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Green Week, organised in Brussels on June 1-4 by the DG Environment
of the European Commission, provided a forum for over 4,000 environmentally
concerned people to come together from all over the world: politicians, representatives
from big and medium-sized companies, non-governmental organisations and public
authorities at all levels.
The goals of Green Week were to raise environmental awareness and make Europeans
reconsider their lifestyle to lessen the impact on the environment. Green Week
events proved the perfect opportunity for the ICPDR and Danube Environmental
Forum (DEF) to focus international attention on the successes and challenges
of both organisations and their ongoing interaction.
Cooperation between DEF and the ICPDR began in 1999, when DEF became an observer
to the ICPDR, and has proven to be valuable in influencing and shaping current
water management in the Danube Basin. The joint ICPDR–DEF Info-stand was
a visible sign of this cooperation, and more than 1,000 people, were interested
in learning more about the work done for the Danube River Basin.
June 4 of Green Week was dedicated to the Danube and one of its most pressing
issues: navigation. Oleg Dyakov from Ecocentre Delta Ukraine presented the current
threats to the Danube Delta, "If the Bystroe Canal is built as planned
by Ukraine, the most valuable stretch of the UNESCO World Heritage site will
be lost forever; it is also the responsibility of the European Commission to
find ways to stop this disastrous project.”
Catherine Day, Director General for DG Environment and current President of
the ICPDR, also highlighted the concern of the European Commission and stressed
that it is important for Ukraine to follow international regulations.
At the end of Green Week, Mirela Leonte, from Eco Counselling Centre Galati,
Romania, and supervisor of the ICPDR-DEF stand, summarised: "Green Week
clearly highlighted that despite the environment as the focus of many, there
are big challenges ahead of us and we have to keep protecting our environment
to secure the quality of life.”