CCB NEWSLETTER
No. 2• February 2004

Welcome to the CCB Newsletter on the Internet!
CCB publish an electronic newsletter twelve times
a year. Editor is Peeter Vissak, pv@hot.ee, Estonian Green Movement. Previous newsletters can be downloaded here.

WHAT IS GOING ON AMONG OUR MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS?

Present activities in connection with CCB :

1. Our main project was elaborated to restore salmon populations in the rivers of Western Pomerania . The species which had extinct from Polish rivers in the 1980's due to reproductive problems, over-fishing, destruction of spawning grounds, and environmental pollution. The project started in 1998 thanks to CCB's financial support. It was awarded Ford Conservation Award in field of environment and cultural heritage protection in 2000.

2. Hot spots of the Polish part of the Baltic Sea coast - internet data base on installations and investments hazardous for the marine environment is being developed since 2001 (CCB supported the project in that year). See: http://www.gajanet.pl/hotspots/index_uk.html

3. Another important project is Model conservation of the relic xerothermic meadows in the Bielinek Nature Reserve. Its aim is to preserve the sites of very rare steppe plants endangered by common (often synantropic) vegetation. Six species growing in this area are included in Polish Red Data Book of Plants, and for three of them it is their only Polish site. Polish law protects another eight species found there. The project is a part of wider campaign “Czas na Odre”(“Time for the Odra”) which promotes natural values of the river Odra valley. The campaign was supported also by CCB in 1999 and 2002.

4. Since 2003 we run the campaign so as to create social and political awareness on environmental and social costs of Smithfield Foods (they build and run pig farms; see CCB press release of 3 March 2004 on the web page: http://www.ccb.se/ ) expansion in Poland, especially Western Pomerania.

5. We participate in two latest CCB international projects:

•  “Baltic Region Sustainable Coastal Development – Requirements, Conflicts and Solutions” and

•  “Sustainability for Baltic fisheries- the way forward”

6. Another recent CCB projects are publishing (in Polish language) of the CCB report “Development of Sustainable fisheries in the Baltic Sea ” and the CCB folder “Dangers with bottom-trawling in the Baltic Sea ”

Other projects include:

- Baltic Youth Co-operation (B.Y.Co.)– programme of international exchange of volunteers in the Baltic countries.

- “Buy Responsible!” Campaign – shaping and encouraging ethical consumers' behaviour, pointing on environmental and social costs of production of goods and services within local and global context, condemning African and Asian regimes using the prisoners', slaves', and children's labour.

- Project Sedina - activation of the women enterprises in the rural areas through production and promotion of local quality products within the organised co-operative movement – re-creation of regional handcraft and cuisine traditions and introducing them into market while obeying the rules on sustainable development. The addressees of the project are unemployed women from the Western Pomeranian region.

- The “Green Bottle” Campaign – implementing new Polish law on refillable bottles, organising educational actions (such as conferences and seminars) and interventions.

- Selective collection of batteries –aimed at elaboration of model management of used batteries according to EU standards by preparing society for implementation of such an example of good EU practices through educational activities.

Our future plans include development of campaigns and projects addressing problems of:

•  planned Danube-Oder-Elbe canal (DOEC),

•  sustainable coastal boat fisheries,

•  implementation in the Baltic Sea area of the recently adopted IMO convention for the control and management of ballast water and sediments.

Piotr Gruszka, vice president of Green Federation GAJA