« MISCELLANEOUS»

THE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION CENTER INVITES PARTNERS
TO PARTICIPATE IN ITS NEW PROJECT

The Biodiversity Conservation Center is launching a new project: Alternative Civil Service in Nature Conservation. The project’s main objectives are:

• to promote enactment of a Federal Law on Alternative Civil Service;
• to develop ways of doing alternative civil service in nature conservation at model sites in the city of Moscow as well as in the Moscow and Amur regions.

In 2000 several federal departments concerned with nature conservation (the Hunting Department, the Airborne Forest Protection Service, the Russian Hydrometeorology Service, etc.) confirmed their interest in the creation of a conservation-related alternative civil service (hereinafter — ACS). The departments are shorthanded; they need specialists as well as ancillary workers. The shortage of personnel is due to difficult working conditions and low salaries. Consequently, some conservation organizations are unable to fulfill their functions as such.

The Russian Hydrometeorology Service, for instance, was forced to shut down several meteorological stations and posts in Zapolyarye and other remote regions of Russia. In recent years, the funds allotted for nature conservation have been greatly reduced. This, in turn, has led to an increased incidence of forest fires. These forest fires endangered economic entities as well as human lives. In the summer of 2000, eight districts of the Amur region had to declare a state of emergency. In the last five or six years, the number of firemen in Avialesookhrana (the Airborne Forest Protection Service) has been reduced by half.

The Russian Constitution gives conscientious objectors the right not to serve in the army. This right is included in many international legal documents signed by Russia. However, there is so far no Federal law on alternative civil service. This hinders its practical implementation. One can uphold one’s right to ACS only in court. At the same time, legislators are hazy about where and how alternative civil service should be implemented.

That is why nonprofit organizations have initiated ACS experiments in those social spheres that are most shorthanded. This practice exists worldwide. Conscientious objectors work in hospitals, hospices, social service centers, etc. (Participation in the experiment is not yet considered official term ACS).

In April 2000 State Duma Deputy Y. Rybakov introduced a bill On Alternative Civil Service. The results of various ACS experiments were weighed. However, nature conservation was rejected for inclusion as an alternative service in this bill. Therefore, new ACS experiments must be launched in nature conservation and must take into account conservation’s specific qualities as well as appropriate types of duty and conditions.

This project means informing draft-age men of their right to perform ACS and to receive ACS legal aid. They must also be informed of the existence of ACS experiments in the absence of a Federal law on alternative service in conservation organizations.

During the experiment, draft-age men will be engaged in nature conservation activities (as part-time or full-time employment or as volunteer work) in those conservation departments where ACS is possible: hunting inspection services, airborne forest protection service bases, hydrometeorology stations, forest services, etc. These experiments will help conservationists draft legal proposals on the following issues:

• conservation organizations (federal, municipal, public) where ACS can be performed;
• ACS training for draft-age men;
• terms of service, official work day and routine;
• psychological adaptation and selection of recruits for different types of conservation activities;
• system of sanctions and promotion, etc .

Our project partner in the Amur region (in Blagoveschensk) is the student nature conservation brigade Bars (Panther). This brigade works to prevent poaching, promote eco-education, create protected natural areas in the Amur Region, and organize schools for young ecology inspectors. The Bars brigade has experience in training conservation staff. The results of our experiment with Bars will enable us to evaluate of the role of youth conservation organizations in any future ACS system. These organizations may work with federal nature conservation departments to recruit and train young people for ACS in the conservation sphere.

Lawyers and psychologists will be needed to provide initial consultations to recruits, to do testing, to monitor the experiment and to solve a number of other project-related issues within the present legal framework.

Sociological research will also be conducted during the project. The results of this research will be discussed in one or more workshops with the participation of State Duma deputies, representatives of interested organizations and experiment volunteers.

We invite draft-age men interested in ACS (after the proper federal law will has been enacted) as well as government, municipal, public and other conservation-related organizations to take part in this experiment.

For more information, please contact:

Mikhail Guskov
Biodiversity Conservation Center,
Ul. Vavilova 41, office 2.
Moscow, Russia, 117312
Tel: + 7 095 124-71-78, 124-50-22
Fax: + 7 095 124-71-78.
E-mail: gouskov@biodiversity.ru or polarbears2@ yahoo.com

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