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A. Fifth MIO-ECSDE Annual General Meeting

The Invitation to the 45^th AGM of MIO-ECSDE has been sent to all MIO-ECSDE member NGOs. The meeting will be held in Athens, Greece, on November 2^nd at 18:00 during the Mediterranean Conference of Water Stakeholders and Decision-Makers (2-5 November 2000), organised by MEDTAC and MIO-ECSDE at the Divani Acropolis Palace, Athens.

Further information relating to the AGM will be sent to MIO-ECSDE member organisations shortly.

MIO-ECSDE Membership fees should be settled regardless of actual presence at the AGM and we must remind you to that in order to have the right to vote during the AGM, all due fees must be paid beforehand (in Athens if necessary).

Please confirm your interest in attending the 5^th AGM as soon as possible as this will determine how the limited budget for member travel and accommodation costs will be allocated.

The MIO-ECSDE Secretariat is looking forward to seeing you in Athens!

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B. Meetings with Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom (13 July, 16 October 2000)

MIO-ECSDE was invited to two meetings with the Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, along with other NGO Networks during 2000 in order to discuss specific issues such as Climate Change and the Revision of the Action Programme. MIO-ECSDE made a point of not simply attending the meetings but also of submitting its opinions in writing before and after the meetings (see also previous Bulletin no 25).

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C. MIO-ECSDE Project Proposals

·        MIO-ECSDE SMAP proposal on “Battery Collection and Recycling Schemes in Coastal Settlements in the Mediterranean Region”

Faithful to continuity and consistency MIO-ECSDE submitted this 3-year proposal as a follow up of previous efforts (International Conference and Exhibition on Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Mediterranean and Arab Region; Athens EUPHEMET meeting before the deadline of October 23, 2000.

In this proposal MIO-ECSDE initiates an innovative and solid partnership with enterprise stakeholders, national and local authorities and of course with national and local NGOs.

In none of the Mediterranean countries benefited by the project (Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia) do battery recycling systems exist. The project aims at organizing efficient collection and recycling schemes of batteries which are going to be collected in specially designed bins placed in public places, super markets and specialized shops, transported, weighed etc. in battery collection warehouses and exported to France for recycling and reuse of the material gained since adequate recycling plants are not at present in these countries. Throughout the project all types of household-portable batteries will be collected except the lead-acid ones of cars for which recycling is already taking place, and military batteries.

The project has very strong participatory and educational aspects, creates technical and human infrastructures and expertise that will remain in the beneficiary country and will secure the successful follow-up after the finalization of the co-financing phase.

It may be more than 8 months before the Secretariat is informed by the evaluators of the proposal if the proposal is shortlisted.

·        Sustainable development and eco-efficient water management in Western China-A case of the Xian area

The Mediterranean region and its NGO movement are considered as models for other parts of the world, particularly MIO-ECSDE for its successful co-ordination of grassroot work and high quality scientific research and innovative application.

This is a 36-month project. The financial and administrative co-ordinator of the project is the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. MIO-ECSDE is one of the principal contractors of the project.

D. Publications

• NEW MIO-ECSDE pamphlet

The Secretariat renewed the MIO-ECSDE profile pamphlet and published it in French and English. 

• Publication based on the background document prepared in 1999 by MIO-ECSDE as Task Manager of the MCSD Thematic Group on Information, Awareness, Environmental Education and Participation 

The Background Document of the MCSD Thematic Group on Information, Awareness, Environmental Education and Participation, as prepared by MIO-ECSDE and submitted to the MCSD Meeting in Rome (1-3 July, 1999) has been acknowledged as a unique document of high quality. It has been photocopied and sent out to numerous organisations and persons but the requests keep coming to the Secretariat. The epitome of the document is Part E entitled “Recommendations for Strengthening Public Participation in the Mediterranean”. It is currently being embellished and by the end of the year an attractive publication of significance addressed to both the lay person and the scientist will be produced in a 4-colour publication of max 160 pages in English and French.

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E. Up Coming meetings

·        Strategy Conference on Sustainable Development, 17-18 November 2000, Stockholm, organised by the EEB. Contact Person: Federico Greco, tel: 3222891090, e-mail: eu.policy@eeb.org

·        International Conference on Environmental Strategy Consultation in the MENA and Gulf Regions, 19-21 November 2000, Amman Jordan. The meeting is organised by the World Bank Middle East and North Africa Region.

·        International Meeting of Experts in Environmental Education, 17-24. November 2000, Santiago de Compostela. The meeting is organized by UNESCO in collaboration with Xunta de Galicia.

·        Mediterranean Roundtable on EU Accession and the Environment, 4 December 2000, Hotel de Congres, Brussels. The meeting is organised by WWF European Policy Office. Contact person: Ellen Townsend, ellen_fscee@hotmail.com, tel:+3227438800, fax: 3227438819

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