All Ukrainian Ecological League
In 1997 a new organization appeared in the public environmental movement of Ukraine – the All-Ukrainian Ecological League. The League has become a powerful organization with ramified structure. Now there are 263 town and district offices in all regions of Ukraine. AEL unites more than 10000 members. The aim of the organization’s activity is to improve ecological condition in the country, form a new environmental mentality, and raise the level of ecological education and culture of people.
The tasks of the League are as follows:
- organization of public ecological control over the execution of nature conservation laws;
- drive to cease the activity being a threat to the ecological safety, biological diversity, health of population of Ukraine;
- extension of the public participation in the formation of the state ecological policy, bringing forward proposals to the authorities, participation in the process of preparing decisions which realization considerably influences the environment condition;
- encouraging the development, introduction and popularization in all branches of economic activity the advanced home energy-and-resources saving technologies to be ecologically balanced;
- formation of ecological consciousness through dissemination of information regarding the environment condition, raising the level of ecological education and culture of the citizens.
To accept ecologically important decisionsonly with scientific substantiation
Taking into account experience of ecological public movement late in the 80s – early in the 90s when slogans and requirements of the public organizations did not always be scientifically substantiated, the League from the very outset began its activity with involving in the public work famous scientists and practical workers in the sphere of environment protection, biology, chemistry, geology, geography, soil science, agriculture, medicine, ecological law and education.
The All-Ukrainian Environmental League has its consultative body – Academic Council that includes leading ecology theorists. It is precisely their recommendations that becomes a basis for actions of the League connected with environment protection.
Social gatherings of scientists to be organized by the League were recognized by home and foreign scientific circles. These are the following international and All-Ukrainian practical-scientific conferences:
- “Ecology and the Power”;
- “Ways of tackling the ecological problems in Transcarpathian region within the context of common activity of the state and public organizations;
- “Ecological education and training: experience and prospects”;
- “The condition of land resources; problems and ways of their solving”;
- “Ecological and technogenic safety”.
- All-Ukrainian conference “Influence of environment condition on the health of population in Ukraine”.
We are interested in clear ecological policy
The All-Ukrainian Ecological League attaches particular significance to enhancing the role of the public in making ecologically important decisions. Parliamentary hearings “On observance of ecological laws’ requirements in Ukraine, directions of realization and improvement of ecological policy” to be conducted on the initiative of the League was a good example. Hearings were accompanied by a great deal of preparatory work: conferences, seminars took place with the participation of research workers and the public, the following draft laws were formulated such as “On Ecological Audit”, “On Ecological Insurance” and “On Ecological Country Tourism”.
Members of AEL take an active part in the work of the Public Council of all-Ukrainian organizations of environmental orientation attached to the Ministry of ecology and natural resources of Ukraine, they are chairmen or activists of the Public Councils attached to the regional departments of ecologicalresources. The All-Ukrainian Environmental League is a member of the National Commission for Sustainable Development, the National Organizing Committee for arranging the 5th All-European Conference of Ministers of Environment “Environment for the Europe”.
We are capable to make our Earth beautiful!
Practical work aimed at nature conservation is a priority line in the League activity. Annually, nature conservation actions inspired by AEL take place all over the Ukraine: “Our aid to birds”, “Snowdrop”, “Plant your tree”, “Clean air”, “A new life of spring”, “Save a fir-tree”.
A lot of experience in solving ecological problems has been accumulated by regional organizations of the League. Among other things the Kiev city cell laid out the park “Poznyaky” and is looking after it. In Transcarpathian region dendroplots were created on school territories. In the city of Dnipropetrovsk the public reserve “Livoberezhny” was created to be the first of such a kind in Ukraine. The organization in the city of Sumy took the ChekhLake under its guardianship. In all regional and district centers there are objects to be constantly cared for by the members of AEL.
The project “The Zoos in Ukraine” has been completed, and within its frame the aid was rendered to eight Zoos and Sebastopol state oceanarium.In 2002 a unique project “Rehabilitation of sites after a fire in the Crimea” was launched that envisages reproducing the population of Stankevich pine-trees damaged by a fire on the area of 59 ha in the reserve “Cape Aya”. Experience in forest recovering after a fire was propagated, and now it is used by the AEL cells.A wide experience in ceasing wrongful construction of the objects to be dangerous for environment and human health was accumulated.
To bring up a child – to build Ukraine!
The All-Ukrainian Environmental League pays a special attention to bringing up an ecologically conscious personality. AEL became a founder of All-Ukrainian Union “Environmental Guard” which should help the young generation to become aware of being a part of a world in which we live.
The League arranged numerous round-table discussions and presentations to disseminate modern educational programs and materials on methods of teaching, textbooks “Environment”. AEL is accumulating and generalizing experience in the sphere of nature conservation to be obtained by the teachers in Ukraine. For educational workers AEL publishes and disseminates gratis books from “The Library of All-Ukrainian Environmental League” of series – “Ecological education and training”, “Nature conservation actions” and “Environmental Guard” which contain the scenario plans of ecological lessons, out-of-lessons measures, recommendations as for conducting practical actions related to nature conservation.
The active position of AEL and other public organizations resulted in passing the Concept of ecological education in Ukraine being approved by the decision of the Collegium of the Ministry of Education and Science in December 2001.For children and young people there is “The school of young leaders-ecologists”, one organized a festival of ecological works “Fresh wind”, contests “I vote for the nature conservation”, “The best school territory”. Annually regional and all-Ukrainian conferences of students take place as well as conferences for senior pupils.
One organized the work of summer ecological camps where the rest is combined with research studies, participation in nature conservation measures, and creative work of children. Such camps are functioning in many regions, the AEL center of education and training is organized in the Crimea.
Everybody should be informed about the conditionof the environment, ecological rights and obligations! Dissemination of information regarding the environment condition, ways to improve the ecological condition in the state is an important direction of work. Public ecological reception-room was set up. AEL is publishing its library that includes normative-legal documents, materials of conferences, methodical developments for teachers of series “Nature conservation actions of AEL”, “Ecological education and training”, “Ecological Guard”. Series of maps is issuing devoted to ecological problems of water resources and free air, ecology-economic zoning of the territory of Ukraine, ecological safety, medico-demographic problems. The book “Kiev as ecological system: nature-man-production-ecology” was brought out. In 2002 the League supported by the People’s Democratic Party began to publish popular-science magazine “Ecological Herald”. Editorial board includes the leading research workers in the sphere of ecology, botany, biology, soil science, agriculture, law, education, medicine, techniques and others. A considerable part of circulation of all published materials AEL gives gratis to schools, institutions of higher education, research institutions, libraries and public organizations.
The All-Ukrainian Ecological League invites for cooperation research workers, teachers, representatives of the authorities and self-government bodies, public organizations, business circles, not indifferent citizens of Ukraine who also consider ecological problems as priority ones in their activity, and ecological consciousness as an important part of the world outlook in XXI century.
Let’s act together! To the benefit of Ukraine, for the beauty of the environment!
Our address:
Of. 33, 30-V, Saksagansky St.
Kyiv, Ukraine, 01033
Tel./fax +380 44 251-13-32
E-mail: vel@ecoleague.net
