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Infrastructure
discussed at NATO-Russia meeting
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| During the first NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council meeting after
the summer break, the Russian representatives gave a briefing on issues
related to military infrastructure in their country. Other questions
raised at the meeting were the setting up of a NATO Information Centre
in Moscow, terrorism and anti-ballistic missiles. In the context of
the recent elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the political
situation in the country was also discussed.
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The
Alliance's future challenges
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NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, NATO Ambassadors, senior
NATO officials and acknowledged high-level experts from governments
and leading research institutes met in Berlin on 21-22 September to
discuss the future challenges facing the Alliance.
This year's NATO Review Conference focused on growing relations between
NATO and the European Union, the way ahead in the Balkans in the wake
of elections in Yugoslavia, NATO-Russia relations, the future of NATO's
enlargement process and the impact on the Alliance of US plans for
a National Missile Defense. Although proceedings are not made public,
the views expressed at this conference are a valuable contribution
to the Alliance's policy planning.
The NATO Review Conference was initiated in 1989 by Manfred Wörner
while he was NATO Secretary General (1988 to 1994) and has since
been held once a year. It is organised by the Stiftung Wissenschaft
und Politik (SWP), which is a government sponsored think-tank specialised
in security issues, international relations and regional studies.
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Transcarpathia
2000
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A Disaster Relief Exercise - Transcarpathia 2000 - simulating
major flooding, is conducted in Western Ukraine in the framework
of Partnership for Peace and the NATO-Ukraine Work Plan. Three hundred
and fifty personnel from disaster response elements of 11 EAPC countries
participate.
Additional information:
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Georgia
and security throughout Eurasia
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On 25-26 September, Lord Robertson travelled to the Georgian capital,
Tbilisi, where he met with President Eduard Shevardnadze (see photo)
and several government ministers. He also addressed a conference
on the "Caucasus Today: Perspectives of Regional Cooperation
and Partnership with NATO". In his speech, Lord Robertson underlined
the importance of partnership and practical cooperation between
NATO and NATO partners, stating that a new security culture had
now developed throughout Eurasia.
Georgia was one of the first countries to join Partnership for
Peace in 1994 and has become a particularly active member over the
last few years.
Additional information:
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Workshop
on Mineral Resource Management
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A NATO Advanced Research Workshop is taking place from 25 September
to 1 October in Portoroz, Slovenia, to review Sustainable Mineral
Resource Management in Karst areas. Funded by NATO and organised
by the US Department of Agriculture and the Geological Survey of
Slovenia, the workshop is bringing together experts from 22 countries
to identify gaps in knowledge and determine how science can support
sustainable resources management in karst areas.
Karst areas are irregular limestone regions with sinks, underground
streams and caverns, which are important sources of both minerals
and water. In many countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe
the character and functioning of karst systems are being altered
and degraded by quarrying and ground water removals. To date it
has been difficult to identify appropriate and publicly acceptable
resources management policies, because of the multi-disciplinary
nature of the problem. It is widely agreed that the model for land
and resource management in the future will be sustainable development.
Sustainable development entails satisfying human needs, improving
the quality of life, protecting natural resources and enhancing
the human, natural and physical capital. This NATO workshop will
investigate the applicability of sustainable development principles
to mineral resource management in karst areas.
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Environmental
problems of Kyrgyz lake
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A workshop supported by the NATO Science Programme took place last
week on the topic of the Issyk-Kul Lake: Evaluation of the Environmental
State and its Remediation. Lake Issyk-Kul, located in the Tien Shan
of the Kyrgyz Republic, is a large, closed, high-altitude lake.
It is affected by environmental threats resulting from former or
present industrial activities and uncontrolled agriculture, and
moreover is located in a tectonically highly active region.
More than 40 participants from 14 countries met in Cholpon-Ata,
Kyrgyz Republic from 25 to 28 September. The participants were scientists
from different disciplines already involved or acquainted with the
investigation of the environmental problems of Lake Issyk-Kul or
experienced in the study of similar problems in other parts of the
world.
The aim was to make a multidisciplinary evaluation of the present
state of knowledge on Lake Issyk-Kul, with particular emphasis on
the environmental aspects; to define and evaluate the environmental
threats affecting the lake and its catchment area at present; to
identify essential gaps in the current knowledge about the Lake
and establish a strategy for further investigation of the environmental
problems concerning the lake basin. An additional objective was
to propose plans for future actions to the Kyrgyz authorities. The
workshop was organised by experts from the National Academy of Sciences
of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the International Bureau for Environmental
Studies, Brussels.
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Conference
on security in Northern Europe
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| A high level conference was organised in Riga, Latvia, on 25 September
on the impact of both NATO and EU enlargement and moves toward a European
defence capability on the security architecture of Northern Europe.
The event was organised by the Latvian Institute of International
Affairs, NATO, the Latvian Ministry of Defence and the Konrad Adenauer
Foundation. Perspectives on the issue were presented by NATO, Latvia,
Sweden, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Germany,
Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. |
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