Zeleny Svit/Green World

Excerpts of November 1997 letter from Serghiy Fedorynchyk
Director of Zeleny Svit Information Center in Ukraine.
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                ENVIRONMENTAL ENLIGHTENMENT OF PEOPLE

     Artemivsk ZS has made the City Council to pass  the  decision  on
the development of environmental programs at town schools.
     Nizhyn ZS has organized a seminar on environmental education  for
teachers of Chernihiv region.
     Gorlivka ZS ("Donbass Green  Movement")  publishes  "Eco-Donbass"
regional  newsletter,  as  well  as  it  established  an environmental
education  centre.  A  centre  works  with  children,   teachers   and
childrengardens'  tutors,  using  various  (in  particularly  -  game)
approaches; it  issues  a   environmental   newspaper   for   children
"Ptchelka" (Little Bee).
     Kolomyia ZS publishes a newspaper "Person and ecology"  and  also
uses 10 minutes on local radio weekly.
     ZS organizations in Artemivsk,  Mykolaiv, Svitlovodsk, Chernivtsi
through  the  local  television  broadcast information and enlight the
people on environmental issues.
     Many ZS   organizations   work  with  schoolchildren,  conducting
environmental lessons and lectures,  calling to concrete  actions,  in
particular,  planting the trees.


   PUBLIC INSPECTION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
                 AND PUBLIC PRESSURE ON ITS VIOLATORS

    Owing to   ZS   groups  pressure  on  enterprises  which  polluted
environment  intensively,  the  yeast  factory  was  restructured   in
Kirovograd,  production  of  synthetic  albumen  was  closed  in Sumy,
asphalt plant and several  ponds-accumulators  of  toxic  wastes  were
moved from Chernihiv,  JV "Skomeks" manufacturing casein was closed in
Sokal (Lviv region),  processing of delivered  resin  on  Zaporizhzhia
cox-chemical plant was stoped.
    ZS organizations  in  Olexandria,  Kremenchuk,  Nizhyn,  Mykolaiv
counteracted illegal construction of garages and other objects.
    Due to efforts of  ZS  groups  the  use  of  pesticides  for  rice
planting was limited in Skadovsk area (Kherson region), the dispersion
of chemicals from airplanes was forbiden in Sokal  district.  Kreminne
ZS in Lugansk region has obtained a cancel of decision on construction
in the safety area of water-supply.
   The Ministry of Environment has taken into account the Proposals of
ZS Law Commission while developing Regulations  on  Public  Inspection
for Environment Protection.

                      INFLUENCE ON POWER BODIES
              TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION

    Rubizhne ZS keeps under public control payments for pollution  and
how the money is used to improve the environmental situation.
    Artemivsk ZS has made the local authority to fund construction  of
wastewater treatment unit for recovery of the Bakhmut River.
    Due to  Bolgrad  ZS   (Odesa   region)   initiative   a   district
environmental program was developed and approved by the session of the
District Council.
    "Clean Air"   organization   (Zaporizhzhia   ZS)   together   with
specialists and deputies participated in the development of Zaporizhia
environmental  safety  program.  Khust  ZS (Transcarpathian region) is
developing an Action Plan for recovery of the Khustets stream.
    ZS organizations in Kirovograd,  Kalush, Khust, Poltava, Sumy have
made to shift the routes in projects of new road constructions,  which
are better for nature.
    ZS organizations work on the  development  of  alternative  energy
(Mykolaiv),  no-waste chemical technologies (Rubizhne),  modernization
of galvanic-chemical technologies (Cherkasy),  waste recycling  (Sumy)
and   try   to   get   the  most  perspective  proposals  included  in
environmental programs of local authorities.


                    PROTECTION OF NATURE RESERVES
                    AND EXTENSION OF THEIR NETWORK

     Poltava ZS has defended the "Storozhovo" rezerve in the valley of
the Kolomak River from "dachi" (rest houses) construction development.
     Terny ZS group in Kryvy Rih protects "Balka  North  Red"  reserv.
Kirovograd ZS works on the creation of new landscape reserve "Karpenko
land" and birdlife reserve on the Velyka Vys' River.
     EcoCentre "Delta"  in Vylkovo (Odessa region) participates in the
concept development of network of valuable natural territories in  the
Danube delta.
     Vinnytsia regional ZS organization developes program for creation
of natural reserve network in the South Bouh watershed.
    Due to joint actions  ZS  together  with  scientists  of  Mykolaiv
branch of National EcoCentre and deputies of Mykolaiv Regional Council
the total area of natural rezerves  within  the  Mykolaiv  region  has
increased 4 times for the last 5 years.


                 ZS ACHIEVEMENTS ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL

   1) In 1991,  the  ZS  organized  an  independent  public  Chornobyl
investigation, which gave a legal evaluation of reasons, circumstances
and consequences of the Chornobyl disaster.  "Preliminary  conclusion"
of  independent  investigation  was  published in the special issue of
"Zeleny Svit" newspaper and was  translated  in  English,  French  and
Turkish languages.
    2) In 1994,  the ZS organized a  local  referendum  in  cities  of
Nikopol,  Marganets  and  Kamianka-Dniprovska with the question on the
attitude of people to expansion of Zaporizhia NPP.
    3) In  1994 and 1995,  the ZS organized environmental marches with
the participation of students and schoolboys on  the  rivers  Bakhmut,
Kryvy Torets,  Vorskla,  Oster,  Inhoulets, Saxagan, Sloutcn, Styr and
Hirsky Tikych for the evalution  studies  and  for  the  environmental
enlightenning and propaganda.
   Since 1996,  the ZS has launched  a  national  campaign  of  public
inspection  for  coastal  waterprotective  zones  of  small  rivers of
Ukraine. The  campaign  should  to  collect  broad  information  about
discrepancies  with  the  Ukrainian  Water  Code`s requirements and to
create the precedents of real responsibility  for  the  violations  in
these zones.
    4) With the support of the International "Renaissance" Foundation,
and  American  organizations  ISAR  and  SEN,  ZS  groups  (Artemivsk,
Vinnitsia,  Izmail,  Kolomyia,  Mykolaiv, Nikopol, Rubizhne, Ternopil,
Khust, Cherkasy etc.) have started to use e-mail communications as the
most  perspective  way  of  environmental  information  exchange.  The
development   of   electronic   information   network   continues.  ZS
Informational Centre sends environmental  information  by  e-mail  not
only to  ZS groups,  but to 30 various environmental groups in Ukraine
too.
    5) ZS  participates  in  the International Strategic Actions` Plan
for environmental improvement in Danube  watershed.  ZS  has  held  in
March  8-10,  1996  at  Zaroslak in Carpathian mountains workshop "The
Public participation in Danube Environmental Program" for 23 Ukrainian
and 2 Moldovan NGOs.  It was decided to work together with experts and
local administrations on development of Action Plans for local rivers.
    6) ZS  in  cooperation with others NGOs and Ukrainian Ministry for
Environment Protection has organized 5 regional workshops  (Vinnitsia,
Mykolaiv,  Poltava,  Kolomyia,  Lugansk)  and  took  part  in national
conference on creation in Ukraine of new branch of Regional Ecological
Centre (Budapest).  The new REC is an international institution, which
will help local authorities and  NGOs  to  resolve  the  environmental
problems.  ZS  Chairman  Mykola Korobko was elected as one of two NGOs
representatives to the Advisory Board of NREC.
     7) ZS   jointly   with   others  NGOs  actively  participated  in
organization of the Black Sea Day in Ukraine on October 31,  1996  and
3-d Meeting of Azov-Black Sea Forum of Ukrainian NGOs (Kerch, November
4-5, 1996) and participates in development of National Action Plan for
Azov and Black Seas environment protection.
    The ZS is associate member of Friends of the  Earth  International
since  1991.  Representatives  of  ZS delegation took part in the FoEI
Annual General Meeting,  held in  Estonia  in  1994,  and  came  to  a
conclusion  on  the  necessity  of  greater  cooperation with national
organizations Friends of the Earth in various countries.
    FoE organizational  model,  both  democratic  and  efficient,  was
recognized as the most corresponding to the needs of ZS organisations.
    Owing to support of Great Britain Embassy, ZS Informational Centre
published  in 1996 Ukrainian version of "FoE:  Introductory Manual for
local groups",  with the circulation of 1000  copies.  Both  ZS  local
groups and other NGOs can get this textbook.

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Last updated:    December 1997

A print version of much of the information contained in this NIS Third Sector Organizations section can be found in the The Post-Soviet Handbook (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1999).

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