March 1999

With the war between NATO and Yugoslavia on, the environment ministers of countries throughout Europe are expressing concern about the environmental implications of the heavy NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

The Environment Ministers of Europe met at Weimer, Germany, to hold an informal meeting.  Many of the delegates to the meeting have discussed the effects of the NATO bombing recently.

A Map of Yugoslavia.  Image Credit: CIA.

German environment minister Jürgen Trittin, a member of the Green party, held a press conference after the meeting.  At the press conference, he focused primarily on the effects of the Kosovo war.

Mr. Trittin also said that many other nations' environment ministers are concerned about the NATO bombing attack.  He said that several other countries, especially Greece, expressed concern in the discussions held that day.

According to Mr. Trittin and the other environment ministers, the NATO attack will affect far more than just Yugoslavia.  The Danube and the Black Sea environments will also be severely affected by the bombing.

Throughout Europe, environmental activists and scientists have also expressed concern about the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.  Especially dangerous are the bombings of such facilities as petrochemical and fertilizer plants.

However, Mr. Trittin said that determining exactly what level of environmental damage had taken place was very difficult because insufficient information was available.

The Internet Public Library's resource on the war in Yugoslavia

The United Nations in Kosovo