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Earth Community Organization (ECO)
the Global Community  Alexander Wegosky President of the Association of Ecological Revivify Russia ecoland@kaluga.ru  for Discussion Roundtables 1, 2, 4, 11, 15, 19, 24, 26, and 28
Table of Contents | 1.0 The Ecological Principles of the Waste Lands Reviving
The Ecological Principles of the Waste Lands Reviving Alexander Wegosky Russia ers@tarusa.ru Modern waste-lands in their absolute majority are the effects of irrational activity of people. Among them one can take out gains, sites after fires, gullies, deserts, salt – ridden lands, scrubby lands, swamplands, dirt piles, land having not been used in agriculture for considerable period of time for any reason, etc. To the same category should be applied deserted villages and other settlement abandoned by people, as well as desolated industrial objects, firing grounds, spontaneous dumps, zones of radio and chemical contamination and other territories having been left because of depleting their resources. Mosaic archipelago of Russian waste-lands occupies the territory more then 500 mln hectares and area in is getting larger at a rate of 4 hectares per minute. In the planetary scale this value must be in at least ten times of higher level. The process of degradation of Russian landscapes keeps its rate and even gets faster. It occurs at the expense of bedding of the plough-lands because of ass-arts, military actions, degradation of bottomlands, spontaneous creation of new dumps likely to appear by the sides or railroads and motor – ways, as well as at the places used by the urban population for recreation. Our organization has developed the system for reclamation and restoring of waste – lands by means of creating Social System for Nature Reviving (SSNR). By creating SSNR we are trying to mark the beginning of a special activity to compensate the destroying affects of Urban Civilization upon nature. In our views the mankind can (in ecological terms) achieve the balance only by creating nature-reviving dynamic that is to compensate the destroying urban dynamic. To create nature reviving is to create biocenos of noocenosis on the waste – lands which is to grow in area at the same speed as other grounds are destroyed upon the influence of urban technocratic civilization. We hope that in the nearest future the mankind should be divided into two categories according to attitude toward nature: so called destroyers and so called creators. In our opinion the only way to solve the problem of coming worldwide ecological destruction is to find a balance between the destructive and creative powers we mentioned earlier. This is only way to solve ecological problems in planetary scale. There we can see a social niche to bestow the aim and purpose of existence upon a considerable part of people all over the world, to give them reason to live, to provide them with the means of living, so that they can afford independence from outer world being relatively autonomous. The material of research works, having been collected by 5 SSNR since 1987 and up to now, have proved the fact that without developing and accounting all the aspects of the matter not only SSNR, but any of ecological settlement are likely to fail to survive. 1. World outlook aspect World outlook is a linking base for a collective of workers. In the foundation of world outlook can be various scientific, metaphysical or religions ideas about the aim and sense of human being. Qualitative world outlook, as a rule, has ideas about the Universe construction, the main laws of world outlook, the place and role of man in system of these laws. Sensible and think over system of views makes specific peculiarities of mode organization and understanding how can we go on with honour future life of out spirit after the death of our physical body. Our organization cheers any world outlooks, having in their nature creation and life asserting principles. Deviation in details and interpretations between leaders can be resolved by one method: the evidence of right is the existence of like-minded persons and successful creation of your own microcosm on a waste-land. 2. Educational aspect The creation of SSNR is held in expeditionary conditions. Every group have to be ready for work in difficult surroundings for example in zones of radio and chemical contamination. This work can be secure if you have some special knowledge. We have no hope for state’s help in Russia. For this reason we have to make money ourselves. But it’s impossible without a special training and permanent improvement of worker’s skill. We have a special system for probationers. Every probationer works out his own mini-program of nature revival orientation. For example: "Nursery garden", "Flora Unicum", "Nord seeds", "Super hive", "Fito Service", "Eco Tour", "Human Rights Watch". Every program is an independent business and possibility for people to make means of subsistence and to find sense of human being. Besides that every SSNR at a certain period of its development according to its regulations, have to create an educational program that guaranties social reproduction of system. Education of children is a special article. 3. Personnel aspect This aspect has "Protocol of intentions", "Collective agreement" or another document where you can find the list of members of initiative group, different ways of participation in business, distribution of duties. Besides that, personnel policy demands regulations which have a special system of personnel change, living standards and work, social guaranties and discipline sanctions to: - workers, - probationer, - season workers, - volunteers and relatives. 4. Science aspect We need to form many documents if we take a plot for ecological revival. The first document is scientific basement, which gives arguments for usefulness of this territory for revivify. The next very important document is the idea of scientific basement of restoration and reconstruction of this degradation land. It must connect in one system ecological, natural, economical, architecture, aesthetic and demographically aspects. The main element of this aspect is protocol authority of monitoring of environmental of this plot by a certain row of signs. Without scientific approach and special knowledge it is impossible to develop mini-programs and plant growing. Systematization of field works will allow us to penetrate new conformity to natural laws and to find new ways of development of chosen activity. 5. Law aspect This aspect has: - work out of basement documents according to the law with taking to account regional peculiarities: Constitutive agreement, Basement, The order about registration policy; - definition, registration and license of chosen activity; - work out of law positions according to various forms of external actions of a settlement; - monitoring of the law and adequate changes in base documents of an organization; - System of communication inside the organization (rules, regulations, official instructions) and the ways of developing these communications. 6. Rural economy In sprite of bad ground, every SSNR is busy with rural activity, as usual it is connected with recultivated work, garden nursery, bee-keeping, making of biohumus and so on. Very important element of rural economy is the usage of power-saving technologies, remaking of wastes, organization of closed trophic cycles. Rural economy aspect also includes the list of current work: - the plan of necessary agrotechnical work research; - research of optimal regime of technical service of programs; - the work for buying of building particles; - stages and mechanism of building; - creating the block for supplying of natural food; - material writing. 7. Economical aspect The first task for economical aspect is research and good thinking distribution of start capital. The second task is work out "The order about registration policy" and confirmation of its competence is statistics and tax service. The peculiarity of the order is – if take the meaning of revival waste-lands from business point of view, it is unprofitable. That’s why we have to confirm special forms for account. There are some difficulties in calculation of balance price of destroyed lands, which must be measured in minus ones. The competence of economical aspect is distribution of means from various programs to agreed subaccount, ruling by grants and leading of differential bookkeeping and account. 8. Architecture aspect Architecture and Landscapes conception is: - planning of expediency place of houses and store rooms from the point view of esthetics, mode of life and industrial convenience, sanitary hygiene, fire security, condition of ground, wind rose, peculiarities of relief, inaccessibility for unexpected visits; - literal projects of constructions, irrigating net, power communications, water supply, sewerage, weirs, bridges, roads; - creation of ideal landscape model or computer model of a farm; - work out of project documentation and building plan of the territory. 9. Social psychology aspect Transition to nature revival activity supposes cardinal change of usual model of life. During our practice we found a phenomena of elasticity of social environment, which is expressed by resistance of a person to new beginning. During the beginning social aspect supposes to work out some methods to release a person from old habits (smoking, etc.). Then we have to work out some positions, which help a person to contradict to external influence. This influence is: - former relatives and friends who wish to make a personal to come back to old model of life; - religious organizations; - public movement, parties, clubs, informal groups; - former partners; - other programs, economical profitable proposals. Social aspect also includes some methods of communication with local population, authorities and clients. 10. Recreational aspect Recreational aspect supposes calendar planning of rest: weekends, vacations, relax, trips. Integration activity of programs and interchangeability of workers guarantee recreation aspect. In the base of recreation aspect put the change of surroundings, region or contact group. Recreation aspect is also connected with organization of holidays meeting with interesting people. Recreation aspect is connected with practice by improving and rejuvenation of organism. For example scientific tourism. 11. Futurology aspect Futurology aspect supposes to see future by every member of the collective. Every man wants to know about his future – his life, children and pupils. Besides any SSNR will change: a waste lands will be a garden. People and houses will be old, the earth will change. It’s important to foreseen various types of development of a new built natural complex. Besides that very important to organize transition to another world with fulfilling all wishes of those, who has gone. Rather we have to think over some special rituals, which are connected with memory, succession, and preserving of experience. 12 criteria to hallmark the Social System of Nature Reviving (SSNR) 1. In terms of territory SSNR is a scrape of depredated land where different kinds of work on creating a hand-made natural complex – noocenos are carried on. 2. According to administrative criteria SSNR is regarded as an ecological proving ground to be taken out for termless use by an expedition detachment consisting of ecologists-renovators. There they like, work and carry out research work. At the present state of Russian Legislation System in terms of property in land this way of obtaining land seems to be the most rational. Further on other alternative variants should be considered. 3. To the dwelling (housing) and industrial sections of SSNR we have given the name of noosphere ecological settlement, as this title we find most appropriate in meaning. At the initial stage of assimilating the settlement is formed as an expedition camp. The housing area intended for setting up offices, dwellings, laboratories, industrial object and subsidiary houses is formalized as to belong to Natural Restoring organization. 4. To provide SSNR with all it needs for work and survival it requires as follows: means of transportation, temporary expedition dwellings, means of communication, an autonomous source of electric power supply, a source of water supply, a cook-house to provide the staff with hot food. At the stage of developing all the available means of power supply are of help. If there are local materials to used to obtain energy, they should be used as well as reclamation of wastes (recycling), etc. The only demand is that the technologies are ecologically correct. 5. In terms of administrative and law aspects SSNR is a noncommercial partnership of the heads programs of agricultural and social-ecological orientation. For example: "Flora Unicum", "Nord seeds", "Super hive", "Fito Service", "Eco Tour", "Human Rights Watch", "The School for Noosphere modeling". The economic and industrial facilities of the program are set on the territory of SSNR. 6. The bylaw of the organization is specially adapted to the peculiarities of the statistical codification and standards of taxation legislation of a region. 7. The main source of financial support is the money earned from the programs carried out by the organization itself. The additional ones are the money got from willing offerings and specialized funds. 8. While carrying out the compulsory (according to bylaw) Educational Program SSNR turns into a real living system. Being launched into existence, Educational Program enables the System to replicate. Within carrying out the Educational Program each of the probationers develops his or her own mini – programs of reclamation orientation. The program in action is to provide the financial independence of the author and make him or her a competent participant of the collaborative management of the System. 9. The characteristic feature of SSNR is the mechanism of into – system legislation creative initiative. It is integrated with the function of management and coordination of the activities of other different programs. 10. SSNR provides an integrate approach in solving the problems of physiological incompatibility, principal disagreements, overpopulation and system reproduction by means of organization of expedition detachments to develop the plans of reclamation new degraded territories. Under favorable condition in terms of legislation climate the process can be developed at a rate of geometrical progression. 11. The optimal number of participant of fully commissioned SSNR is 5 – 12 competent collaborators. The number of probationer must not increase 16. This amount does not include hired workers, consultants, volunteers and guests. 12. After all the work on reclamation has been completed, SSNR according to the procedure having been formulated in Regulations, is to be reformed into a specialized ecologically balanced economy of agricultural, scientific, educational or recreative orientation.
by Alexander E. Wegosky, Larisa V. Gyravleva
Ecological Revivify Service of the degraded lands, Tarusa, Russia
Rate of Natural landscapes degradation
According to the state registration data on 01.01.2002 total lands of the Rassian Federation was 1709.8 mln ga. From them 116 mln ga are lands, subjected to water and blowing erosion (deserted in fact), area of agricultural lands left from rotation is 2 mln ga (in 1990 year - 0.34 mln ga). 7 mln ga lands of common use are gullied, more then 44 mln ga are swamped, about 17.3 mln ga are salted, about 95 mln ga are characterized with low humus content (are impoverished and unsuitable for use in agriculture). More then 1 mln ga are polluted with heavy metals; 230.6 mln ga reindeer grazings are in different degree of technogenic degradation (in the main on account of oil and gas fields exploitations). Step grazings in Volga and Orenburgh regions, Southern Siberia and region near Caspian Sea are deserted on area about 100 mln ga. From 1059.8 mln ga of State Forest Fund (including lands uncovered with forest) 220.8 mln ga are occupied by fellings, sites after fires, sparse woods, etc. From 1990 to 1997 woodlands area has reduced by 52.5 mln ga in fact, it results from this that average rate of Russian forests reduction is about 14 ga in a minute. Agricultural lands have reduced by 4.2 in 1994 and by 7.9 mln ga in 1997. It follows from this that average rate of agricultural lands degradation is about 5 mln ga in a year or 9.5 ga in a minute. Total dynamic of Russian lands degradation only by indexes of agricultural and woodlands degradation rates exceeds 20 ga in a minute. Thus, at present in accordance with official data there are 833.7 mln ga of degraded lands in Russia their area increasing with a rate of more than 10 mln ga in a year. Therefore, increasing of wastelands is 750 m2 by each Russian citizen in a year, about 5 from them being wood fellings and sites after fires. These figures do not include information about countryside and industrial dumps, polluted sea coasts and internal reservoirs, military firing grounds, polluted with radiation territories, disturbed by oil spills lands. In accordance to State Mining and Industrial Inspectors data in 1995-1997 only at the West Siberia oil-fields it has happened up to 40 thousands accidents having been accompanied with considerable oil spills and oil getting to reservoirs and swamps. “At present in Siberia vast plots are polluted with oil products, their area being composed with territories of large European countries”. (A.M. Boronin, 2002). Therefore, from our point of view, real figure of Russian degraded lands is closely 1 milliard ga, that is to say 60 % of the country’s territory. Landscape degradation as a result of environmentally dangerous human activity - problem of global character. According to the UNO Report data for the 2001 year more than 2 milliard ga lands of the world are subjected to degradation. About 65 % of agricultural lands have lost a number of natural functions. In the European Community about 27 mln ga are affected by erosion. Territories of Central Asia for the most part are vast deserts. From the authors point of view these territories are extremely perspective objects for developing. Position changing Information stated above gives ground to affirm that legal, economic and organizational mechanisms of international environment protection policy have become obsolete in practice at the beginning of third millennium. By now natural landscapes of Eurasia, Southern America, Africa need not for protection, but for recultivation and lands improvement namely: reforestation, humus restoration, decontamination of refuse, oil products and other pollutants; and, correspondingly, for adequate legislation, in the first place fiscal and registration policy stimulating this activity. We consider it is expedient instead of become obsolete and no correct environment protection to speak about objective economic activity direct to reviving of degraded natural complexes which it makes sense to protect from different kind of destructive encroachments. Thus, the question is to create a new economic activity, namely nature reviving activity which may fill with vital content global international projects including already ratified protocols. New activity development assumes creating of special cadastre of degraded lands and follows by necessity of introduction of new scientific, legal, economic, social and management mechanisms which may become a factor not only for prevention of biosphere destruction, but also for making archipelago of created by man noocenoses called to show to the world in perspective noosphere in it true sense. Basic indications of nature reviving activity Idea of nature reviving as global reconciling activity of leading world countries was based by Alexander E. Wegosky in the beginning of 1990-th years. Practical step for realization this idea in Russia was supported by group of leading scientists (N.D. Kodgevnikova, L.K. Shevzova, N.V. Trulevich, N.N. Moiseev, A.N. Turukanov, A.I. Shreter, A.D. Phokin, V.A. Chernikov, Y.A. Zachvatkin, B.R. Striganova). Idea finds it practical realization in activity of nongovernmental organization “Ecological Revivify Service of the degraded lands”. At the initial stages professorial and teaching staff of Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev took on itself technical and scientific providing of project in particular training specialists. Starting in conditions of permanent destructive reformation in 1991 it was hardly believed that experiment would give rise to any serious results. Never the less Ecological Revivify Service managed by it own means not only to create working pilot model of Nature Reviving Social System but also to work through methodological, legal and economic aspects or new activity. On the basis of practical experience it has managed to deduce the determination of conception “nature reviving activity” and present it as a new economic activity pretending to bringing in All-Russian classification of economic activities. Nature reviving activity should be understanded as a new economic activity including complex of ecologically correct productions, workings and services direct to noospheric (reasonable, balanced with environment) degraded landscapes development and reviving of biological resources. Empirically it was finded a basic economic aspect of sustainable development - ecological correcting. Ecological correcting assumes organization of any activity with obligate concrete designating compensation of damage coursed to environment during activity. Nature reviving activity on the concrete territory should be considered as reviving not only in respect to land and soil but also to whole biosphere complex in general. Formula of sustainable development In connection with appearing of nature reviving position indistinct “sustainable development” conception finds objective sense and means keeping balance between “black” post-anthropological lands production and “green”production of oases on degraded lands. Such kind of “ keeping balance” activity is subjected to physical measurable expert estimation as well as reliable statistic and economic registration and will become “sustainable development” only in that case if a rate of constructive landscape generate processes exceeds a rate of destructive processes. Thus, it should be admitted that in present conditions just nature reviving activity may become an effective compensation mechanism of damage coursed to nature by technogenic civilisation. Degraded landscapes reviving, creating of ecologically correct state management system, creation of ecologically safe economy may become not only Russian national idea but priority geopolitics doctrine for majority of civilized countries. Global landscape improvement creates real niche for direct investing of international projects connecting with planet ecological improving. Still in the beginning of 1990-th in USA exaggegerated an idea of conversion Strategic Defence Initiative SDI in Strategic Ecological Initiative SEI (Gore A., 1992). Unfortunately, designated motive didn’t resound as priority at the sation in Ioganessburgh, though this idea might become logic prolongation of obsolete doctrine of “sustainable development”. Literature 1. Annual State Report about state of environment in Russian Federation. 1997-2001 years. http://www.mnr.gov.ru/ 2. Europe's environment: the third assessment. 2003. http://info.rusrec.ru/ns/ 3. UNO Secretary general's report "Agriculture, land use and desertification". 2001. http://rio10.cis.lead.org/sg/sg2.htm 4. A.Boronin. Biosphere hospital attendant. Ecology and life? 6(29) 2002. 5. A. Wegosky. Evolutionary progressive forms of being organization. Noospheric movement's resources. Materials of international conference, vol. 1. Moscow, 2000. 6. V. Petrashov. Introduction in noocenology. ioscow, 1993. 7. V. Petrashov. Beginning of noocenology.Science about restoration ecosystems and noocenoses creating. Obninsk, 1998. 8. L. Gyravleva. Legal aspect of the noospheric activity. Noospheric movement's resources. Materials of international conference, vol. 1. Moscow, 2000. 9. Gore A. Earth in the balance: ecology and human spirit. New-York, 1992.
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