Expected Outcomes:
Region: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe
Author: Andrei Pakhomenko; Mogilev Public Ecological and Information Center "ENDO"
Consortium Member: Brest Environmental Information Center
Status: Needs Funding
Budget: $1980
Collected: $0
Needs: $1980
Goal: Creation of a public map of environmental problems in the city of Mogilev, through the efforts of independent ecologists (active workers and volunteers)
Comment: This is an innovative project to locate and publicize information about ecological conditions
Information about the Mogilev Public Ecological and Information Center "ENDO":
Our center was established in 2000. So far, we have organized an educational nature protection action, called "Chestnut", in which a number of Mogilev schools participate. We began publishing an ecological bulletin "Small Town". Members of "ENDO" are predominantly students. Main target groups: school children and general public of the city of Mogilev, in eastern Belarus.
Project Need
In our country, traditionally citizens have lacked information about their environment. The public has little ability to learn about the policies and actions of the state nature protection offices, or to control changes in the environment. As a matter of fact, public scrutiny and participation in environmental protection are seriously limited.
Moreover, the state frequently hides the relevant information, or provides it in such a manner that serious existing problems are presented as harmless, not worth worrying about. Following are two examples of troubling information which have been kept from the public in our city, Mogilev.
(1) Acid Rain: Official statistics ("Environmental Protection of the Mogilev area" brochure published by the Byelorussian research center "Ecology" in 1998) testify that the level of acid rain in our area averages 3.8 - 4.7 pH. In most European countries, acidity of 4 рН units is an occasion for serious alert to environmental protection agencies, compels immediate public attention, and encourages the government to take corrective action. In our country, in the Mogilev area in particular, the mentioned pH values were published in a volume of departmental statistics available to specialists only. The majority of the people simply does not know what the real situation is. Thus, we live unaware in a zone of acid rains. The state does not undertake any efforts to correct the situation, and does not even disseminate the information.
(2) Hazardous Chemical Spill: At the end of 2000, the Mogilev factory "Khimvolokno", as a result of a technological emergency, discharged dinyl, a hyperthermal heat carrier which is classified as a hazardous substance. [Dinyl (dauterm A) is a mixture of 26.5% diphenyl - C12 H10 and 73.5% of diphenyl oxide- C12 H100. It is used as a heat carrier in different areas of chemical synthesis. - Ed.] The discharge took place at 10 o'clock in the morning. Only in the middle of the day did the regional wireless give a brief 5-minute emergency message. Very little information was given. There was no mention of the degree of hazard, or of safety precautions that could be taken to prevent possible poisonings. Several days later, the mass media repeated the content of the radio report. They reported that 250 kg (1/4 ton) of dinyl had been discharged into the air. But according to estimates of our center, the amount had been no less than 3 tons. Apparently, it is difficult to receive a precise and full picture of the ecological situation of the city using only state sources of information.
Project Goals:
Making of an open (i.e. public) map of environmental problems of the city of Mogilev through the efforts of independent ecologists (active workers and volunteers) using methods of ecological monitoring.
Expected Outcomes:
1) Creation of an open map of ecological problems in Mogilev
2) Creation of a publically accessible data bank about ecological conditions in the city
3) Activating the public in the sphere of environmental protection
4) Turning public attention to ecological problems and to the actions of the structures that should solve them.
Methods of Implementing Project Goals:
1) Seminar to prepare the participants. A 2-day's seminar for 25 persons in Mogilev. This will be organized within the first week of the project.
2) Monitoring
a\ Interviews of the specialists - workers of state nature protection offices, firms etc., about 30-40 persons. This will be conducted during the two first months of the project;
b\ Interview of the inhabitants of polluted suburbs of the city, active NGO workers, teachers in schools, teachers of regional studies and ecology, doctors, and journalists (about 300 persons). This will be conducted in the first six months of the project;
c\Monitoring of the press for the last five years, - articles of the newspapers (five newspapers) and other printed materials. This will be implemented during first three months.
The following specialists will be engaged in the monitoring activities: Andrei Pakhomenko, chemist, lecturer on chemistry at Mogilev University; Juri Zhukov, geographer, lecturer on geography of the same University; Natalya Stankevich, biologist, biology teacher at a secondary school in Mogilev; Vitaly Domenikov, Denis Zagorodnyuk, Oxana Zakrevskaya (all are students of biology, Mogilev University); Semen Glazshtein and Yelena Serova (journalists); Oleg Goncharov and Kirill Golub (Information Technologies specialists).
3) Forming of a data bank
a\ Processing of the obtained data, collecting them in one data bank. This will be done during the seventh and eighth months of the project.
b\ Making a map of ecological problems in Mogilev both in paper and electronic versions. Ninth month of the project.
c\ Putting all the data gathered on a website. Tenth month of the project.
4) Concluding conference with participation of the representatives of the public, state organizations and mass media. - eleventh month of the project.
Project Duration: 11 months
Budget:
| Payments for: | |
| Chief of the project ($20 x 6 months) | $120 |
| Programmer | $70 |
| Web-designer | $40 |
| Honorariums for monitoring mass-media and other printed materials | |
| $5 per month x 3 months x 5 persons | $75 |
| Seminar and conference costs: | |
| Rent of the room for the seminar | $30 |
| Office supplies for the seminar (paper, notebooks, pens) | $30 |
| Meals for participants - $5 x 2 days x 25 persons | $250 |
| Rent of the room for the conference | $30 |
| Office supplies for the conference | $30 |
| Technical supplement: | |
| Office supplies for use in interviews (paper, notebooks, pens) | $70 |
| Cassette recorders (4 pieces x $40) | |
| for recording interviews in different parts of Mogilev | $160 |
| Cameras (2 units x $80) | $160 |
| Audiocassettes (25 x $1) | $25 |
| Films (20 units x $3) | $60 |
| Computer | $600 |
| Printing | $50 |
| Subtotal | $1800 |
| Virtual Foundation administrative fee | $180 |
| Total for project | $1980 |