| South East European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation |

Contents

SEE Forum Meeting 1

New Technologies 2

Floods in Macedonia and Serbia 2

CCA Videos Serbia 2

Participatory Video in MNE 3

EU Strategy Launched 3

Green Pearls in Belgrade 4

Timely Information 4

Eko Kvarner 5

Earth Hour in Serbia 6

Climate Forum East 6

Exhibition about Energy 7

ENVSEC Initiative 7

Dear reader, The latest issue of the Newsletter for the South East European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation (SEEFCCA) brings you the latest news from the region, reviews of our networks’ activities and the announcements of upcoming initiatives. Read more about the new technological advances of the Forum, participatory videos, sustainable development and the Earth Hour. Furthermore, you can find out about the foundation of the Climate Forum East and other European developments in the field of climate change.

On 17-18 April 2013 coordinators of national networks on climate change adaptation will come together in Sarajevo to discuss developments on national level, develop a joint regional project application to be submitted for external funding, and work on the regional coordination structure to ensure sustainable regional exchange and continuation of the SEEFCCA. The meeting will bring together coordinators of national climate change adaptation networks from Croatia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia as well as representatives of the Austrian Red Cross, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, Environmental Improvement Center and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat.

Issue 6, April 2013

Newsletter

SEE Forum Network Coordinators Meeting

New Technologies in Education on Climate Change

Floods in Macedonia and South Serbia

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SEEFCCA continues to support the educational system in the area of climate change through a new quiz application for "smart devices" on the Android platform - "Adaptiraj se! 2.0". The application was made as a part of the joint regional activities and was prepared in the languages of national networks - Croatian, Macedonian Montenegrin and Serbian. The quiz is composed of 16 questions, and provides basic knowledge about the effects and consequences arising from climate change and ways to easily contribute to protecting the planet and reducing the effect of climate change. The quiz-application can be downloaded from Google Play Store.

The climate has changed.

Have you?

The Serbian network within the SEEFCCA has followed up on the video competition held in November 2012, “The climate has changed. Have you?”. Using the materials submitted for the contest, Climate Forum developed two video spots to raise public awareness about the measures in energy and transportation, which can be applied in everyday life. These measures help reduce the pressure of greenhouse gases emission, especially carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

The video material about efficient transportation can be seen here and the one for energy here.

The video contest “Climate Has Changed. Have You?” was held in November 2012. Read more

at the special section of our website.

Days of heavy rain flooded hundreds of homes in eastern and central

Macedonia, destroyed bridges and cut off dozens of villages, causing power

cuts and shortages of drinking water this February. One person was killed

after flooding engulfed parts of the country and hundreds of residents had to

be evacuated from their homes as the waters rose. Macedonian Red Cross

monitored the situation and cooperated with the governmental institutions

on both local and national level in order to provide disaster relief. The

humanitarian aid consisting of food and hygiene parcels, mattresses, blankets,

rubber boots, cooking sets, sleeping bags, nylons and drinking water was

distributed in the affected areas. Coca Cola Company also donated 7560 liters

clean water.

The heavy rain also affected the south of Serbia and caused floods leading to

emergency situations and evacuations of the local population. The Red Cross

of Serbia, together with local authorities and the State Emergency body,

carried out disaster response and established regular exchange of

information. Red Cross volunteers and staff worked on a rapid pumping out of

water from flooded basements and homes, disinfected the environment and

gathered information for detailed field assessment so as to prepare the Plan

of action for response and reconstruction.

Participatory Video about CCA in Kolasin, Montenegro

2

In March this year young volunteers from Montenegro Red Cross local branch Kolasin, supported by the Montenegro Red Cross team and an external consultant prepared a short participatory video about examples of climate change adaptation in Kolasin municipality. Ten young volunteers completed the training for using technical equipment (camera, microphone), the production process and interviewing techniques. Afterwards, relevant messages regarding climate change adaptation were selected to be presented in the video. Messages are related to disaster preparedness and disaster response of Montenegro Red Cross rescue teams during the extreme snow falls, protection from floods, forestation as a method of preventing landslides, use of solar panels as alternative source of energy, construction of rainfall collecting basins for preserving water for droughts etc. Volunteers selected representatives of the local community, local government and representatives of a local NGO to talk about these topics.

After the video was created and edited, it was screened in the high school “Braca Selic” in Kolasin where the students and teachers had the opportunity to see how their peers recognized impacts of climate change and which are the ways to adapt to those impacts.

This activity was supported by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and organization ProPlaneta. To watch the video click here.

Launch of the EU Strategy

on Adaptation to Climate

Change

The EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change, its priorities and the package of initiatives that accompany it will be launched at a conference in April. This is also an occasion to exchange views and experiences and for stakeholders, Member States and the European Commission to highlight adaptation actions needed at EU, regional and local level. The general aim of the EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change is to contribute effectively to a more climate-resilient Europe. This involves greater cooperation and coherence in developing adaptation policies by fostering regional collaboration to address cross-border climate impacts and adaptation measures, and support for the exchange of knowledge and good practice between Member States, regions, cities and other stakeholders. The draft conference programme will be available on the conference webpage together with comprehensive information on the conference location, accommodation possibilities and contact details.

Unique "Green Pearls" Platform of Belgrade

4

Timely Information to the

Public

The lack of a systematic approach to informing the public about climate change has created a need for timely information in cases of extreme weather conditions. The Serbian network Climate forum has prepared a TV spot about the measures to be taken in situations of extreme winter conditions. This TV ad is a continuation of the "Adapt yourself!" campaign which is dedicated to raising public awareness about the consequences of climate change on human health, as well as measures that can be applied in order to reduce the negative effects caused by these changes. Watch the TV ad on YouTube.

"It is very important to support the work of City

Administration in the field of nature protection and to stress

the need to increase the areas under protection, especially in

urban settlements, in order to mitigate the negative effects of

climate change."

Blue-green map of Belgrade is an innovative multimedia bilingual platform of urban and protected nature locations in the City of Belgrade developed by the Environmental Improvement Center (EIC) in order to interactively introduce Belgrade's citizens and its guests to the natural wealth of the city. It consists of the website www.bgmap.rs and Android and iOS devices application in augmented reality. There are 49 "green pearls" presented so far: Natural monuments, outstanding landscapes, locations being put under protection and Telenor Internet parks. Protection of natural resources is part of the global response to climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and maintenance of basic ecosystem services on which humans depend. These natural resources in cities and urban areas can largely affect the reduction of temperature difference which can be up to 5°C during the day and up to 12°C in the evening. The city of Belgrade is the first city in the world with this kind of a platform – website and application for "smart devices" in the area of urban and protected nature locations. "It is very important to support the work of City Administration in the field of nature protection, and to stress the need to increase the areas under protection, especially in urban settlements, in order to mitigate the negative effects of climate change" - said Ms Ivana Jovcic, executive director of Environmental Improvement Center. All content is available in Serbian and English, and the Tourist Organization of Belgrade has included this application in the Belgrade modernized information-propaganda material. The work of "Blue-green Belgrade" Platform is supported by the City of Belgrade - Nature Protection Secretariat, Tourist Organization of Belgrade and Telenor Foundation.

Series of workshops and lectures about sustainable development have

been prepared and held by the organization Eko Kvarner in

cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung – Zagreb.

The main issues discussed are energy, waste, water, food, nature

protection, tourism and physical planning. All issues mentioned take

larger or smaller part of climate change adaptation in some way.

Various lectures were held throughout Croatian coast, and some in

inland.

Following these activities energy cooperatives in Kaštela and Ploče were established, as well as a great interest shown in installing larger solar power plants by local authorities from several towns in Dalmatia and Vukovar.

Eko kvarner was selected to be the CSO of the week among the members of the South East

European Forum on Climate Change Adaptation in August 2012. Read more here.

The general public was very interested in useful information about

various topics presented. Regarding waste disposal, the model of the

island Krk was presented, which currently has primary selection of

waste larger than 35%. Regarding water, we pointed out the

importance of taking maximum care of water consumption, with

many practical pieces of advice for the public. The importance of

implementing renewable energy is always pointed out, with practical

information on how to do it, what the procedures are, where to

learn all the details, no matter if we are talking about solar power or

biomass, the most common renewables for households.

Public has also taken great interest in lectures and workshops about

food production and consumption; the importance of local

agriculture, saving authentic old seeds rather than buying the

imported ones, offering local products or live stock to local hotels,

restaurants or markets thus not only strengthening local economy

but slowing down climate change by transporting the food in short

distances, which reduces CO2 emissions.

These and many other interesting issues have been discussed in this

project which began in October 2012 and will be finished by the end

of March 2013.

5

Eko Kvarner Works on Sustainable Development

6

Earth Hour is a global environmental initiative in partnership with WWF. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities were invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 23, 2013 at 8:30 PM to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. Since 2007 when 2.2 million people took part in the first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour has expanded to over 7,000 cities and towns in 152 countries and territories with hundreds of millions of participants across seven continents. In 2013, Earth Hour is not merely an annual event, but is a continuous movement driving real actions to change the world we live in.

The slogan for this year is “Every hour can become Earth Hour” and it clearly communicates that the main point of this action isn't just turning off the lights especially for this event, but continuous change of our everyday habits related to usage of electric energy and other resources. This year in Serbia 59 cities and municipalities participated, 44 CSO’s, 38 schools along with many governmental institutions and companies. During the main events in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, people attended acoustic concerts and other programs organized by WWF and local NGOs. Members of Climate Forum in Serbia actively participated in the Earth Hour campaign.

Climate Forum East launched

Under the coordination of the Austrian Red

Cross, the EU project “Climate Forum East” has

started in January 2013. The main aim of this

project is to strengthen capacities of CSO

networks to participate in policy dialogue on

climate change adaptation in Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Ukraine and

Moldova. Similar to the SEE Forum on Climate

Change Adaptation, national networks on CCA

will be established or reinforced in cooperation

with Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies

from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, the

National Ecological Centre of Ukraine and the

Moldovan NGO Ecospectru. International

partners, such as the Austrian Red Cross, the

Environment Agency Austria, the Red Cross/Red

Crescent Climate Centre on Climate Change and

Disaster Preparedness and the WWF will

support networks in assessing national and

regional climate vulnerabilities, developing

advocacy and awareness raising actions,

delivering educational activities amongst youth

and communities and mobilize a regional

platform to sustain linkages between civil

society, local authorities, EU and international

organizations. The project is co-financed by the

EU, the Austrian Development Cooperation, the

Austrian Red Cross and the WWF and will last

for 2 years.

Serbia Supports Earth Hour for the Fifth Time

Kick-off meeting in Bakuriani (Georgia), February 2013

Environmental Protection Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia supported the Earth Hour and organized the meeting of members of parliament on 23 March with symbolic title “It is Five Minutes to Noon”. During the meeting the Earth Hour campaign and WWF activities were presented, as well as the work of Climate Forum and Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Serbia. The follow up activities related to sustainable use of natural resources will be defined with Environmental Protection Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in the upcoming period.

Besides the activities and events in Serbia, WWF organized Earth Hour in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia too.

9th Exhibition about Energy 29-31 May 2013

7

South East European

Forum on Climate Change

Adaptation

www.seeclimateforum.org www.facebook.com/SeeForumOnCca twitter.com/SeeForumOnCca www.youtube.com/SeeForumOnCca

office@seeclimateforum.org

South East Europe is a part of the global green revolution – nearly 300 billion euros will be invested by 2020 in regional energy infrastructure, which will boost the economy by developing all-renewable energies and energy efficiency. Still, the Region lags behind the rest of Europe in energy efficiency and renewable energy applying and is in a major need of up-to-date technologies and equipment for this purpose. This exhibition is targeted at the South East European market, and it provides participants with a quick market entry opportunity and connects them with new partners. Main Exhibition branches are Energy Efficiency, Bio-, Wind-, Solar-, Geothermal- and Hydro Energy, Waste-to-Energy and e-mobility.

The ENVSEC Initiative comprises a partnership of six high-profile international organisations: the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an associated partner. Launched in 2003, the ENVSEC Initiative provides an integrated response to environment and security challenges, and its mission is to contribute to the reduction of environment and security risks through strengthened cooperation among and within countries in four regions: Central Asia, Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, and South-Eastern Europe. In the context of this initiative, the so called Aarhus centres, which support access to information and public participation in environmental decision making, play an important role for civil society. ENVSEC has been supporting a network of 41 Aarhus Centres in 12 countries (Western Balkan Countries are included). These Centres raise public awareness on environment and security issues, disseminate environmental information, organize public hearings on strategies and projects that have environmental implications; monitor environmental hotspots, provide legal advice on environmental matters and serve as public outreach facilities for the ENVSEC Initiative. Hosted by the Ministries of Environment, local administrations or leading NGOs, these Centers are governed in most of the locations through Advisory Boards that include government and NGO representatives. The Aarhus Centres Network is supported through financial contributions by ENVSEC, the OSCE and its Field Operations as well as by several bilateral donors. For further information please visit the ENVSEC website.

ENVSEC Initiative