News

Plant a tree: plant your future
April 01, 2010 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's popular tree-planting campaign is fast becoming a national tradition, and one which will hopefully be imitated in other European countries. The 'Tree Day' campaign was launched in 2007 following a spate of...

A royal treat
March 24, 2010 Thursday, March 18, was a very special day for the REC, as His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to the REC Headquarters in Szentendre. The visit was arranged in conjunction with the REC's 20th...

Strength in numbers
March 08, 2010 One week into a difficult fortnight of international negotiations in Copenhagen last December, the LG Action project COP 15 media update reflected the interest of local governments in playing an increasingly vital role in attempts to achieve real...

Parma to host Fifth Intergovernmental Environment and Health Conference
March 05, 2010 More then five years have passed since the Fourth Environment and Health Ministerial Conference was held in Budapest. As a result of important Budapest efforts and subsequent results, World Health Organization (WHO) European region member states have...

ECENA introduces new communication tools
January 26, 2010 The previous six years have given the [REC] Secretariat ample experience in managing a network of countries, first during BERCEN (Balkan Environmental Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Network) and currently under ECENA (Environmental Compliance and...

The REC Conference Center's cutting edge
January 13, 2010 According to one version of events, uncomfortably hot summer temperatures during a 2005 REC board-member meeting led to the first serious discussions about how best to renovate/refit the organisation's on-site conference facility. Subsequent discussions...

REC organises side-event with Latvia and JIAG at COP-15
December 16, 2009 Dec. 16, Copenhagen The Regional Environmental Center (REC), in cooperation with the Government of Latvia and Joint Implementation Action Group, organised its COP-15 side event on December 14 in Copenhagen on Green Investment Schemes (GIS), Joint...

CITEAIR II builds on experience
December 16, 2009 The CITEAIR II project, with European co-funding, aims to facilitate high-quality exchange of air-quality management techniques and to develop synergies with climate change mitigation practices, and to make information on air quality available to the...

Learning by doing
November 16, 2009 On November 3, renowned author, educator, trainer and systems analyst Dennis Meadows conducted a one-day training workshop in Szentendre, Hungary for approximately three dozen people, most of them from the Regional Environmental Center for Central and...

Montenegro pledges to fight climate change
October 30, 2009 The Regional Conference on Climate Change and Sustainable Development took place on October 16-17, 2009 in Budva, Montenegro. Organised by the Montenegrin Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment and Italian Ministry of Land and Sea, the event...

Getting knowledge and taking action towards sustainability
September 01, 2009 Every day we hear more and more about sustainable development. What does this really mean and how can we apply this concept in our everyday life and in our system of governance - both at national and local levels? Some answers to these key questions were...

Energy-efficiency project kicks off 32-month run
August 07, 2009 The goal of the 'USE Efficiency' project is to create a common stream for energy efficiency systems in university buildings. Both universities and students are targeted as shining role models for energy-efficient solutions and energy-conscious...

Montenegro hosts Course on Sustainable Development
June 30, 2009 With generous support from the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation, the REC organised the "Course on Sustainable Development: Good Governance", which was held in Budva, Montenegro on May 24–31. During the weeklong event, 79 mid-level...

5 key achievements in 5 years
June 29, 2009 A lot can happen in five years. To cite just a few examples: a baby learns to walk, talk and behave independently within five years' time; in the animal kingdom, many species mature and reproduce over a similar span; and some fast-growing tree species are...

Zagreb conference provides boost for eco-innovation
May 30, 2009 The Regional Conference on Financing Eco-Innovation in SEE was held on Monday, April 27, in Zagreb, Croatia. The goal of the conference was to find better solutions for financing eco-innovation at national and regional levels. This can be achieved by...

Good governance in SEE at heart of Mavrovo Initiative
June 03, 2009 The Ministry for Environment and Physical Planning of FYR Macedonia, under the auspices of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, organised the International Conference on Partnership and Dialogue: Preconditions for Good Governance for...

TCP and REC cooperation
June 04, 2009 Marta Szigeti Bonifert was invited to participate at the North American Summit of Al Gore's 'The Climate Project' (TCP) in May, following prior discussions on cooperation between Jenny Clad, executive director of TCP, and the REC. Talks continued...

Moving forward responsibly
May 19, 2009 Sustainable development and environmental protection are now priority goals for governments worldwide. Improved energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy sources can help in achieving these goals, but public awareness of the importance of...

Learning and sipping in Serbia
May 04, 2009 'Salash' is a popular word in Serbia. It refers to those traditional farm houses which are scattered across remote fields of Vojvodina, the country's north-western autonomous province. Having endured the rise and fall of the Habsburg Empire, the Yugoslav...

ELTIS training course and study tour takes place in Budapest
August 21, 2008 The REC co-organised and hosted a training seminar on April 14-16 for mid-career urban transport professionals (i.e. those who have worked for between one and five years in the field). More than 50 participants attended the event, both from new member...