Strategic Black Sea Action Plan
STRATEGIC BLACK SEA ACTION PLAN
AND ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION
M.I.Isakov1, J.V.Isakova1, N.Yu.Mashneva-Leshchinskaya2
1Odessa Regional Academy of Sciences (ORAN), Odessa, Ukraine
2Odessa Grammar School № 1, Odessa, Ukraine
Today the mankind is on the verge of global reconstruction of all the basics of modern civilization. This reconstruction will be followed by changes in aspects of values, way of life and social organization. The forms of reconstruction will differ depending on the country, taking into account local traditions and peculiarities. There is an objective need for establishment of some general "ecological arithmetic", understandable to everybody not regarding the language, similar to common arithmetic with Arabic figures, which are understood by everybody in the world.
In this "arithmetic" there is term "sustainable development", which have been recently introduced worldwide. It is widely discussed and used in daily activities. This proves its association with "ecological education". The principle of "sustainable development" was declared during the conference in Rio de Janeiro. The phrase "sustainable development", being translated into different languages in different ways, caused miscellaneous illusions and even governmental decisions, presenting today\’s ecological problems as some obstacles, that are easily overcome technically and via relevant governmental decisions.
More correct understanding of the term "sustainable development" is "strategy" of the period of transitions to such environmental and social conditions, which can be characterized by term "co-evolution" or "noosphere epoch" [1].
Strategic Black Sea Action Plan (SBSAP), signed in Istanbul by the six Black sea countries in 1996, is impossible without reformation of ecological education, because the future of the mankind depends on the ability to fulfil the ecological imperative. This ability can be realized only in case people accept the moral imperative. The reformation of the behaviour models on all the levels is highly required.
As in every Black Sea country (Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine) there are youth organizations similar to Youth Ecological Centre of Black Sea Countries (YEGORAN), it is proposed to consolidate their efforts to increase the results of carrying out of Strategic Black Sea Action Plan. The consolidation can be in the form of joint field trips, creation of mutual database on negative results of human activity, organization of joint summer ecological camps, action of cleaning of park territories, joint conferences and workshops [2].
Despite the difficult social-economical conditions of Ukraine, the scientific ecological projects and ecological education of the youth should not be neglected, as the future of the mankind depends on the ability to fulfil the ecological imperatives. There is a problem of discrepancies between the ordinary understanding of ecology and ecology as a science. The interaction between science and the ordinary consciousness takes place through education. That is why the discrepancy problem is the problem of education.
The ecological problems of the Black Sea are the problems of the whole Black Sea basin. However, the outer manifestation of such problems is certainly especially vivid on the sea shelf and pre-coastal territories.
One of the main requirements for continuity in terrestrial sciences is the constant search and bringing up of talented representatives of natural sciences. As this search is carried out in all educational structures and branches, the exchange of experience and co-ordination are essential. To solve this problem we should try to consolidate the efforts of non-governmental youth organizations of southern regions of Ukraine in the field of ecological education.
In Odessa, Ukraine, in November 1997 it was planned to establish Youth Ecological Centre of Black Sea Countries (YECBSC) on the basis of (YEGORAN).
YEGORAN has the main task of popularization of the natural processes among the elder students by means of solving of particular problems by the students during the observations of the water and salt regimes of the rivers, water ponds, water reservoirs, estuaries, floats etc. The main water body, which is paid maximum attention to, is Kuyalnik estuary, the lower part of which is located on the urban territory and is influenced by the transport.
In 1997, ORAN presented the project of "Black Sea Youth Scientific-educational Ecological Centre" at the competition, organized by Fund "Vidrodzhennya" (Renaissance). Unfortunately, the project was not approved because of discrepancies between the project goals and the requirements of nomination "Civil society". The motivation is evidently surprising.
Similar response was received later from Tacis [3].
Now, due to the donations of small and medium business (JSC"EximNefteProduct" /Odessa/, JSC"OdessaGas" /Odessa/, Odessa Trade Sea Port, JSC"Tatiana" /Rostov-on-Don, Russia/, Department of Ecology of Odessa City Council etc.), YEGORAN managed to carry out a series of ecological educational activities among the youth:
1. Regular ecological observation of city beaches and pre-coastal firths organized water measurements on river Bolshoi Kuyalnik near village Severinovka.
2. Since 1996 the YEGORAN group takes part in annual field trips "Dniester", organized by Prof.I.I.Puzanov Fund "Prirodnoye Naslediye" ("Nature Heritage").
3. In 1997–2000 the students of YEGORAN took part in the conferences and competitions listed below:
– Demonstration lesson on ecology "Nuclear Energy: Pros and Cons", Odessa, Ukraine;
– Scientific-practical conference "Dniester Delta: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy, Odessa region, Ukraine;
– Conference "Eco-education — Protection of the Black Sea Coat", Nikolayev, Ukraine;
– All-Ukrainian Competition of Students\’ Essays "Knowledge and Respect of Human Rights — the Way to Mutual Understanding", Kiev, Ukraine;
– All-Russian conferences of young scientists "Step into Future" and "Baikal–2000", Moscow, Russia;
– International conference "Problems of protection of biodiversity of Middle and Lower Dnestr", Chisinau, Moldova;
– Conference dedicated to the 50-th anniversary of Declaration of Human Rights, Odessa, and Ukraine.
The students of YEGORAN published about a dozen articles in city and regional media.
Besides, the students of YEGORAN jointly with the Severinovka department of YEGORAN (Odessa region)
– closed the illegal sand quarry;
– dumped holes and repaired the dam of Severinovka water reservoir;
– observed the territories of city parks "Shevchenko" and "Luzanovka".
During the 2nd Regional Scientific-technical Exhibition "Perspective XXI" ORAN presented the project "Hopes, reality and prospects of youth ecological researches". The project was awarded Diploma [3].
The result of all the above mentioned activities is the proposed project "Youth Ecological Centre of Ukraine Black Sea Coast" (YECUBSC), prepared by Youth Ecological Group (YEGORAN), Association of Aesthetic Children and Youth Education ("EstA") and School № 1 of Odessa. This project was first presented at "All‑Ukrainian Social Projects, Services and Technologies Fair — 2000".
It should be noted that the main activity of the group is the field observations and researches on water objects; the group conducts trips in the area of Kuyalnik estuary in different seasons, which teaches the children to contact the nature. This is the main content of the group’s work. Recreation problems of Kyjalnik estuary were reported at, International conferences in 1996 (Odessa, Ukraine) and 1997 (Sofia, Bolgaria) [4,5].
Unfortunately, today the progress of the group is practically stopped due to lack of financing. Besides, it is time to renew the group staff, because a great part of children left, because they finished schools.
Several general remarks on interrelation of scientific researches, governmental managing bodies and alternative interests of the prospering branches are set out below.
The natural medium modifications essentially influence the economy of the coasts and, consequently, the scientific researches, directed on the diagnosis and prognosis of the environment condition modification, can give essential economic benefit by means of minimization of damage from the modifications having negative character and by means of deriving of extra profits at the expense of the prognosis of the modifications having the positive character.
Unfortunately, in such complicated conditions, the chiefs of the Odessa region al management of Ministry for Ecological Safety and Natural Resources rejected the prognostic estimations made by professional experts. With each new error the circumstances were aggravated and the load of new incorrect solutions deepened the inconsistency between the departmental problem of guarding of honour and the acute necessity to drop the load of the made errors. The absence of desire to develop the strategy of administrative solutions, including those on the coastal zone of the sea, results in the unjustified economic losses and negative ecological consequences. So, the strategy of the Black sea coast estuaries management is not developed until now, the measures on minimization of damage from annual short-term wholesale deaths of fish are not developed, there is no concept of saving Peresip district of Odessa, there is no solution of the land-slide processes stabilization problem.
Therefore, today the situation around the construction of a large Oil Terminal Complex (OTC) on the Black sea coast near the city of Odessa (Ukraine) belongs also to the category of problematic. The estimation of the environmental impact (EEI), conducted in 1993-96, of the first step of the OTC construction contains numerous defects, vagueness, incompleteness and doubtful statements, especially on the problems of economic and ecological character and probability evaluation of the emergency situations during the construction and operation. In this connection we support the idea, expressed in 1993-95, by Odessa Regional Academy of Sciences: the oil terminal complex on the shallow waters of the Northwest part of the Black sea, near the large city and close to the ammonia processing plant is ecologically dangerous and economically unjustified risk of national scale with the possible deep negative social consequences.
The necessity of urgent development of the scientifically reasonable strategy of compatibility of the interests of various branches and water consumers on all Ukrainian coasts of the Black Sea is not less urgent. Besides, the successful solution of the coastal zone recreational problems is possible only on condition of reforming the whole system of resort-recreation economy of Ukraine, acceptance of the appropriate preventive organizational and economic measures on the regional and local levels, and revision of the coastal line exploitation strategy [6].
References
1. MoiseyevN.N., Historical Development and Ecological Education, Moscow, Russia, 1995 (in Russian).
2. IsakovM.I., OsipovV.B., IsakovaZh.V., Ecological Education of Black Sea Countries Youth and International Co-operation, in Strategies of Ecological Education in XXI, Moscow, Russia, 3‑5 June, 2000 (in Russian).
3. IsakovM.I., Hopes, Reality and Prospects of Youth Researches in Ecology. 2nd Regional Scientific-technical Exhibition "Perspective XXI", Odessa, Ukraine, 11‑13 May, 2000 (in Russian).
4. Isakov M.I., Volik N.P. Recreational Problems of Odessa Estuaries. Химия и индустрия. Том LXVIII брой 1-3/1997. "РЕМИНСЕКО`97"– София, 15-18 мая 1997, 76-78 с.
5. Kapochkin B.B., Isakov M.I. Kuyalnik Liman Water Balance Problems. Management and Conservation of the Northern-Western Black Sea Coast. Scientific Publications Proccedings of the EUCC International Symposium. Odessa, Ukraine, 1996. "Астропринт", 1998, 69-70 p.
6. IsakovM.I., KapochkinB.B., KucherenkoN.V., IsakovaZh.V., The Problems of the Coastal Zone in the Condition of Global Climatic Changes. Proceedings of Fourth International Conference. Littoral\’98, Barcelona, 14‑17 September, 1998, pp.111‑116 (in English).
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