1. Eco-Forum/WECF NGO Strategy Meeting in Preparation of the Budapest Health and Environment Conference 2004

2. Eco-Forum/WECF Why focus on children’s health? n Children are at the top of the food chain n Take in more food and water (and toxins with) relative to body weight n Skin is more permeable for pollutants n Get 27-70 times max. doses of toxins (set for adults)

3. Eco-Forum/WECF Example Children’s health and persistent chemicals n Bodyburden study Netherlands shows that each year 10.000-20.000 children are born with health effects from dioxins and PCBs n Hormone disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals reach us everywhere; air, food, skin n Growth in child cancers, particularly 2-3 year olds

4. Eco-Forum/WECF Example Children’s health and water n 11 mio people in Ukraine, 7 mio in Romania have no access to clean drinking water n Source of water, wells,springs, rivers n Groundwater in wells often polluted with: u Faecals -> bacteria and nitrates u Agricultural chemicals -> atrazine and nitrates u Waste dumps n Solutions can be cheap and sustainable; eco-sanitation, organic farming, source protection

5. Eco-Forum/WECF Pesticides, Radiation, Lead, GMOs… NIS study: children suffering from n Nuclear contamination n Pesticide stockpiles n Incineration of plastics in people’s home ovens n Waste incineration n Lead in petrol n Pesticide exposure children working in fields n New threads non-ionizing radiation (mobile phones) n Uncontrolled GMO experiments in NIS?

6. Eco-Forum/WECF What do we want from this meeting? n Why are we here if non-legally binding documents? n The Budapest Health and Environment Conference gives us 3 opportunities which we should not miss u Get our viewpoint heard by governments e.g. NGO-Ministers Round Table Discussion u Influence the negotiations u Get attention for our key priorities from media and citizens

7. Eco-Forum/WECF What good points to work with n Precautionary principle n Solidarity West-East, focus on NIS n Focus on poorest and exploited

8. Eco-Forum/WECF What output do we want? (Questionnaire) n Share plans and case studies n Prepare NGO-Ministers roundtable n Prepare NGO statement n Give input into negotiated texts n Ideas for NGO activities Health Planet Forum

9. Eco-Forum/WECF Format of the Roundtable n 2 hours time n Respected Chair who can even cut off a Minister if necessary e.g. u Gro Harlem Bruntland u Jan Pronk n Present short case-studies (5 min) of what has worked: u NGOs u Local Authorities u Trade Unions u Companies u Governments

10. Eco-Forum/WECF What format Roundtable n Time for response and questions from both NGOs and Ministers n Seating: 1 NGO next to 1 Minister n In Arhus and Kiev Ministers said they found the roundtable the most interesting part of the conference

11. Eco-Forum/WECF Strategic themes n Choose 1 or 2 strategic themes n Forgotten issue? n New challenges? n Aim at not more then 1 issue per hour n Aim at not more then 4-6 speakers per hour n Ministers get the last word