Monday, December 19, 2005

Tsunami Recovery Program

Four international organisations have given the green light to a natural restoration of the coastal areas in Asia. The goal is to rehabilitate the ecosystems in these areas and, as a result, to guarantee the local population income from natural resources and a safe living environment. The project was developed in response to the tsunami that hit the region on 26 December 2004. In places where mangroves, coastal forests and coral reefs were still intact, the effects were less disastrous. Through this project, the organisations want to work with governments and the local population to achieve sound coastal development. For details see
http://www.wetlands.org/greencoast/en/news.aspx?id=f634f6f1-27d3-43ae-8f9f-9b8435fa88d8

(Originally posted by Michael Wukoschitz)

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Assessment of Best practices in Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks in relation to safety of Consumers

The Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection has commissioned Risk & Policy Analysts to undertake an assessment of the best practices for consumer safety in fairgrounds and amusement parks, as during the last 20 years, there has been a constant growth in large amusement parks with ever more extreme rides and it is estimated that there are numerous accidents leading to approx. 19 000 injuries per year most of which involve children (under 15). The Analysts inter alia recommend the establishment of a multi-stakeholder group (involving regulators, industry and consumers) to discuss how measures (particularly relating to staff training and provision of safety information) could be developed and applied across the EU-25 member states. For details see
http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/cons_safe/serv_safe/reports/amusement_parks_en.htm

(Originally posted by Michael Wukoschitz)