USAID LAUNCHES ECOLINKS PROGRAMME IN CROATIA

ZAGREB, March 24 (Hina) - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated the "EcoLinks" programme in Croatia for the settlement of the urban and industrial problems in the environmental protection in the war-affected Croatian areas. The total budget for the regional programme which also includes Croatia, amounts 25 million American dollars. The means will be allocated in the next five years, USAID representatives told a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday. The "EcoLinks" programme supports the creation of the interborder partnerships between economic firms, local governments and self- governments and organisations among the countries in central and eastern Europe and countries in the area of the former Soviet Union, the representative of that programme for Croatia, Sandra Balent said at the news conference. Organisations in Croatia can offer bids for three forms of the financial backing - Twinning Grants (up to 250,000 dollars) for two-year-long projects, Quick Response Awards (up to 5,000 dollars) for the current needs of organisations and Challenge Grants (up to 50,000 dollars) for one-year-long projects. The Challenge Grants was announced in the mid-March, and the deadline for offering bids expires on April 14. However there have been no concrete bids of projects so far, Balent added. In May, another tender for the Challenge Grants will be issued, and the topic will be cleaner production, systems for the management of the environment and global changes in the climate. (hina) ms