13/5/2005
Eastern Europe Agrees New Strategy To Combat Mining Pollution

A plan to reduce the environmental risks of mining in Eastern Europe was adopted this week by governments attending an international conference in Romania, organised by the Romanian government with support from the UN's Environment Agency, UNEP.

The plan, agreed by ministers and officials from around a dozen countries in the region, will lead to detailed assessments of sites whose continued operation has become a source of pollution and trans-border tension. Studies, carried out on behalf of UNEP, have concluded that numerous old and abandoned sites are now cause for environmental, social and political concern. It is hoped it will also trigger the financial, technical and administrative support needed to clean up old mines, smelters and processing facilities.

The sites, including those found in the countries of Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Kosovo, have been involved in the extraction and processing of metals such as zinc, cadmium, copper, bauxite, silver and gold.

Over a third of the more than 150 of these sites, some of which have been abandoned or ‘orphaned’, may pose a serious risk to human health, the environment and regional stability experts have concluded. The plan's proposals will also accelerate the establishment and extension of early warning systems on key rivers and tributaries in order to warn countries in the region of chronic pollution incidents. . In 2000, cyanide pollution from a gold mine in Romania caused serious damage to the River Danube in Hungary after wastes were discharged in the Tisza River, a Danube tributary. Pollution from old chemical stockpiles, ageing nuclear reactors and damaged and decaying factories, has also become a key issue in states of the former Soviet Union.

Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s Executive Director, said: "We now have a firm commitment from countries in this region to tackle the real and genuine threat from mining and related industries. I hope this commitment will be matched by support from governments outside the region, bodies like the European Commission, industry and others so that we can put mining in this region on a sustainable track. "

"Unfortunately past practices have left a legacy that can no longer be ignored if we are to improve stability both within and between countries. I hope the declaration from this important conference, so ably organised by the Government of Romania, will now finally close this less than sparkling chapter and open a new cleaner, more prosperous and more secure one for the
region and its people," said Mr Toepfer.