Croatian, Macedonian Montenegrin and Serbian. The quiz is composed of 16 questions, and provides basic knowledge about the effects and consequences arising from climate change and ways to easily contribute to protecting the planet and reducing the effect of climate change. The quiz-application can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
The video contest “Climate Has Changed. Have You?” was held in November 2012. Read more at the special section of our website. The climate has changed. Have you? The Serbian network within the SEEFCCA has followed up on the video competition held in November 2012, “The climate has changed. Have you?”. Using the materials submitted for the contest, Climate Forum developed two video spots to raise public awareness about the measures in energy and transportation, which can be applied in everyday life. These measures help reduce the pressure of greenhouse gases emission, especially carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. The video material about efficient transportation can be seen here and the one for energy here.
Floods in Macedonia and South Serbia Days of heavy rain flooded hundreds of homes in eastern and central Macedonia, destroyed bridges and cut off dozens of villages, causing power cuts and shortages of drinking water this February. One person was killed after flooding engulfed parts of the country and hundreds of residents had to be evacuated from their homes as the waters rose. Macedonian Red Cross monitored the situation and cooperated with the governmental institutions on both local and national level in order to provide disaster relief. The humanitarian aid consisting of food and hygiene parcels, mattresses, blankets, rubber boots, cooking sets, sleeping bags, nylons and drinking water was distributed in the affected areas. Coca Cola Company also donated 7560 liters clean water. The heavy rain also affected the south of Serbia and caused floods leading to emergency situations and evacuations of the local population. The Red Cross of Serbia, together with local authorities and the State Emergency body, carried out disaster response and established regular exchange of information. Red Cross volunteers and staff worked on a rapid pumping out of water from flooded basements and homes, disinfected the environment and gathered information for detailed field assessment so as to prepare the Plan of action for response and reconstruction.
2
Launch of the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change
Participatory Video about CCA in Kolasin, Montenegro In March this year young volunteers from Montenegro Red Cross local branch Kolasin, supported by the Montenegro Red Cross team and an external consultant prepared a short participatory video about examples of climate change adaptation in Kolasin municipality. Ten young volunteers completed the training for using technical equipment (camera, microphone), the production process and interviewing techniques. Afterwards, relevant messages regarding climate change adaptation were selected to be presented in the video. Messages are related to disaster preparedness and disaster response of Montenegro Red Cross rescue teams during the extreme snow falls, protection from floods, forestation as a method of preventing landslides, use of solar panels as alternative source of energy, construction of rainfall collecting basins for preserving water for droughts etc. Volunteers selected representatives of the local community, local government and representatives of a local NGO to talk about these topics. After the video was created and edited, it was screened in the high school “Braca Selic� in Kolasin where the students and teachers had the opportunity to see how their peers recognized impacts of climate change and which are the ways to adapt to those impacts. This activity was supported by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and organization ProPlaneta. To watch the video click here.
The EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change, its priorities and the package of initiatives that accompany it will be launched at a conference in April. This is also an occasion to exchange views and experiences and for stakeholders, Member States and the European Commission to highlight adaptation actions needed at EU, regional and local level. The general aim of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change is to contribute effectively to a more climateresilient Europe. This involves greater cooperation and coherence in developing adaptation policies by fostering regional collaboration to address cross-border climate impacts and adaptation measures, and support for the exchange of knowledge and good practice between Member States, regions, cities and other stakeholders. The draft conference programme will be available on the conference webpage together with comprehensive information on the conference location, accommodation possibilities and contact details.
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Unique "Green Pearls" Platform of Belgrade "It is very important to support the work of City Administration in the field of nature protection and to stress the need to increase the areas under protection, especially in urban settlements, in order to mitigate the negative effects of climate change."
Timely Information to the Public The lack of a systematic approach to informing the public about climate change has created a need for timely information in cases of extreme weather conditions. The Serbian network Climate forum has prepared a TV spot about the measures to be taken in situations of extreme winter conditions. This TV ad is a continuation of the "Adapt yourself!" campaign which is dedicated to raising public awareness about the consequences of climate change on human health, as well as measures that can be applied in order to reduce the negative effects caused by these changes. Watch the TV ad on YouTube.
Blue-green map of Belgrade is an innovative multimedia bilingual platform of urban and protected nature locations in the City of Belgrade developed by the Environmental Improvement Center (EIC) in order to interactively introduce Belgrade's citizens and its guests to the natural wealth of the city. It consists of the website www.bgmap.rs and Android and iOS devices application in augmented reality. There are 49 "green pearls" presented so far: Natural monuments, outstanding landscapes, locations being put under protection and Telenor Internet parks. Protection of natural resources is part of the global response to climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and maintenance of basic ecosystem services on which humans depend. These natural resources in cities and urban areas can largely affect the reduction of temperature difference which can be up to 5°C during the day and up to 12°C in the evening. The city of Belgrade is the first city in the world with this kind of a platform – website and application for "smart devices" in the area of urban and protected nature locations. "It is very important to support the work of City Administration in the field of nature protection, and to stress the need to increase the areas under protection, especially in urban settlements, in order to mitigate the negative effects of climate change" - said Ms Ivana Jovcic, executive director of Environmental Improvement Center. All content is available in Serbian and English, and the Tourist Organization of Belgrade has included this application in the Belgrade modernized informationpropaganda material. The work of "Blue-green Belgrade" Platform is supported by the City of Belgrade - Nature Protection Secretariat, Tourist Organization of Belgrade and Telenor Foundation.
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Eko Kvarner Works on Sustainable Development Series of workshops and lectures about sustainable development have been prepared and held by the organization Eko Kvarner in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung – Zagreb. The main issues discussed are energy, waste, water, food, nature protection, tourism and physical planning. All issues mentioned take larger or smaller part of climate change adaptation in some way. Various lectures were held throughout Croatian coast, and some in inland. Following these activities energy cooperatives in KaĹĄtela and PloÄ?e were established, as well as a great interest shown in installing larger solar power plants by local authorities from several towns in Dalmatia and Vukovar.
Eko kvarner was selected to be the CSO of the week among the members of the South East European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation in August 2012. Read more here.
The general public was very interested in useful information about various topics presented. Regarding waste disposal, the model of the island Krk was presented, which currently has primary selection of waste larger than 35%. Regarding water, we pointed out the importance of taking maximum care of water consumption, with many practical pieces of advice for the public. The importance of implementing renewable energy is always pointed out, with practical information on how to do it, what the procedures are, where to learn all the details, no matter if we are talking about solar power or biomass, the most common renewables for households. Public has also taken great interest in lectures and workshops about food production and consumption; the importance of local agriculture, saving authentic old seeds rather than buying the imported ones, offering local products or live stock to local hotels, restaurants or markets thus not only strengthening local economy but slowing down climate change by transporting the food in short distances, which reduces CO2 emissions. These and many other interesting issues have been discussed in this project which began in October 2012 and will be finished by the end of March 2013.
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Climate Forum East launched
Serbia Supports Earth Hour for the Fifth Time Earth Hour is a global environmental initiative in partnership with WWF. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities were invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 23, 2013 at 8:30 PM to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. Since 2007 when 2.2 million people took part in the first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour has expanded to over 7,000 cities and towns in 152 countries and territories with hundreds of millions of participants across seven continents. In 2013, Earth Hour is not merely an annual event, but is a continuous movement driving real actions to change the world we live in. The slogan for this year is “Every hour can become Earth Hour” and it clearly communicates that the main point of this action isn't just turning off the lights especially for this event, but continuous change of our everyday habits related to usage of electric energy and other resources. This year in Serbia 59 cities and municipalities participated, 44 CSO’s, 38 schools along with many governmental institutions and companies. During the main events in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, people attended acoustic concerts and other programs organized by WWF and local NGOs. Members of Climate Forum in Serbia actively participated in the Earth Hour campaign. Environmental Protection Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia supported the Earth Hour and organized the meeting of members of parliament on 23 March with symbolic title “It is Five Minutes to Noon”. During the meeting the Earth Hour campaign and WWF activities were presented, as well as the work of Climate Forum and Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Serbia. The follow up activities related to sustainable use of natural resources will be defined with Environmental Protection Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in the upcoming period.
Under the coordination of the Austrian Red Cross, the EU project “Climate Forum East” has started in January 2013. The main aim of this project is to strengthen capacities of CSO networks to participate in policy dialogue on climate change adaptation in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. Similar to the SEE Forum on Climate Change Adaptation, national networks on CCA will be established or reinforced in cooperation with Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine and the Moldovan NGO Ecospectru. International partners, such as the Austrian Red Cross, the Environment Agency Austria, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness and the WWF will support networks in assessing national and regional climate vulnerabilities, developing advocacy and awareness raising actions, delivering educational activities amongst youth and communities and mobilize a regional platform to sustain linkages between civil society, local authorities, EU and international organizations. The project is co-financed by the EU, the Austrian Development Cooperation, the Austrian Red Cross and the WWF and will last for 2 years.
Besides the activities and events in Serbia, WWF organized Earth Hour in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia too. Kick-off meeting in Bakuriani (Georgia), February 2013
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9th Exhibition about Energy South East European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation www.seeclimateforum.org www.facebook.com/SeeForumOnCca twitter.com/SeeForumOnCca www.youtube.com/SeeForumOnCca office@seeclimateforum.org
29-31 May 2013
South East Europe is a part of the global green revolution – nearly 300 billion euros will be invested by 2020 in regional energy infrastructure, which will boost the economy by developing all-renewable energies and energy efficiency. Still, the Region lags behind the rest of Europe in energy efficiency and renewable energy applying and is in a major need of up-todate technologies and equipment for this purpose. This exhibition is targeted at the South East European market, and it provides participants with a quick market entry opportunity and connects them with new partners. Main Exhibition branches are Energy Efficiency, Bio-, Wind-, Solar-, Geothermal- and Hydro Energy, Waste-to-Energy and e-mobility.
ENVSEC Initiative The ENVSEC Initiative comprises a partnership of six high-profile international organisations: the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an associated partner. Launched in 2003, the ENVSEC Initiative provides an integrated response to environment and security challenges, and its mission is to contribute to the reduction of environment and security risks through strengthened cooperation among and within countries in four regions: Central Asia, Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, and South-Eastern Europe. In the context of this initiative, the so called Aarhus centres, which support access to information and public participation in environmental decision making, play an important role for civil society. ENVSEC has been supporting a network of 41 Aarhus Centres in 12 countries (Western Balkan Countries are included). These Centres raise public awareness on environment and security issues, disseminate environmental information, organize public hearings on strategies and projects that have environmental implications; monitor environmental hotspots, provide legal advice on environmental matters and serve as public outreach facilities for the ENVSEC Initiative. Hosted by the Ministries of Environment, local administrations or leading NGOs, these Centers are governed in most of the locations through Advisory Boards that include government and NGO representatives. The Aarhus Centres Network is supported through financial contributions by ENVSEC, the OSCE and its Field Operations as well as by several bilateral donors. For further information please visit the ENVSEC website.