Balkan E-Waste Management Advocacy Network

BEWMAN (Balkan e-Waste Management Advocacy Network) is a partnership action supported by the Civil Society Facility of the EU Directorate-General on Enlargement through the IPA 128287 grant scheme. The project is aiming to achieve the following results with its activities: increased cooperation and exchange of good e-waste management practices between all relevant stakeholders, raised public awareness about proper e-waste management, increased capacity of civil society organizations for lobbying and advocacy for proper electronic waste management, increased media coverage of e-waste related matters and a reduced number of devices that are still functional, but being disposed of. Context Rapidly increasing quantities of e-waste (discarded electronic devices), if not properly disposed of, present an environmental and health hazards as the toxic substances within come into contact and spread through the soil, the ground and surface water and the air through smoke from landfills. These risks are especially prominent in the areas where the institutions of the system are fragile, the legislature incomplete or obsolete, and where environmental enforcement is weak, resulting in inadequate e-waste management. The Balkans region is one such area, with substandard e-waste management practices accompanied by insufficient and ineffective monitoring and implementation of existing regulations. This situation persists in spite of the proclamations by the governments in the region about joining the EU, which also includes implementation of EU standards of safety and environmental protection, based on regulations such as the directives on the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE Directive 2002/96/EC) and on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS Directive, 2002/95/EC). The countries covered by the project include EU member (Bulgaria), EU candidate countries (Croatia and Macedonia), and a country that aspires for EU membership in the future (Serbia). Therefore all the countries targeted by the Action will benefit from the project by increasing their readiness to fully comply with the EU legislation and standards. Other Balkan countries with the same status or aspirations will also indirectly be able to benefit from the project, and moreover, the EU community as a whole will benefit because it will not need to deal with the issues of e-waste management of new members on the same scale after they join it.  Specific problemsThe specific problems to be addressed by the action includeLow capacity of NGOs to deal with e-waste management. Citizens and decision makers have low awareness of the consequences of improper e-waste disposal. Lack of statistical data concerning e-waste. Lack of networking structures at national and regional level aimed at tackling e-waste issues.Target groups and final beneficiariesTarget groups and final beneficiaries include NGOs, business, government institutions, media, and citizens.Overall objective of the Action, and durationThe overall objective of this project is to improve the legal and institutional framework that will contribute to proper e-waste management in Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria. The duration of the Action will be 24 months.ActivitiesThe following activities will take place as part of the Action:Conducting research in order to analyse the current situation in each country. Development of the BEWMAN resource website for re-use or recycling of computer equipment. Social media campaign. Training of trainers: transfer of know-how by the UK partner to the members of the regional network. Trainings for CSO members of national advocacy networks. Public events for raising awareness about e-waste. Knowledge exchange workshops. Compilation of a Guide for e-Waste Management. A regional conference to gather and present the results from the EU and countries from the region.Partners in the ActionThe Action will be conducted by the following partners, which all possess individual capacities which complement each other:Metamorphosis Foundation, has extensive experience in international networking and policy making, is also the top information society think tank and implementing NGO in Macedonia. Computer Aid International has extensive experience in re-use of old computer equipment in the developing world, e-waste treatment in the UK, and advocacy for proper e-waste management. ZaMirNET has extensive experience in creating networks and capacity building of the Croatian civic sector for using ICT for social change. BlueLink has specialized in organizing campaigns and internet-based services for environmental protection in Bulgaria and abroad. Center for civil society development PROTECTA is a member of several environmental networks and it’s dedicated towards building a post-transition, economically developed Serbia, with legislation and policies are based upon citizens inclusion in decision making processes.Associates in the action:Bozic i sinovi provides recycling and educational services and is leading company in Serbia in this sector, working with both businesses and NGOs.More information about the project activities can be found at the official site of the project: www.bewman.eu

<p><a href="http://sites.google.com/site/ipa128287/"><img style="margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px; float: left;" alt="ЕУ лого" src="http://bewman.eu/images/stories/EU_flag.jpg" /></a>BEWMAN (Balkan e-Waste Management Advocacy Network) is a partnership action supported by the Civil Society Facility of the EU Directorate-General on Enlargement through the <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/ipa128287">IPA 128287</a> grant scheme.</p> <p><a href="http://bewman.eu"><img style="float: right;" alt="bewman-logo" src="images/stories/bewman-logo.png" height="50" width="50" /></a>The project is aiming to achieve the following results with its activities: increased cooperation and exchange of good e-waste management practices between all relevant stakeholders, raised public awareness about proper e-waste management, increased capacity of civil society organizations for lobbying and advocacy for proper electronic waste management, increased media coverage of e-waste related matters and a reduced number of devices that are still functional, but being disposed of.</p> <p><strong>Context</strong></p> <p>Rapidly increasing quantities of e-waste (discarded electronic devices), if not properly disposed of, present an environmental and health hazards as the toxic substances within come into contact and spread through the soil, the ground and surface water and the air through smoke from landfills. These risks are especially prominent in the areas where the institutions of the system are fragile, the legislature incomplete or obsolete, and where environmental enforcement is weak, resulting in inadequate e-waste management. <br /><br />The Balkans region is one such area, with substandard e-waste management practices accompanied by insufficient and ineffective monitoring and implementation of existing regulations. This situation persists in spite of the proclamations by the governments in the region about joining the EU, which also includes implementation of EU standards of safety and environmental protection, based on regulations such as the directives on the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE Directive 2002/96/EC) and on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS Directive, 2002/95/EC). <br /><br />The countries covered by the project include EU member (Bulgaria), EU candidate countries (Croatia and Macedonia), and a country that aspires for EU membership in the future (Serbia). Therefore all the countries targeted by the Action will benefit from the project by increasing their readiness to fully comply with the EU legislation and standards. Other Balkan countries with the same status or aspirations will also indirectly be able to benefit from the project, and moreover, the EU community as a whole will benefit because it will not need to deal with the issues of e-waste management of new members on the same scale after they join it.  <br /><br /><strong>Specific problems</strong><br /><br />The specific problems to be addressed by the action include</p> <ul> <li>Low capacity of NGOs to deal with e-waste management. </li> <li>Citizens and decision makers have low awareness of the consequences of improper e-waste disposal.</li> <li>Lack of statistical data concerning e-waste.</li> <li>Lack of networking structures at national and regional level aimed at tackling e-waste issues. <br /><br /></li> </ul> <strong>Target groups and final beneficiaries</strong><br /><br />Target groups and final beneficiaries include NGOs, business, government institutions, media, and citizens.<br /><br /><strong>Overall objective of the Action, and duration</strong><br /><br />The overall objective of this project is to improve the legal and institutional framework that will contribute to proper e-waste management in Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria. The duration of the Action will be 24 months.<br /><br /><strong>Activities</strong><br /><br />The following activities will take place as part of the Action:<br /> <ul> <li>Conducting research in order to analyse the current situation in each country.</li> <li>Development of the BEWMAN resource website for re-use or recycling of computer equipment.</li> <li>Social media campaign.</li> <li>Training of trainers: transfer of know-how by the UK partner to the members of the regional network.</li> <li>Trainings for CSO members of national advocacy networks.</li> <li>Public events for raising awareness about e-waste. </li> <li>Knowledge exchange workshops.</li> <li>Compilation of a Guide for e-Waste Management.</li> <li>A regional conference to gather and present the results from the EU and countries from the region.<br /><br /></li> </ul> <strong>Partners in the Action</strong><br /><br />The Action will be conducted by the following partners, which all possess individual capacities which complement each other:<br /> <ul> <li>Metamorphosis Foundation, has extensive experience in international networking and policy making, is also the top information society think tank and implementing NGO in Macedonia.</li> <li><a href="http://www.computeraid.org/">Computer Aid International</a> has extensive experience in re-use of old computer equipment in the developing world, e-waste treatment in the UK, and advocacy for proper e-waste management.</li> <li><a href="http://www.zamirnet.hr">ZaMirNET</a> has extensive experience in creating networks and capacity building of the Croatian civic sector for using ICT for social change.</li> <li><a href="http://www.bluelink.net/">BlueLink</a> has specialized in organizing campaigns and internet-based services for environmental protection in Bulgaria and abroad.</li> <li><a href="http://www.protecta.org.rs">Center for civil society development PROTECTA</a> is a member of several environmental networks and it’s dedicated towards building a post-transition, economically developed Serbia, with legislation and policies are based upon citizens inclusion in decision making processes.</li> </ul> Associates in the action:<br /> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.it-recycling.biz/">Bozic i sinovi</a> provides recycling and educational services and is leading company in Serbia in this sector, working with both businesses and NGOs.</li> </ul> <br />More information about the project activities can be found at the official site of the project: <a href="http://www.bewman.eu">www.bewman.eu</a>