International ecological conference summary has been reported

A summary report of a two-days international ecological conference “Ecological aspects of anthropogenic transformation of the urban environment” was released. The conference took place in Perm and involved more than 80 contributors from the business, science, social and government fields.

All the reports and discussions were divided into four sections, devoted to different ecological aspects. “Urboecology and specially protected territories” section speakers discussed problems of ekistics and developing of special protected territories network. It was stated that creating these territories inside the urban environment is only possible under cultural heritage and tourism specialists’ advisory assistance.

Industrial ecology section participants spoke about new technologies on the plants, which help to prevent negative impact on the environment, separate waste collection and utilization. Noteworthy idea of voluntary certification of real property items “Green standards” was put forward during discussion.

The main question raised at the urban forests section was the recreational potential of the city forests: how to turn forests into recreational zones, keeping its natural value undamaged. Some practical ideas on developing a recreational potential of city forests, squares and parks were presented during discussion, which would be put into consideration of the local government.

Lively discussion took place at the “Ecological awareness. Education. Tourism” section. Perm non-governmental organizations members and industrial companies workers took part in the discussion. “German-Russian exchange” non-profit organization member Zielke Junge made an outstanding report on civic engagement in solving ecological issues in Germany. She noted high level of involvedness of Perm residents into ecological situation in the city. “I have noticed immediately that people here are interested, for example, in a problem of small rivers cleaning. The important moment here is that the initiative is not coming only from non-profit organizations, but also from some simple residents, and the governmental support can also be sensed”, - said Zielke Junge.

“The forum has become an actual breakthrough for us. It’s the first time Perm hosts an international ecological conference of this scale. We are greatly thankful to everyone who helped us organize the event and who took part in it. At the suggestion of the Head of City Administration Anatoly Mahovikov, we plan to make this event an annual thing”, - said the head of City Department of Ecology and environmental management Antonina Galanova.