Executive Board
Dresdner Bank AG
D-60301 Frankfurt/Main
Germany
+49-69-26317242

Via facsimile and air mail

Budapest, 8^th May 2000

Dear Sir / Madam,

We turn to Your institution on behalf of the organisations and individuals undersigned, concerning the case of the rupture in the dam at Baia Mare and the cyanide contamination that followed destroying the flora and the fauna of the rivers Szamos and Tisza.

It became known to us that Dresdner Kleinwort Benson has lent Aurul, the Romanian subsidiary of the Australian company Esmeralda Exploration Ltd., USD 8.5 million out of the total costs of USD 28.2 million.

By giving this loan, Dresdner Bank became financially interested in founding and operating the plant in Baia Mare, and it has to assume responsibility for the quality of the investment carried out.

Due to the rupture in the dam on the 30.01.2000, 100,000 m³ sludge containing cyanide of 7800 mg/l got into the rivers. In the river Szamos, 32.6 mg/l cyanide was gauged at the border of Hungary. (The Hungarian threshold value is at 0.1 mg/l.) The flora and the fauna of the Szamos and the Tisza have been hit by the cyanide contamination at an inestimable extent, and this has been made worse by the waves of contamination with heavy metals. The effects of the cyanide contamination cannot be measured yet totally, however it is evident that biological communities in the Upper Tisza have entirely perished. The regeneration of the flora and the fauna of the river might well take several decades, but the communities destroyed cannot be restored even in this period completely. In addition to the effects on the flora and fauna, the rupture in the dam has had a negative impact on the living conditions of the people resident alongside the Tisza who depend on it economically. In the affected social groups it is now difficult or impossible to live. Further environmental disasters make prospects of a new start hopeless.

According to the point of view of the NGOs and individuals undersigned, the financial institutions enabling the operation of the plant in Baia Mare are also responsible for the disaster. The Executive Board of the Dresdner Bank should acknowledge the responsibility of their institutions in public and answer the question at what extent experts of the bank had studied the technological and environmental status of the plant before entering into contract as well as during the lending period.

We believe, the Dresdner Band has to commit itself to the final closure of the plant in Baia Mare, in order to avoid further accidents. In addition, the Bank should strictly evaluate every investment it makes to similar projects in the future.

In our opinion, the financial institution funding the plant also has to take its share of mitigating environmental and economic damages and indemnifying for them. We think that Dresdner Bank should meet part of the indemnity and offer funding for restoration works.

To avoid ecological disasters like the one at Baia Mare, it is essential that all parties to the investment, from the institutions providing financial support up to the contractor, should act carefully and in accordance with the strictest standards. In our opinion, the accident that effectively killed the rivers Szamos and Tisza could have been averted had the lending agreement been examined and evaluated thoroughly, incorporating measures to determine and monitor environmental conditions.

Sincerely,

József Feiler

Policy Coordinator

CEE Bankwatch Network

On behalf of the following signatories:

Alapítvány a Vidrákért

CEE Web

CSEMETE

Duna Kör (Danube Circle)

Egyetemes Létezés Természetvédelmi Egyesület

E-Misszió Egyesület

Felső-Tisza Alapítvány

Független Ökológiai Központ

Dr. Lajos György

Holocén

HUMUSZ

Jászkun Természetvédelmi Szervezet

Környezet és Terészetvédők Csongrád Városi Egyesülete

Közép-kelet európai Bankfigyelő Hálózat (CEE Bankwatch Network)

Magyar Madártani Egyesület (Birdlife Hungary)

Megalodusz SE

Krisztina Majoros

Barbara Mihók

Nimfea

Tisza Klub

Ökológiai Intézet a Fenntartható Fejlődésért

Dr. Elemér Szalma

Márton Vargha

Prof. Zoltán Varga

Világ Természetvédelmi Alap, Magyarország (WWF Hungary)

Zöld Akció

Zöld Alternatíva Magyarországi Zöldek Szövetsége