After a one-year-break due to the NATO bombardment of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in the year 2000 we continued our activities on organizing our yearly international conferences.
The Eleventh Conference was held from November 17 until 19, 2000 in Belgrade at the Institute of International Politics and Economics, dealing with the different aspects of the revitalisation of the Danube region: political, legal, informational, economical, environmental issues.
Prof. Dr. Zoran Šami, Federal Minister for Transport opened the Conference. He reminded that a meeting was held with the president of the Danube comission and the director of the Danube-cleaning project, only one week after the establishment of the democratic government in Yugoslavia. They agreed it is necessary: firstly, to find, deactivate and remove as soon as posible the remaining not-exploded bombs from the Danube; secondly, remove the ruins of the bridges destroyed in the last years NATO bombing; thirdly, build new bridges. Right now they are choosing the main architect. Minister Šami announced the initiative for a donor conference for reconstructing the bridges on the Danube.
Mr. Ronald Dreyer, special coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, in his greeting speech presented the activities of the Stability Pact and the ways it can help, through projects and plans, the revitalization of the Danube region. He emphasized that the Pact is not a donor agency, nor a political instrument for gaining control in the region. The goals of the Pact are the economical development, democratization, peace and security in Southeast Europe, said Mr. Dreyer.
Scholars from academic and research institutions, other experts in fields related to the topics of the conference, as well as the diplomatic personalities participated in the work of the Conference. Members of the media were also present and the renowned daily newspaper “Politika” featured the Conference on their front page on November 18.
On the closing day of the Conference, the participants adopted a Mutual Declaration.
Declaration adopted at the Conference
As global scientific NGO Forum enabling co-operation along enormous Danube catchment area and inter-related problems we intend to propose multidisciplinary co-operation locally, regionally, inter-regionally based on sound research activities as well as on community advocacy planning and broader educational activities. We will address a very wide spectrum of research themes and methodological issues, such as legal and political/ institutional reconstruction, based on internationally binding criteria, standards and declarations. These research and activity goals will be linked to emphasizing the problems of: integrative flood defense concepts for the river Danube and its tributaries, identify on time areas of soil erosion risks, ecological investigations of limnology of the Danube and its flood processes, in particular eutrophication processes, problems of ground water quality in the Danube region and related territorial catchment.
Multidisciplinary approach to urban, industrial and agricultural production problems; “Local Agenda 21” networking (ICLEA). Promoting protection of the cultural and historical locations in a network of “historicity”, giving equal importance to the rich variety of rural identities, culture and villages in the Danubian multicultural context.
Establishing long-term strategic landscape planning as the base of environmental revitalisation of the area and the base for the development of the high quality tourism in the region.
We will promote the idea of relation between health and the environment, particularly based on concern about the waste and other sources of pollution; we pay attention to the locations linked to endemic diseases in particular.
The activities related to these issues will be supported by new advances in the information technology and particularly to the possibilities such as ones enabled by GIS (Geographical Information System). We will work to meet the requirements by similar initiatives, which have already been in use, locally and inter-regionally.
Founding the activities on these issues will enable us to promote local participatory initiatives, give us adequate base for a dialog with the municipalities and governments and stimulate inter-regional co-operation among the NGO-research communities.
The countries of the lower Danube region in particular will in this way speed up the processes of levelling up and reaching the appropriate standards of sustainable development with the countries of the upper Danube region and consequently joining EU on more equal basis.
After eleven years of persistent concern about the state of environment and economy in the Danube region, we are deeply concerned about the present state of damage to environment (natural and man made) of the whole Danube region as a result of the obsolete technology, legal and illegal waste storage, coming mainly from developed countries, and coupled up with lack of consciousness of difficulties of the situation additionally worsened by the war.
We are convinced that only a swift and co-ordinated international co-operation of all the countries of the region can change this rather catastrophic situation.
The International Scientific Forum “Danube – the River of Cooperation” should continue with its determination towards affirmation of the idea of peaceful, mutual inter-launching life-paths, tolerance and co-operation among peoples in the Danube- region. This is the reason why we repeat our demands:
First of all – disputable questions are to be resolved exclusively by negotiations; second, mass media communications are to be re-directed towards the promotion of re-establishing the discontinued communications in the Region.
We demand the abolishment of all the barriers and restrictions concerning free movement of people, ideas, goods and capital in the whole Danube-region. We consider necessity to clear up the barriers imposed over traffic circulation and need to improve co-operation as prime, especially when river and railway traffic is in question once again.
We highly appreciate the efforts recently made in this direction, but we stress the point that one should in the same sense take into full consideration economic needs as well as environmental needs. The revitalisation of the Region should be realised in accordance with the principles of sustainable development of the whole Region. Therefore, The ISF “DRC” will require its legitimate right and obligation as the NGO consisted of Experts and scientific researchers required to get at least a monitoring presence in all this.
However, due to a low degree of economic efficiency and low competition of goods export, the inclusion of the economy of those countries in the economic, financial and commercial circulation of Western countries is impartially speaking, rendered. The majority of these countries need more radical economic and social reforms in order to be included more intensively in these courses of changes. This also implies the support for the development of ecologically sound economic activity, but also the opening of zones of preferential trade and zones of free enterprising in some of the Danube-region countries, established on the bases of sustainable principles of land use.
In the field of ecology, we will continue more eagerly co-operating with other similar NGOs, scientific organisations, local communities, industrial and public authorities related to the Danube area problems, in the form of exchange of information and experience, as well as in form of joint actions and joint educational ventures.
Program for ecological education based on results of researches of scientific institutions should be included in the activities of “Universitas Danubiana” more closely than by now.
New projects, which were prepared during the period of the last ten years, could be now the base of international co-operation and implementation at regional, continental and global level.
Some of the presented papers
Introductories
Prospects for International Cooperation in the Danube Region by Edita Stojić Karanović
Sustainable Development of Serbia with Special Review on Business Risk of Foreign Partners by Dragan M. Kostić
Natural Resources of the Danube Basin by Zoran Gavrilović
Legal, Information and Political Aspects of the Revitalisation
Legal Frameworks for the Revitalization of Environment and Economy of the Danube Basin by Slavko Bogdanović
Development of Danube Region and Geographical Information Infrastructure by Vladimir Vasiljev
Impact of Ecological Information on Investment Decision-Making in International Financial Organizations by Predrag Bjelić
State of the Economy and the Future of Sustainable Development
Regional Financial Institutions and the Future of the Economies in the Danubian Region by Dragan Stojović
Traffic Information, Transport Management and Electronic Weighing of Building Material in Danube by Zoran Radmilović, Zlatko Hrle, Radovan Zobenica and Vladeta Colić
Guidelines for Yugoslav Hydro-power Development by Miodrag Milovanović, Dragan Zdravković and Mirko Melentijević
Urban Impacts and Health Aspects
Impact of Man on Environment – Regulating Production and Consumption Patterns in a Context of Sustainable Urban Development by Sonja Prodanović
Perspectives of Revitalization and Sustainable Industrial Development in the Danube Region by Slavka Zeković
Potential Risk from Uncontrolled Landfills in Serbia to River Danube by Danica Županski
Sustaining Waters: Balancing Ecological Health with Human Well-Being by Susan Lisa Toch
Fatal Kidney Disease in Danube region and Altitude by Jovan Nikolić, Zoran Gavrilović, Milutin Stefanović, Duško Isaković and Zoran Protić
State of the Natural Resources in the Danube Region, Recovery and Protection
New Ideas on Integrated Flood-Management Along the River Danube by Erich Pasche
Water Quality, Sediment and Aquatic Organisms of the Danube Prior and After NATO Air Strikes by Vesna Martinović-Vitanović and Vladimir Kalafatić
Evaluation of Radionuclide Content in the Danube River Water by I. Petrović, G. Pantelić, S. Milačić, Lj. Javorina, M. Eremić and I. Tanasković
Sustainable Use of Danube’s Natural Resources through Creation of The Biosphere Reserve “Iron Gates – Đerdap” by Ilie Chincea
Current Problems Regarding the Protection of the “Balta Nera – Danube” Wetland by Ilie Chincea and Ilie Odorescu
Evaluation of Soil Pollution at the Oil Refinery Site by Biljana Skrbic , Natasa Đurišić-Mladenović , Jelena Cvejanov
Hydrocarbon Spills at the Industrial Zone Pančevo, Yugoslavia – Water Resources Impact by Aleksandar Lozaić, Ivan Matić, Slobodan Vujasinović and Milenko Pusić
Groundwater and Danube River Water Quality at the Section Belgrade – Golubac by Ivan Matić, Slobodan Vujasinović, Adam Dangić, Aleksandar Lozaić and Aleksandar Prvulović
Ground Waters of the Downstream Part of the Great Morava Basin and Their Protection by Dušan Stojadinović, Duško Isaković and Milutin Stefanović
Geothermal Resources of Danube Region in Serbia and Their Significance for Sustainable Development by Mihailo Milivojević
Climatological Extremes on the Territory of Serbia in 1999 and Their Effects by Jasminka Smailagić, Nena Kovačević and Dobrivoje Živković
River Basin Management – a Challenge for Danubian Countries by Jelisaveta Muškatirović
Waters from Territory of Republic Montenegro in Catchment Area of River Danube with Base Properties of Runoff by Ratomir Živaljević and Milivoje Brajković
Ice Control on the Danube River in Yugoslavia by Slobodan Petković
Condition and Problems Concerning Arrangement of Soils in Serbia Belonging to the Danube River Basin by Vaso Popović and Mirko Brković
Soil Erosion in Yugoslavia by Zoran Gavrilović, Milutin Stefanović and Duško Isaković
Impacts of Sedimentation in the Iron Gate Reservoir and Remedial Measures by Slobodan Petković, Marina Babić-Mladenović and Svetlana Varga
New Approach to the Torrential Flood Prevention by Milivoje Brajković, Zoran Gavrilović, Duško Isaković and Milutin Stefanović
