> _______________________________________________________________
>  !!!!! !!!!! !!!!! !!!   !!!!! !!!!! !!!!! !   ! !!!!! !!!!! !
>  !     !     !   ! !  !  !     !     !     !!  ! !     !     !
>  !!!!! !     !   ! !   ! !!!!! !!!!! !!!!! ! ! ! !!!!! !!!!! !
>  !     !     !   ! !   ! !     !     !     !  !!     ! !
>  !!!!! !!!!! !!!!! !!!!! !!!!! !     !!!!! !   ! !!!!! !!!!! !
> _______________________________________________________________
>  ECODEFENSE!inform' environmental inform-bulletin * Nr. 3 (40)
> _______________________________________________________________
> ................................................. JANUARY 1995
> _______________________________________________________________
>             BALTIC SEA REGION ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
> _______________________________________________________________
> 
>      CONTENTS
> 
> News
>      ESTONIA TO PARTICIPATE IN NATO MANEUVERS
>      LATVIA AND WORLD BANK SIGN AGREEMENT
>      SECOND IMF LOAN TO ESTONIA
>      LOOK - OIL!
>      IS THE WATER CLEAN?
> 
> Nuclear Power
>      PAULAUSKAS CRITIZES LITHUANIA'S REACTION TO NUCLEAR BLACKMAIL
> 
> Dangerous Project
>      OIL TERMINAL NEEDS FOREIGN CAPITAL
> 
> Publication
>      "SCIENTIST TO SCIENTIST"
> _______________________________________________________________________
> 
>      Estonia to  participate in NATO maneuvers,  BNS - This summer for
> the first time in history,  Estonia is planning to send a ship to  NA-
> TO's Baltic Operations naval maneuvers,  according to commander of the
> country's navy, Captain Roland Leit.
>      The commanders of the Baltic countries' naval forces - Leit, Gai-
> dis Zeibots of Latvia and Raimundas Baltuska of Lithuania - agreed  on
> the Baltics' participation in the BaltOp'95 exercises at the beginning
> of January.
>      Last year only a Lithuanian vessel,  the frigate Aukstaitis, took
> part in the BaltOp maneuvers.
>      The maneuvers,  which were launched 22 years ago,  were opened to
> former Soviet bloc countries in 1993.  Last year 56 warships  from  22
> countries were present.
> 
>      Latvia and World Bank sign agreement, BNS - On January 9 the Lat-
> vian Ambassador to the US Ojars Kalnins and the World Bank's  European
> and Central Asian Region Acting Vice President Basil Kavalsky signed a
> loan agreement in Washington,  D.C.for $4 million  between  the  World
> Bank and  the  republic of Latvia,  according to a Latvian Foreign Mi-
> nistry official.
>      Together with the Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation's loan
> and the Swedish and Finnish government's additional resources will fi-
> nance the largest environmental protection project in Latvia to date.
>      The goal of the project is to promote the stable and  environmen-
> tal friendly development of the Kurzeme coast area, including the Lie-
> paja, Ventspils and Talsi districts.  It will also improve  management
> for the environmental protection of the city of Liepaja.
>      The project will also include the purification management of  se-
> wage flow into the Baltic Sea.  It will also improve the qualityof the
> water supply system in this region of  Latvia.  The  project  will  be
> completed by 1999.
> 
>      Second IMF loan to Estonia,  The Baltic Independent, v.5 n.246, -
> The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a second loan valu-
> ed at  about $ 16.9 million for Estonia under its Systemic Transforma-
> tion Facility (STF) programme for countries moving from  communism  to
> free market economies.
>      The IMF said Estonia had been highly successful over the past two
> years in stabilising its economy, nothing that inflation had decreased
> to one to two per cent per month and output was believed to have grown
> by about 5% in 1994.
>      The IMF approved Estonia's first loan under the  STF  on  October
> 27, 1993.
> 
>      Look - oil !, TBI - The Nafta oil refinery in Mazheikiai, Lithua-
> nia, was restarted on January 6.  Work at the refinery had been halted
> on December 27 because of a shortage of crude oil.
>      The refinery recently received 124,000 tonnes of oil from russian
> company "Lukoil".  According the refinery officials, that will be eno-
> ugh to keep the refinery going for one week. Last year the Nafta refi-
> nery did not work for a total of eighty days, mostly because of a lack
> of crude oil. The refinery is seeking credits for the purchase of more
> crude oil.  Last  year  Nafta refined 3.7 million tonnes of crude oil,
> whereas its refining capacity is 13.8 million tonnes.
> 
>      Is the water clean?,  TBI - Much-needed groundwater sampling equ-
> ipment was shipped to Latvia in mid-December from the US company "Tim-
> co Manufacturing". The shipment was the result of a cooperative effort
> involving the "Prairie du Sac" company, the US Environmental Protecti-
> on Agency and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
>      Need for  the  equipment was comveyed to DNR water supply specia-
> lists during their trip to Latvia in July 1994.  "Timco Manufacturing"
> makers of the needed equipment, donated $ 2,000 worth of sampling equ-
> ipment and handled the shipping. The equipment will allow the Latvians
> to sample groundwater in areas of known or suspected contamination.
>      In the past "Timco" has donated equipment to other foreign  nati-
> ons including Holland, the United Arab Emirates and China.
> _______________________________________________________________________
> 
>    PAULAUSKAS CRITICIZES LITHUANIA'S REACTION TO NUCLEAR BLACKMAIL
> 
>      Lithuania's former Prosecutor General Arturas Paulauskas says the
> Government overreacted  to  terrorist threats that forced the shutdown
> of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in the north-east part of the  co-
> untry last November.
>      Ignalina was shutdown for an emergency inspection following thre-
> ats that the plant might be targeted by terrorists.
>      Paulauskas maintains that information passed on to  Lithuania  by
> Germany, and  the arrest of a Lithuanian man in Stockholm for threate-
> ning to blow up  Ignalina,  were  insufficient  reasons  to  stop  the
> plant's reactors.
>      Paulauskas told the Lithuanian daily "Lietuvos Aidas"  that:  "It
> was not  worth  making  such  a fuss over a Lithuanian who blackmailed
> Swedes, or a fax based on rumors".
>      Ignalina's shutdown in November cost Lithuania 40 million lits ($
> 10 million) and supposedly prompted the government to raise electrici-
> ty prices for consumers in December.
>      Paulauskas said Kestutis Mazuika,  the  blackmailer  arrested  in
> Stockholm, was bluffing, and Germany's information that Ignalina could
> be blown up by Georgy Dekanidze, the father of a local gang leader Bo-
> ris Dekanidze,  in  revenge for a court's death sentence passed on his
> son was "especially strange".
>      The ex-prosecutor  general noted that normally such a warning
> would have reached Lithuania through its embassy or  the  Foreign  Mi-
> nistry, while  he  says  the  German Environmental Protection Ministry
> sent its message to the German Embassy in Vilnius,  which later passed
> information on to Lithuanian Authorities.
>      Lithuania's decision to shutdown Ignalina won praise from foreign
> officials and international atomic energy experts.
> _______________________________________________________________________
>                     SCIENTIST TO SCIENTIST
> 
> The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Direc-
> torate for International Programs, publishes a bulletin called "Scien-
> tist to Scientist".  In spite of the name,  many of the issues in  the
> bulletin  deals with environmental issuses.  The purpose of the bulle-
> tin:  "...serves as an information clearinghouse on North American and
> West  European  collaborative  activities with science and engineering
> communities in the countries of the former Soviet Union and East Cent-
> ral Europe.
> The bulletin  is *FREE*,  also acessible on the Internet.  This is the
> content of the December issue:
> - Informations on grants and other assistence - International  Science
>   Foundation - 1995 Young scientist Summer program
> - Information on workshops and conferances - Dryland agriculture - Ot-
>   hosk sea and adjacent areas - Large water bodies
> - Opportunities for collaboration - Water treatment -  Forest  ecosys-
>   tems - Equipment repair in Latvia
> - Information Resources - several small articles.
> What I have found valuable is apart from the news,  is contacts, often
> with an email adress and information pointers.
> EMail: 
> SnailMail: Directorate for International Programs AAAS Sanoma Lee Kel-
>            logg 1333 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20005 USA
> Gopher: aaas.org (back issues)
> WWW: http/solar/rtd.utk.edu/friends/home.html ("science" menu)
> _______________________________________________________________________
>    ECODEFENSE!inform bulletins get more than 150 env. NGOs of Earth
> _______________________________________________________________________
> Special thank  to  Sacred Earth Network and Socio-Ecological Union for
> diverse help.
> _______________________________________________________________________
> Editor: Vladimir Sliviak
> _______________________________________________________________________
> 
> 
> 
>

Part 4 of 6

UNEP GLOBAL SURVEY ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF  
              THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY  
> ============================================
   B.  Environmental Liability, Exposure or Risk (Section III of  
the survey)  
  
This section focused on strategies to manage liability as it relates to
environmental issues.  The survey responses revealed that liability is the
single greatest issue they face. 
  
1.     Overall approach to liability management  
  
Firms appear to be focusing heavily on the issue of effective  
environmental risk management as it relates to debt extension  
(loans and lines of credit) in the pre-contractual stage of the  
credit review process.  Less attention is given to this same  
issue on the equity side.  Surprisingly, minimal work is being  
undertaken on monitoring of, or in many instances, even  
including, environmental covenants in the loan documentation or  
other negotiated contracts.  
  
The data shows that in the vast majority of cases, institutions  
apply environmental criteria when making a decision concerning a  
financial transaction.  Almost 75% of the respondents require  
that environmental liability, exposure or risk be considered in  
all equity financing decisions equal to or greater than a  
specified financial value.  The comparable number for debt  
financing is over 80%.  
  
                        Environmental Exposure Evaluated   
Debt       Equity              Prior to Decision   
> ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
55%        57%           All transactions   
26%        17%           Transactions above specific  financial vaules
19%        26%           No transactions  
  
2.     Rejected or defaulted loan and investment data  
  
Since many respondents indicated that the method used to track  
credit/investment decisions does not allow for statistical  
review, it was not possible to collect data on this topic.  Many  
deals are rejected for multiple reasons.  Environmental issues  
may not have been the compelling reason for the rejection of a  
transaction, but, nonetheless, may have contributed to the  
decision.  In many cases, deals with environmental problems are  
simply not presented for consideration, or after identifying  
problems, the deal is significantly restructured so that it  
passes the formal environmental criteria.  
  
As to foreclosure activity, if a serious problem is identified  
with a loan, the property will often not be assumed to be under  
foreclosure proceedings.  Instead, the property may be sold at a  
discounted price.  Alternatively, an arrangement will be made  
with the borrower to resolve the lender~s concerns and issues as  
they pertain to the environment.  
  
3.     Contractual covenants and conditions  
  
After environmental site assessments and screening criteria,  
contractual convenants appear to be the most widely used tool by  
the respondents for managing and controlling environmental risk.  
Fifty-five percent (55%) of the respondents stated that they  
include specific environmental convenants and conditions that  
directly assess a borrower~s environmental performance and  
activities within their basic contractual agreements.  
  
4.     Monitoring of clients~ activities post-contract closing  
  
In contrast to the increased effort institutions are making to  
consider environmental issues when performing up-front credit  
risk assessments or when preparing a contractual closing  
covenant, much less attention is given to those same issues once  
the financial institution actually commits funds.  When the  
respondents were asked how often and to what extent they maintain 
any form of ongoing environmental monitoring the results were as  
follows:  
  
            Monitor more                 Monitor less  
            often than                    often than  
 Type of     yearly    Monitor yearly      yearly    Never Monitor 
transaction  
> ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
Loan          1%             27%            26%           46%  
Investment    3%             19%            29%           49%  
  
C.  Environmental Regulations/Guidelines (Section II of the survey)  
  
For the most part, environmental regulations that affect the  
operations of financial institutions are national, or in many  
instances even local, in scope.  Few, if any, international  
environmental regulations, conventions or treaties directly  
affect the financial services industry.   In addition, a few  
questions examined how institutions stay current on regulations  
and requirements in other countries in which they have clients  
and business activities.  
  
1.     Existence of regulations and guidelines  
  
Surprisingly 33% of all respondents felt that they were not  
subject to any regulations or guidelines (i.e., legislative,  
governmental, non-governmental, or multilateral bank).   
  
2.     Requirements  
  
The activity most often mandated by governmental as well as non-  
governmental bodies is the performance of an environmental credit 
risk analysis.  Environmental audits were identified as the next  
most commonly required activity.  
  
3.     Complying with regulations and the need for assistance to  
       comply more fully  
  
The majority of institutions indicated a need for some form of  
assistance to improve their ability to comply with regulatory  
requirements.  The most commonly requested areas where government 
or multilateral organizations could help are presented in the  
following table.  
                                         To comply with  
Type of assistance               Government       Non-Governmental 
    needed                      Requirements      Requirements  
> ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
Better training for staff          69%                 81%  
Easier to follow   
regulations/guidelines             67%                 42%  
Better data on financial  
exposure                           55%                 46%  
  
  
Increasing regulation is a concern for respondents.  Two-thirds  
of the respondents believed that environmental regulations and  
guidelines will become stricter in the future, and three-quarters 
of the respondents feel that it will be at least slightly  
difficult to comply with stricter regulations.  In contrast, only 
52% rated compliance with current regulation as at least slightly 
difficult.  Currently, respondents have a greater focus on  
domestic regulations (tracked by 88%) than foreign regulations  
(tracked by 54%).  
  
4.   Monitoring and tracking ~ domestic and international efforts  
  
Institutions appear to be fairly aggressive in seeking out and  
identifying the various environmental requirements affecting them 
in their home country.  On the six point scale, the average  
rating by respondents when asked how often they sought out  
information on domestic environmental regulations was 4.40; only  
12% responded ~seldom~ or ~never.~  In contrast, only 54% of the  
respondents indicated that they make any attempt to stay current  
on environmental regulations in other countries; the remaining  
46% make no attempt.

Kedves Kornyeszek !

Vorsatz Diana irja a 31-es szamban :
>Nem ertem, hogy otthon miert van olyannagy hallgatas errol - marmint a
>Magyarorszagon is robbano demografiai botranyrol.
	Talan mert 1970 ota errol beszelnek (lasd Fekete Gyula)

	Egy apro kiegeszites a statisztikai adatokhoz : Bulgariaban
(mert errol tudok) 1989 ota kb. 200000-rel csokkent a lelekszam. Ennek
a nagy resze egyszeruen kivandorolt. A kivandoroltak nagy szamban
(kizarolag?) fiatal, sok esetben jol kepzett emberek. Otthon meg nem
szult gyerekeik rontjak a szuletesi statisztikat, eltavozasuk a nepesseg
hirtelen fogyasat okozza, es (most ingovanyos talajra ovakodom) hianyuk
csokkenti a tarsadalom hatekonysagat, hozzajarulva ezaltal a termeles es
szolgaltatas szinvonalanak esesehez.
	Magyarorszag mutatoi ugyan lassan egy evtizede rosszak, de pl.
Nyugat-Nemetorszag nepessege ugyancsak kb. egy evtizede fogy. Igaz,
ok nem szamoljak bele a naluk dolgozo nagy szamu kulfoldit. Meglehet,
egyszeruen eltero statisztikai modszerek okozzak a "katasztrofat" ?

Egy rosszindulatu megjegyzes, Diana : cikked olvastan "deja vu" pontosabban
"deja lu" erzesem volt, mintha tavaly egy Time Magazine-ban szinte pontosan
ugyanezeket a gondolatokat lattam volna ... ;-)

Udvozlettel, Paller Gabor

Szoval az a viztarozo dolog egy kicsit szivenutott. Egy gyors pillantas
barmelyik asztali foldgombre meggyozo lehet: a fiatalabbak szamara talan
meg szabad szemmel is lathato kis kek pacni ott Sziberiaban, az a Bajkal
to. Es abban talalhato a foldi edesvizkeszlet 20-30 %-a (nem emlekszem pontosan
) Nem igazan jellemzo, hogy harom kilometeres tengerszint feletti magassagokban
epitsenek viztarozokat, hacsak nem az olimpiai hokicsapaton akarnak segiteni.
Ez a magassag a Fold sugarahoz kepest elenyeszo ezrelek.

 Azt hiszem a fizikai hatast letagadni legalabb olyan nehez, mint kimerni.

 Kello mennyisegu sor utan persze az ember konnyen megerheti meg azt is, hogy
a Fold visszafele kezd forogni, vagy hogy a szoba, terem, akarmi ahol vagy
-sajat tapasztalat!- vizszintes savokban kulonbozo(!) sebesseggel forog es 
megis egybemarad, csak a fejem akar szetszakadni!

 Uj olimpiai szam : sulyokvetes.

Udv : Laszlo Barna

*********************************************************

                     NISHEALTH Weekly Digest
                      23 - 29 January 1995

    *********************************************************

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

I.   NISHEALTH User/Subscriber Feedback
II.  Central European Center for Health and the Environment (CECHE)
     Monitor
III. Documents from USAID Health Care Partnership in Romania
IV.  Progress on Health Care Reform in Georgia
V.   Other New NISHEALTH Documents

The NISHEALTH Weekly Digest is a summary of the past week's
activity on the AIHA Health Care Clearinghouse (NISHEALTH)
electronic mailing list. The Digest includes announcements of
general interest to individuals involved in health care and/or
technical assistance to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe,
and it lists documents recently made available through the
Clearinghouse. To receive these documents, send a message
indicating the requested document numbers to .
Individuals may also request

     a) further information about subscribing to the NISHEALTH
     mailing list (Doc# INFO)

     b) a complete catalog of available documents (Doc# CATALOG)

from Clearinghouse Coordinator, Mark Storey, .


**************************************
I. NISHEALTH User/Subscriber Feedback
**************************************
As the NISHEALTH mailing list prepares to mark the end of its first
year, I would like to elicit some response from those who have
participated in the ongoing exchange of information. In the past
year, NISHEALTH has grown from under 50 subscribers to over 300
direct subscribers (in addition to countless others who are reading
the Weekly Digest on various newsgroups and mailing lists).

During the next year, we are currently planning to provide access
to Clearinghouse documents and information directories through the
World Wide Web (very soon) and also to begin providing various
documents and information in Cyrillic. 
********************************
II.  Central European Center
for Health and the Environment
(CECHE) Monitor
********************************

The Central European Center for Health and the Environment (CECHE)
is a US private nonprofit organization (based in Washington, DC and
Berlin) that is involved in numerous projects relating to
environmental health and health promotion throughout the NIS and
Eastern Europe.  The Winter edition of their newsletter, the
MONITOR, has just been released and is now available through the
Clearinghouse [53K--Doc# P0615].  Here are some highlights from the
issue:

      * An article from Dr. Mark Beasley (WHO) on environmental
     influences on maternal and child health

      * An article describing alarming trends in Czech demographics

      * A series of articles on lead pollution in Hungary, Romania,
     Czech Republic and the United States

      * An article written by the Secretary of State of the
     Hungarian Ministry of Welfare on environmental hazards in the
     NIS and Eastern Europe

      * Descriptions of various CECHE initiatives including the
     development of new partnerships in Russia to develop a health
     care community of NGOs and an update on the CECHE Media
     Fellowship Program


A complete set of back issues of the Monitor is also available:

     Vol. 1, Issue 1 (03/93) [39K] Doc#P0602
     Vol. 1, Issue 2 (08/93) [35K] Doc#P0601
     Vol. 2, Issue 1 (03/94) [49K] Doc#P0614
[...]

**********************************
V. Other New NISHEALTH Documents
**********************************

-------------------------
Health Status/Statistics
-------------------------

RUSSIA -- "Russian Authorities Fail AIDS Test," by Irina
     Glushchenko (article discusses recent legislative debate in
     Russia regarding AIDS as well as provides current estimates of
     HIV/AIDS cases (01/95) [6K] Doc#A1236

TURKMENISTAN -- "Turkmenistan President Speaks on Health Care
     Issues" (excerpt from the Ecostan News, Volume 3, No. 2)
     (02/95) [4K] Doc#A1237


-----------------------
Upcoming International
Health Conferences
-----------------------

POLAND -- 3rd International Students' Scientific Conference (May
     11th-14th, 1995, Gdansk / Poland) (01/95) [8K] Doc#A1323

RUSSIA -- "Health and Beauty" Trade Exhibition (March 3-7, 1995;
     St. Petersburg, Russia) (01/95) [2K] Doc#A1324


-----------------------------
People to People Connections
-----------------------------

"EXTRA SENSOR" -- Individual requests more information about this
     practice (which she observed in Azerbaijan) (01/95) [1K]
     Doc#A1760


*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************

Please send your news, announcements, requests for information to:
> =================================================================
Mark Storey                          e-mail:  
NISHEALTH Clearinghouse Coordinator        -or- 
National Public Health and                    phone: 202 408 0229
Hospital Institute                              fax: 202 408 0235
1212 New York Avenue, NW  Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005

List manager:   NIS Health Care Clearinghouse (NISHEALTH) List
Co-manager:     NIS Medical Information Project (NISMEDINFO) List

A Hirmondobol:
-------------------
Ellentetes velemenyek a fenekkuszobrol (NSZ)

Az SZDSZ-frakcio donto tobbsege tamogatja a Duna egyoldalu elterelese
miatt szukseges teendokrol szolo - a kormany altal beterjesztett -
orszaggyulesi hatarozati javaslatot, ugyanakkor a kepviselocsoport
hetfoi ulesen ugy dontott:  tekintettel arra, hogy az eloterjesztes
jelentos reszben szakmai es nem a szoszoros ertelemben vett politikai
kerdest tartalmaz, nem kivan kotelezo allaspontot ervenyesiteni.  Peto
Ivan frakciovezeto elmondta:  lesznek olyanok, akik maskeppen szavaznak,
modosito inditvanyokat nyujtanak be vagy nem fogadjak el a fenekkuszobos
megoldast.

A fiatal demokratak frakcioja ellenzi a fenekkuszob megepiteset:  a
Fidesz az egyetlen olyan part, amely ezt a megoldast hatarozottan rossz
megoldasnak tartja - mondta Szajer Jozsef.  A frakcio allaspontja
szerint a fenekkuszob megepitese jelentosen rontja hazanknak a hagai
Nemzetkozi Birosag elotti eselyeit, a Szigetkoz problemait pedig nem
oldja meg.  Komoly a veszely arra, hogy megepulese eseten olyan tipusu
arvizekre keruljon sor, mint amilyenek a Rajna menten kovetkeztek be.
---------------

Egy esettanulmany.  Talan Nektek is erdekes lehet. Ugyan hosszu, de a leirt
eset egy kiemelkedo peldaja annak a feszultsegnek, ami a kornyezet vs. fejlodes
konfliktusbol ered.  Valamint, a sajtoban mindeddig nem szerepelt a problema.
Diana 

--------- Forwarded message ----------
+++++++

The attached was received via the Internet.  Very interesting reading; and 
while not directly related to our work here, it's one more case where 
environmental exploitation can quickly get out of hand.  As far as I know, 
this hasn't shown up in the US news media yet.

++++++
GALAPAGOS CRISIS:

SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL AND ENDANGERED ANIMALS HELD HOSTAGE

CHARLES DARWIN RESEARCH STATION AND GALAPAGOS NATIONAL
PARK SERVICE HELD HOSTAGE BY ARMED FISHERMAN

Masked fisherman (calling themselves Pepineros/or sea cucumber
collectors) armed with clubs and machetes, seized control of the
properties of the Charles Darwin Research Station and Galapagos National
Park Service boat, on Tuesday, January 3, 1995, in the community of
Puerto Ayora, Galapagos.  The launch for the CDRS was sunk and access
to/from the airport was cut off by the vindictive pepineros. The seizure
lasted three days.

CDRS and Park personnel were confined to buildings.  Those who live
within the Park and Station campuses were rarely allowed to leave.  In
effect the two institutions, their staffs, the facilities and the
breeding groups of giant tortoises and land iguanas were held hostage in
a World Heritage Site.  Apart from a broken arm and an unexploded bomb in
a Park Service, the level of violence has not yet attracted the attention
of the international press.  However, those who realize what is at stake
recognize that if the Ecuadorian government continues to submit to the
black market demands of these fisherman, the world will lose the largest
virgin island (Fernandina) in the world, as well as the last significant
population of Hammerhead sharks.

In recent months, Conservation Network International (CNI) has confirmed:

  $1billion Sucres (~$40 million US) were transferred thru the two
  Galapagos banks. One fisherman cashed a US$ 50,000 check.
  Uncontrolled fishing boats are harvesting everything marketable from
  the sea floor. The fisherman continue to cut mangroves for fuel to
  boil their catch and there are floating brothels for entertainment.
  Fishing boats carrying chickens, dogs, and inevitably rats and mice are
  pillaging the coasts of western Isabela and Fernandina Islands.
  An "experimental" sea cucumber fishery and a shark fishing industry
  were endorsed by the government on June 23, 1994. A limit of 550,000
  sea cucumbers was set by the authorities. No means of regulation was
  established and an estimated 6   10 million were taken before the
  government finally tried to stop the "experiment".
  The reason for the violence and hostage situation is that the
  fisherman are demanding the reopening of the sea cucumber fishery.

The crisis has now entered a dramatic level of exploitation while the
current border dispute between Peru and Ecuador is attracting attention
away from the crisis in the Galapagos.

Due to the political and socio economic pressure, The Darwin Foundation
has been unable to forcefully denounce and combat the environmental
travesty that has developed. Conservation Network International, Inc. was
formed as a non profit organization in July, 1994, to oppose a series of
commercial fisheries in the Galapagos.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Write a letter to the President of Ecuador

Pres. Sixto Duran Ballen
Garcia Moreno 1043
Quito, Ecuador

   With copies to:

Lic. Armando Espinel
Ministerior de Informacion y Tourismo
Quito, Ecuador

2. Call your travel agent and any journalists who might be interested in
this issue and feel free to refer them to Conservation Network
International.

3. Support the efforts of Conservation Network International to expand
our publicity campaign and stop the exportation of shark fins and sea
cucumbers from the Galapagos.

Conservation Network International will continue to support the local
Galapagos naturalists who are now risking their lives to stop the
exploitation. CNI has no employees and all contributions are invested
directly for the cause. Our intentions are to stop the exploitation of
all marine resources from the Galapagos and do what ever is necessary to
insure the long term preservation of this world heritage site and the
last significant population of Hammerhead sharks.

Conservation Network International, Inc.
Jack Grove, President
146 N. Sunrise Drive
Tavernier, Florida 33070
Tel/Fax 305 852 6004

PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO THOSE WHO MAY BE INTERESTED!!

Illetve inkabb Financial, de mar mindegy...
Szoval  a 6.-i vagy 7-i Financial Times "Letters to the Editor"
rovataban megjelent szerenysegem (es nehai szupervigyorom) firkalmanya a 
magyarorszagi privatizacio lelassulasanak az energia-szektorral kapcsolatos
vonatkozasairol.
Mindenkinek ajanlom, hogy kerulje el az ominozus szamot. :-)
Amennyiben az elkerules sikeres, akkor tiszta lappal kerdezhetem meg a
velemenyeteket:
egyetertetek-e az energiaipar (es egyeb kozmuvek) privatizaciojaval? 
Altalanossagban; valamint a konkret tervvel (mennyit, kinek, mennyiert, stb).

:-Diana