Scientific school of environmental protection

Development of ecological expertology in the Kyiv national university named after Taras Shevchenko

The citizens of Ukraine are guaranteed of enjoying their constitutional rights to life, safe for life and health environment, education (articles 3, 27, 50, 53 of the Constitution). Providing with ecological safety and maintaining of ecological equilibrium on the territory of Ukraine, overcoming the consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe (article 16) are the duties of the state, the state assists with the development of science, establishment of scientific communications of Ukraine with world community (article 54).

The Treaty concerning Antarctic region is signed on December, 1, 1959

Executive secretary of secretariat of the Treaty concerning Antarctic region Johannes Huber, who recently was in Kyiv with a business visit, and the director of the National Antarctic scientific center Valeriy Lytvynov remembered that the international document ratified in Washington had defined the “district south to the 60-th parallel of the south latitude, including all shelf ices,” to be a nuclear-free area.

 The question concerning prohibition of all nuclear explosions in Arctic region had been aroused by Argentina at the conference, the delegation of which later changed the decision and jointly with the delegation of Australia suggested to assume the conduct of nuclear explosions of nondefense character. The USSR criticized this suggestion and insisted on that Antarctic region was used only in peaceful aims. Production, placing, usage and storage of atomic and thermonuclear weapon were also forbidden on the continent. The accepted documents gave possibility to convert Antarctic region into the region of peace, science and ecology, where the experiment of peaceful collaboration so important for the whole world is being carried out.

Ukraine ratified the Treaty concerning Antarctic region in September, 1992. Presently our scientists are working at our own scientifically-research station “Academician Vernads’kyi” and they carry out regular marine expeditions in the region that falls under the treaty legal regime.

Conducting of scientific researches in Antarctic region gives the right to Ukraine to quotas on catch of fish and shrimp. The fact that the station “Academician Vernads’kyi” is included in the list of 17 base centers of the global system of climate changes observations of the World meteorological organization is important too. All these will be talked over at the special international assembly that has been planned to conduct in Kyiv in 2008 year.

M.S/

Elina POZNYAK