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Earth Day a hit in Central & Eastern Europe
Environmentalists across the Balkans and in Hungary have jumped on the Earth Day band wagon, using the excuse to highten public awareness and sway public opinion...
di Staff
Earth Day, celebrated on April 22nd , may gain huge support in North America, where the anniversary was born in 1970 and where every year thousands of volunteers celebrate the recurrence by cleaning up beaches, planting trees or opting for green lifestyles for the day (google has even provided a map to allow people to share their Earth Day ideas), but in Western Europe the fad has never quite taken off. The same cannot be said for Central and Eastern Europe, however, where environmental organisations have jumped on the chance to raise public awareness on green themes.
Spotlight on the Balkans
Bulgaria?s capital, Sofia, will be filled with exhibitions, walking and bicycle parades, theatre plays and musical performances, organized by 30 civil and non-governmental organisations.
From 2pm to 8 pm, at various points throughout the city, information on a number of ecological issues, including the construction of bike lanes, the overdevelopment at the Black Sea coast and the development of ski resorts and alternative tourism, will be provided. In the evening, a concert of prominent Bulgarian musicians will take place at the Borisova Gradina.
Information events and commemorations are also planned in several other Bulgarian cities, including Pleven, Veliko Turnovo, Varna and Plovdiv.
In Montenegro, national media reported, a series of events and campaigns are also planned to commemorate Earth Day. The campaign to substitute plastic with paper bags in order to protect the environment was launched today, national newspaper Viesti noted.
Other organisations are running tree-planting and garbage pick-up activities, in cooperation with schools and young people.
In Croatia, protests and ecological campaigns will mark Earth Day, according to the One World Southeast Europe portal. The Friends of Animals organisation will protest the slaughtering of farmed animals and the effects it has on climate changes.
Other events, including lectures, roundtable discussions and documentary film screenings, will focus on the problem of waste disposal and recycling. The Sunce Association from Split will distribute textile shopping bags on several locations in the city.
Macedonia marked this year`s Earth Day a few days early, on Sunday, April 20, with a series of related events on Macedonian Square in Skopje, including a special programme for children.
The events focused on problems of recycling and waste management. The Recycling Village, the square`s name during the manifestation, housed the recycling clubs from 14 elementary schools that participate in the project for recycling of plastic bottles and containers.
Xhelil Bairami, Minister of Environment, emphasized the importance of recycling and timely action to prevent climate change before it is too late.
The events were sponsored by US Agency for International Development. USAID intends to invest 1.2 million US Dollars in the recycling project implemented in the municipalities of Gostivar, Karpo?, Kočani and Strumica, and plans to include eight more Municipalities in Macedonia.
Spotlight on Hungary
Green groups embarked on a tour of Hungary on Tuesday to warn of the dangers of genetically-modified products (GMO) and campaign for more GMO-free zones.
During their weekly programme, the Hungarian Environmentalists' Association (MTVSZ) and the Green Group for Central Hungary will aim at drawing support from farmers to preserve their GMO-free zones and add new ones.
The groups will collect signatures in central Budapest on Tuesday, marking Earth Day. So far 74 towns and villages all over the country have joined the GMO-free initiative, pledging to exclude such products from their crops.
Hungary has started assessing the risks of GMO farming in response to pressure from the European Union.
Hungary's farm minister has also argued that competition from neighbouring countries may force farmers to weigh the benefits of GMO-free produce against cheaper production costs. Hungary is among the biggest grain producers in the 27-member European Union and was the first country in eastern Europe to ban GMO crops or foods.
More info on Earth Day
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