Ecotours
to Siberia's
World Heritage Site: Lake Baikal- Summer
1999
Lake Baikal is the
oldest, deepest, and most biologically diverse lake in the
world. It provides habitat for more than 1,500 plant and
animal species that are found nowhere else on earth,
including the nerpa, the world's only freshwater seal
species.
Summer is the best time to visit Baikal. This is when the
waters are cool and clear,  and
the hills are colored with native wildflowers and
butterflies. This is also when the Baikal seal,
and the lake itself, are at their most photogenic.
To add to all
this, there are a series of spectacular national parks and
nature
reserves that surround the lake. Unfortunately, these
protected areas are experiencing severe financial problems,
and are currently unable to function effectively as protec
tors of the wild. For this reason, the local parks have
asked Earth Island and others to organize special ecotours
to the region, where the proceeds are donated to the parks,
as well as to the local environmental groups who are working
to protect the treasure that is Lake Baikal.
To join renowned photographer and author Boyd Norton for a
special three week ecotour to Lake Baikal this summer,
please contact Earth Island Institute:
300 Broadway, #28, San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone: +1(415) 788-3666.
E-mail:
<baikalwatch@igc.apc.
org>
Check out the Baikal Watch ecotour Web site at
www.earthisland.org/balkal/balkal
Now
Available: SEU Times
The
Socio-Ecological Union (SEU), an international umbrella
organization, has just launched this new publication as a
forum of its monthly events and activities. This publication
includes news from the diverse member organizations
belonging to SEU throughout the NIS and other countries. The
SEU Times is printed in Russian only, but an English version
is available via email (there is also a Russian email
version). You are welcome to publish and distribute the
information it contains.
To subscribe to the SEU Times, please contact:
Vladimir Zakharov, Director of the SEU Informational
Coordination Center
E-mail: <soceco@glasnet.ru>
Internet:
http://www.ecoline.ru/seu/
Russian-Finnish
Ecological Newspaper Most -Silta
Most-Silta (meaning bridge in both Russian and
Finnish), a bilingual newspaper dedicated to environmental
problems in northwest Russia and the Gulf of Finland,
debuted in St. Peters burg in February, 1999. This quarterly
paper, a collaborative effort between Finnish and Russian
NGOs, was conceived at the Russian-Finnish confer ence,
Our Common Environment, held in St. Petersburg,
September, 1999.
To receive this journal or for more information, please
contact:
Elena Kobets
E-mail: <kobets@teia.org>
The Russian version may be accessed at:
<http://spb.org.ru/moct-silta>
International
Symposium: Data Retrieval Systems in Biodiversity
Research
The
Zoological and Botanical Institutes of the Russian
Academy of Science (RAS) invite you to participate in this
symposium to take place May 23-27, 1999 in St.
Petersburg.
The conference will include presenta dons on the following
topics: flora and fauna databases; data retrieval systems
inthestudy of biodiversity; dissemina don of information via
data bases on the Internet and other forms of multimedia;
GIS and the study of biodiversity; computer processing of
images and the study of biodiversity; and inventory of
biological collections.
If you are interested in participating in the conference or
submitting papers or would like more information, please
contact:
IC. Smirnov, Zoological Institute, HAS, Universitetskaya
nab. 1,199034,
St. Petersburg, Russia
Phone:
+7
(812)328-1311.
Fax:
+7
(812)
328-2941
E-mail: <com_conf@aster.zin.ras.spb.ru>
Conference:
Children's Response to the Aral Sea Problem
Perzent, the
Karakalpak Center for Reproductive Health and Environment in
Uzbekistan, believes that despite numerous discussions about
the fate of the Aral Sea, one segment of the local citizenry
has not been consulted- children, who make up 40 percent of
the region's population. With this in mind, Perzent is
planning a conference in 1999 that will be organized
and managed by children. Perzent is currently looking for
partners, particu larly organizations with experience
working with children, to participate in the conference and
share their experi ence and ideas. A planning workshop will
be held in Tashkent in late March or early April, 1999.
If you are interested in participating in the workshop or
would like more infor mation, please contact:
Oral Ataniyazova, Director
Perzent, Karakalpak Center for Repro ductive Health and
Environment, a/ya
27, 742012 Nukus, Republic of
Karakalpakstan,
Uzbekistan.
Phone/Fax: +998 (6122) 7-55-17
E-mail: <perzent@center.nukus.silk.org>
|
The
World Of Water In The Eyes Of Children,
1999
Ecowave, the Lake
Peipsi (Chudskoe) project announces its fourth annual
creative contest as a continuation of the dialogue between
children and adults from different countries on issues of
environmental protection, sustainable development, and water
conservation and as a means to promote the creative
potential of children.
Submissions for this competition may take one of three
forms: scholarly (scientific papers-20 pages, maximum);
creative writing (poems, essays); or art (pictures,
drawings, photographs, etc). Submitted works must be based
on one of the following themes: The World of Water; At
the Lake; Work and the Cultural Traditions of the Watershed
Population; The Beauty of Nature; Fishing Yesterday, Today,
and Tomor row; The Chemical Composition of the Watershed;
Water Pollution; The History of Lake Pe~psi/Chudskoe;
Description of the Evcursion "Along the Shores of the Lake;"
Lakes and Environmental Protec tion.
Work can be submitted in English, Russian, Estonian, or
German. The deadline for all entries is April 21, 1999.
Please indicate the participant's name (first and last),
age, address, school, and topic of writing or creative work
for all entries. Work will be judged in three different age
categories: Group 1, up to 10 years old; Group 2, from 10 to
14 years old; Group 3, from 15 to 18 years old.
Projects by children in Russia should be sent to:
Victoria Grigorieva,
Pskov Regional Ecological Center
Ul. Kuznetskay,d.33-57,
180000 Pskov, Russia
Phone: +7 (81122) 3-99-19. Fax:
+7(81122) 242-16, +7 (8112) 445152
E-mail: <vika@lakepeipus.net>
or <vika@pskov.teia.org>
Projects by children in Estonia and other countries should
be sent to:
Galina Capanen, Tartu Nature House Rija 185, Tartu EE 2400,
Estonia
Phone: +372
(7) 428-193
(Tartu) In Tallinn, Galina Capanen:
Phone: +372 506-7628 (mobile). Fax:
+
372 (2)
632-0048
New
Publication: Framework for the Integrated Land-Use Plan for
the Mid-Yaselda Area In Belarus
This report,
related to the problems of wetlands conservation in the
Pripyat floodplains in Belarus, contains:
- General
characteristics of the Pripyat region;
- Analysis of the
main values and problems of the area;
- Description of the
main actors and their interests;
- Information about
existing conserva tion and development plans and related
international agreements;
- The proposed
framework for the integrated land-use plan;
- Conclusions and
recommendations.
This report was
written in 1997-98 by an interdisciplinary project team at
the Centre for Environment and Climate Studies, Wageningen
Agricultural University, as a part of the European
postgraduate course in environmental management.
The summary of this report, the map of the study area, and
information on how to order the report are available on-line
from the following address:
<http://www.geocilies.com/RainForesl/Canopy/3453>
If you have any
questions, please contact: <belokurov@geocities.
com>
Moratorium
in Northwest Russia Continues
On March
4,1999 at a meeting with Russian NGOs (Biodiversity
Conservation Center, Socio-Ecological Union, and Greenpeace
Russia) in St. Petersburg, representatives of the major
timber companies ENSO-Stora and UPM-Kymmene announced that
they would
continue to observe the morato rium on logging and buying
timber from old-growth forests in the Karelian Republic and
Murmansk Oblast in 1999. (For more information on the
Moratorium, please refer to RCN
#16).
Conference:
Preservation of the Dniester Basin's Biodiversity
The idea for
this conference arose from the vision to promote the
preservation and rational use of resources in the Dniester
River Basin and increase the sphere of NGOs working in this
region, especially international NGOs. The NGO, "BIOTICA,'
with the assistance of the MacArthur Foundation is
organizing this conference to take place October 7- 9,1999
in Moldova. The organizers invite governmental
representatives from Moldova and Ukraine, scientists,
special ists, NGOs, and all others working on the ecological
problems of the Dniester Basin and other transregional
drainage basins to participate in this conference.
For registration please send the follow ing information to
"BIOTICA" by May 15, 1999:
- Full
name;
- Name of paper,
report to be presented (no more than two from one
author);
- The full name of
coauthors (if applicable);
- Organization;
- Mailing address,
e-mail.
"BIOTICA," P0 BOX 570,
Kishiev-2043, Moldova Phone/Fax:
+7
(042-2) 24-32-74
E-mail: <biotica@mdearn.cri.md>
|
Conference:
Ecological Problems of the Northern Pacific
In order to
raise young people's awareness of complex environmental
issues such as biodiversity conservation, rational use of
natural resources, and ensur ing a safe environment for
humans, an international student conference is being
organized with the support of the Kamchatka Oblast
Administration. This conference will be held April 15-18,
1999 in Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky, Russia. Issues to be
discussed at the conference include: human influence on
natural ecosystems, and a world vision for people of the
twenty-first century --from ideas to reality. Other
presentations at the conference will focus on the state of
the environment in the Kamchatka Oblast in 1998, the current
state of ocean ecosystems, and the role of NGOs in
protecting Kamchatka's environment. Field trips,
"Traditional and New Sources of Energy in Kamchatka" and
"Water Problems in Large Cities," have also been
planned.
All papers for presentation and requests to register must be
submitted by March 30, 1999. Please contact:
Sergei Fazlullinu, Institute of Volcanol ogy, Bulvar Peypa,
9, Apt. 315,
683006, Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky, Russia.
Fax: +7 (41522) 92361
E-mail: <plof2@hotmail.com>
Conference:
The Mountain Regions of Central Asia: Problems with
Sustainable Development
This
international conference, organized in accordance with the
recommenda tions from the international conference, High
Mountain Research, Changes and Perspectives in the
Twenty-first Century, will be held in Dushanbe, Tajikstan
June 22-24, 1999. The main goals of this conference is the
synthesis of world wide research in sustainable develop ment
within the mountain territories of Central Asia and the
drafting of effective development models for these territo
ries. Specifically, the following issues will be
addressed:
- Socio-economic
problems of sustain able development;
- Administration of
resources;
- Technology and the
settling of mountain territories;
- Education;
- Medical-biological
aspects of mountain regions.
Additionally, the
conference will include two field sessions to be held along
the following routes:
1. Khodzhent-Pendzhikent- Dushanbe (by car). June 18-21.
2. Dushanbe-Khorog-Dushanbe (by helicopter). June 25-27.
If you are interested in participating in the conference or
would like more information, please contact the organiz ing
committee at:
Prospect Akademikov Radzhabovykh 10,
Dushanbe, Tadjikistan
Phone: +7 (3772) 213-511.
Fax: +7 (3772) 217-135
E-mail: <CHIEF@tecuni2.td.silk.org>
International
Congress and Exhibition: The Ecological Revitalization of
Great River Basins
This event
will take place on May 25-28, 1999 in Nizhny Novgorod,
Russia. The main themes to be discussed include:
- Economics and
ecology;
- Rational use and
the protection of natural resources in river
basins;
- The development of
human potential;
- The role of cities
in the renewal of great river basins.
If you are interested
in participating or would like more information, please
contact the organizing committee at:
Sovnarkomovskaya St. 13, 603086,
Nizhny Novogorod, Russia
Phone:
+7
(8312) 345-595.
Fax: +7 (8312)
345-568, 345-665
E-mail:
<tatiana@yarmarka.
ru>
Conference:
Cult of Nature and Its Protection
This
conference will be held in the beginning of June
(approximately 6-9) in the Taldom District, Moscow Oblast by
the Kiev Ecological and Cultural Center in conjunction with
the Humani tarian Ecological Initiative. The agenda
includes:
- The working
seminar, "Methods of Studying Nature Protection
Traditions and Implementing Them in Actual Situations"
(two days);
- The cognitive
program, "Conviction in the Protection of Nature" (two
days, including a field trip to the protected area,
Homeland of the Cranes, for a glimpse at local
folklore).
All registrations,
papers for presentation, or other material to be
disseminated during the conference must be received by April
31,1999. For more informa tion, please contact:
Kiev Ecological and Cultural Center,
Raduzhnaya St. 31, Apt. 48, 252218, Kiev, Ukraine
Phone/Fax:
+7
(044) 443-52-62
E-mail:
<vladimir@kekz.freenet.viaduk.net>
|
Russian
Conservation News #18,
Samples articles and excerpts:
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