The urgency of ecology in the world
Nowadays the term ecology is being used more and more. And there is a reason for it- the state of biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and other envelopes of the Earth is changing all the time, and this change is not for the better. Many people think – We don’t care that the woods are being cut down, chlorofluorocarbon (Freon) is being thrown out, the waters are being polluted somewhere in Europe and America- we don’t live there! This opinion is mistaken.
The increase in population is accompanied by the increase in different natural resources need.
“The cycle of demand and emission” is affecting more and more the state of the environment.
The main objectives of the 21st century are to prevent the exhaustion of natural resources, to protect ecosystems from degradation, to keep the water, air and soil covering clean, to discover new sources of energy.
Therefore the regulation of ecological relations is a first-priority problem, and a lot of international, national and local organizations (government as well as non-government) are involved in the solution of these problems. Some of organizations were founded especially for nature conservation purposes, others have been gradually joining nature conservation activity and now are taking an active part in environmental protection.
The United Nations Organization has the leading hand in biosphere protection issues. All the principal bodies and specialized agencies pay attention to environmental problems- General Assembly, Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC), regional commissions ECE, ESCAP, ECA, ECLAC, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD), Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO), the International Labor Organization(ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO),World Meteorological Organization(WMO), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development(IBRD), United Nations Development Program(UNDP), UN Committee on Natural Resources, International Maritime Organization(IMO) , International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and others.
Beginning with 1949 the United nations has been periodically convening conferences devoted to the state of nature on the planet, and on the 15th of December 1972 the resolution ¹2997 (ÕÕVII) “ Institutional and financial arrangements for international environmental cooperation” was approved on the Stockholm Conference, and as a result of this conference a new intergovernmental body concerning itself with environmental protection was formed-UNEP( the United Nations environment program), www.unep.org. A whole range of various activities and projects on environmental protection have been held since the foundation of UNEP .UNEP favored the forming of biosphere state monitoring , set up the system of nature conservation objects , including biosphere reserves , have taken charge of more than 100 international special secure territories.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) pays special attention to the protection of soil cover, water resources, flora and fauna, conducts researches and works out recommendations for their efficient use, favours the spread of best practices in the field of nature conservation and optimization of operation techniques of natural resources.
The United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) concentrates on scientific problems of environmental protection. A range of scientific programs is held under its auspices, in particular the program “Biosphere and the man”, consisting of 14 projects devoted to nature and society cooperation.
The European Union (EU) pays special attention to the problems of environmental protection, which is realized in present day forming “The six framework program” (www.cordis.lu/fp6).
The governments of most of the countries are concerned with the problem of nature and society cooperation, have nature conservation legislation and government bodies (ministries, commissions, departments, institutions, etc.) which watch over ecological situation in the given region, relying on ecological legislation, and come to relevant decisions. Simultaneously non-government organizations are functioning, uniting the general public in order to solve nature conservation problems. The first-rate non-government organization is The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), founded in 1948 in France. The members of the union are both governments of different countries and individual government structures, institutions and associations etc. IUCN prepares and publishes international ‘Red list’ which is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species. Commission on Environmental law is a part of IUCN, this commission works out the fundamentals of international environmental law.
The international council of environmental legislation, founded on the 26th of November, 1969 in India, does all the legal matters connected with nature conservation. The members of the ‘Club of Rome’ are also occupied with analytical research of basic tendencies of civilization and nature progress.
Government and non –government organizations work at the same time and very often supplement each other. Thus due to the necessity of “21st century agenda” realization, the United Nations commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was found. Non-governmental organization- ‘Earth Council’ (solving the same tasks) was founded simultaneously – which considers itself to be an «ecological conscience” of mankind.
The international forum of non – governmental organizations and movements which took place along with the United Nations environmental Conference in Rio de Janeiro put together the representatives of more than 7000 organizations from 166 countries. These organizations were not only ecological ones but even youth, ethnic, cultural, religious, scientific and others, which were interested in the problems of biosphere. The commitment to “Rio principles” was once again confirmed on Johannesburg summit in 2002, but still there is no progress in realization of these principals. Globalization hasn’t done any good to most of the people; many adopted resolutions have not been put into practice. Notwithstanding economic growth in the world, aid to developing countries was reduced and the problem of poverty remains the problem of today. It is obvious that only the united powers of government and non –government organizations, wide sections of the population of different countries can solve the environmental problems.
Such companions of progress as soil erosion, woods drying, acid rains, inclusion of new (even unknown to nature) substances in big and small cycles, were to affect the environment, it was just a question of time. Nature tells us to stop destroying ourselves! In such circumstances ecological organizations and certain citizens are the only ones who take measures to cure all the ‘wounds of the Earth’.
The Nevskiy International ecological congress
ECOLOGIA BOLSHOGO GORODA Ltd. - a participant of the congress
On the 9th of December 2008 the first Nevskiy International Ecological Congress took place in Tavricheskiy Palace- headquarters of the inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Congress, Chairman of the Council of the inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Sergey MIRONOV opened the congress by reading aloud the welcome speech to Dmitry Medvedev, the president of the Russian Federation and making a report.
Then there was a report of the co-chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Congress, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Igor SECHIN.
Speeches made by the Congress participants: Vladimir Puchkov-the deputy minister of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Affairs of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief. Nurlan Iskakov- the minister of environmental protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Member of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Agrarian Policy, Natural Resources and Ecology, Chairman of the Permanent Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Problems of the Chernobyl Disaster, Ecology and Nature Management, Mikhail RUSYI. Samagan Mamatov- deputy director of the state environmental protection and forestry agency of Kyrgyzstan Republic. Head of the Federal Service on Control over the Sphere of Nature Management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, Vladimir KIRILLOV Vladimir Danilenko- Ukraine deputy , a member of the supreme Rada on ecological policy, problems of the Chernobyl Disaster and Nature Management Head of the Federal Service on Control over the Sphere of Protection of Customer’s Rights and Welfare of Population of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, Gennadiy ONISHCHENKO Erbolat Apsalyamov- a member of ‘Majilis’ committee of Kazakhstan parliament on problems of ecology and nature management Executive of the television programme “Health”, Elena MALYSHEVA Valentin Zavadnikov – chairman of the council of Federation of the federal assembly of the Russian federation on industrial policy Head of the Federal Agency of Water Resources of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, Rustem KHAMITOV Vladimir Chobanu- chairman of the commission of Moldova Republic on public administration, ecology and territory development Oleg Petrov- CIO of FSUO(Federal state unitary organization) “Karpinskii Russian geological research institute” General secretary of the General Confederation of Trade Unions, Vladimir SHCHERBAKOV Sergei Xaruchi- chairman of State Duma of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Russian Federation) Deputy Head of the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Evgeniy PETROSYAN Anatolii Panfilov – chairman of the Russian Ecological party “The greens”.
Then was the welcome speech of UNIDO.
Then there were Sessions of roundtables: Protection of environment as a factor of global security for coming generations”, Environment and health, Comprehensive use and protection of water resources, Trans-border cooperation in the sphere of nature management and protection of environment, Ecological security of major cities, Civil society for environmental sanitation.
In concluding plenary session of the Congress the participants of the Congress adopted the final resolution that the support of environmental safety should be considered as a global issue, directly connected with responsibility of different countries, organizations and every human being.
The participants of the Congress support the proposal to hold the Nevskiy International Ecological Congress annually and call to the public authorities of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States.