RESOLUTION
OF THE IV NORTHERN SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONGRESS
The IV Northern Social and Environmental Congress was held March, 27-28, 2008 in Syktyvkar. More than 1000 scientists and specialists from leading high education institutions, scientific and industrial organizations, state power structures from 14 Russian cities, as well as leading scientists from 21 countries, who came to participate in the Arctic Science Summit Week-2008 (ASSW-2008), took part in the event.
Russian and foreign specialists. representing different fields of knowledge and spheres of activity, famous politicians and business representatives were united under the theme of the Congress - "Northern dimension of the global problems and the first results of the International Polar Year". The Year was held in 2007-2008 in Russia for the first time.
In the framework of the Congress the traditional extended field session of the Bureau of the Council of RAS on activities coordination of the regional branches and regional scientific centres took place. A number of Committees of the Council of Federation, which also organized their opened sessions took an active part in the work of the Congress. Many high education institutions and scientific centres of the Republic of Komi and other Northern regions of Russia were holding in the process of preparation of the Congress different conferences and seminars, results of which were published and distributed among the participants of the event. On the threshold of the IV Congress more than 50 scientific and methodical conferences took place. Their recommendations will be studied in details by the Organizing Committee and will be used in the final documents.
The Congress has been organized by the Government of the Republic of Komi, RAS Ural Branch, Komi Science Centre and Council of Rectors of the Republic of Komi with an active support from RF Presidential Administration, RF Government, Council of Federation and RF Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications. RAS, RAES, Moscow State University, Russia"s National Environmental Forum, Association of Native Peoples and the Minorities of the Russian North, Siberia and the Far East, some other representative public institutions of social and ecological orientation took part to prepare the event. The Congress"s co-chairmen are V.A. Torlopov, Head of the Republic of Komi, and V.A. Chereshnev, Academician of RAS, Chairman, Committee on Science and Science Intensive Technology, State Duma of the Russian Federation, Chairman, Ural branch, RAS.
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The participants of the joint session of the IV Northern Social and Environmental Congress and ASSW-2008 were unanimous in understanding the global responsibility of those, on whom dynamics and directions of resources exploitation of the Northern territories and Arctic depend. An imperative of the world Northern policy and national strategies must be an extremely careful attitude towards the unique natural heritage, which can be lost as a result of destructive changes in the functioning of socio-natural systems in these regions. The level of the global risks and negative consequences of unresolved global problems is higher in the same degree as the level of ecological culture in the sphere of economic and social policy is lower. Minimization and removal of the risks directly depends not only on the chosen strategy, but on the quality of scientific ground of the decisions taken, the level of fundamental knowledge and environmental policy"s development of the Northern countries, interested in utilization of the newest innovation technologies.
Not less important condition, according to the participants of the Congress, is the development of the social infrastructure of the Northern territories on the priority and outstripped basis. It should respond not only to severe weather conditions of the North and regional plans of the economic development, ensuring the high level of living standards and health of northerners, but contribute to preservation and augmentation of their cultural traditions as well. They deserve that their interests are fully protected not only today, but also in a long-term prospective. It is the logics the sustainable development consists of.
The participants of the Congress are fully supporting joint efforts of the Russian scientific society and the political leadership of the country on intensification of over-all scientific researches in the Russian North and, in particular, in Arctic, including research projects, related to the definition of boundaries in its deep-water part. Such close interaction of the big politics and the fundamental science not only strengthening the positions of Russia and fully corresponding its interests, but significantly widening possibilities of the international cooperation in the face of global threats and time challenges.
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Proceeding from the declared principles and being aware of the role, which the North and Arctic are playing in solution of the global problems, the participants of the Congress propose:
- To improve qualitatively the level of scientific and analytic basis of activity of the legislative and executive organs of government, which should be more opened during decision-making, using the potential of regional scientific and high education centres, mass medias possibilities and forms of the direct participation of institutions of the civil society;
- To contribute actively to the efforts of the Council of Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, regional Administrations and local organs of power, aimed at improving strategic planning and prognosis, taking into account natural and ethno-cultural specifics of the Russian North;
- To support the initiatives of the Club of Rectors of the Northern higher education institutions, aimed at the formation of the united cultural, intellectual and educational space of Russia and the Northern countries;
- To approve the recommendations of the Bureau of the Council of RAS on activities coordination of the regional branches and regional scientific centres, including the following:
- Strengthening the influence of RAS representatives in the work of the legislative organs of the Russian Federation. This will allow to bring the existing legal basis in accordance with the declared by the leadership of the country policy to support the fundamental science and the sustainable development of the Northern and old-industrial regions on the foundation of innovation, intensification of the economy, taking into account, first of all ecological aspects;
- Examination of the existing legislation on depths of the earths utilization and preparation of the scientific foundation of legislative initiatives to enlarge the nomenclature of usable valuable components on the basis of the long-term State program of evaluation, examination, exploitation and preservation of the mineral and raw material supply and other resources, first of all in the North;
- Scientific substantuation of the legislative initiative, ensuring the right of scientific institutions on free (free of charge) access to information on natural conditions observations (geology, soils, hydrosphere, flora and fauna etc.) from state and private owners of this information;
- Speeding up practical realization of the NC RAS "Space-Earth" proposals to create a national system of the space monitoring SKM "North", as well as centres of the economic and natural monitoring (proposal of the Plenipotentiary of the RF President in the Siberian Federal region A.V.Kvashnin and RAS);
- Strengthening the Arctics direction of over-all researches, conducted by regional science centres of the Russian North with the priority stress on geo-economic and geo-political significance of Russia at the North; preservation and utilization of bio-resource and ethno-cultural diversity; preservation of ethnic minorities; specifics of health care of the local population; new methods of search and exploitation of mineral raw materials; non-traditional power engineering and technological safety of engineering systems functioning; evaluation of space weathers influence on meteorological processes, bio-sphere, technical systems;
- Elaboration with the assistance of interested Ministries of the program on restoration and creation of new scientific centres and meteo stations in Arctic as a priority measure to strengthen Arctics direction of researches;
- Expansion of the net of geo-ecological and biological stations in researches of tundra and north-taiga territories, as well as modernization of the experimental base of research institutes of regional branches of RAS;
- Elaboration and realization of the Coordination plan of joint participation of scientific centres of RAS and Ural branch, RAS in the Federal program "Science-Education-Innovation in the north-west Federal region";
- Assistance to adoption of the special Program on over-all research of natural processes in Arctic;
- Continuation of permanent observations in the Eastern sector of Russian Arctic.
The participants of the Congress consider, that mutual task of the Northern countries is to work up the long-term social and ecological strategy of the sustainable and safe development of the Northern regions, using possibilities of the fundamental science and the international cooperation. Competition ability of Russia, collective security of the Northern states, including their energy security, and the aim of solving global problems, many of which are directly connected to the North, are largely depending on the effectiveness of such joint efforts.
Among the global problems, solving of which needs coordinated and urgent actions of the world society, the participants of the Congress pay special attention to sharp reduction of civilized and ethno-cultural diversity. This represents a real threat for big and small populations, but especially for the northern nationalities. Such destructive tendency corresponds with another real threat - elimination of natural system of the North and reduction of the unique regional biological diversity of the northern regions.
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