Document(s) 9 of 10

THE DNIPRO BASIN is not merely an environment inhabited by 33 million people of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Belarus. It is a unique storehouse of a multitude of historical-archaeological monuments and sites of European and world significance. It includes the mysterious PreCimmerian petroglyphs of the Stone Tomb at the Molochna River, Europe's ancient Trypillia cities, Dereyiv breed horses, Scythian farming and cattle breeding, the first coins of Olvia, and more.

Historical-archaeological centres have been established in the Dnipro basin, representative of Ellin-Scythian culture (Byelske Horodysche) in the Poltava Oblast, Trypillia culture in Cherkasy Oblast, the Ellin culture of Olvia in the Mykolayiv Oblast. But, of course, that does not suffice. The number of such centres should grow and historical-cultural tourist routes should be created. The spiritual treasures of our ancient land ought to be managed under national jurisdiction. Centres for spiritual purification should be established and serve as sites for the rebirth of national self-identity, to replenish the spiritual forces (the centres of Seredniostohiv, Chernyahiv, Mezin, Deriyiv, Chornolissia, Losogub, Kyiv, and other basin cultures).

The Kyiv hills and the Dnipro banks once nurtured one of the most ancient European civilisations—Kyivan Rus. The historical roots of the Dnipro reach the depths of millennia. One of the pathways of the Great Silk Road extended along the Dnipro from Volga Bulgaria through Kyiv towards Western Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. This road could be recreated as a future project for an international tourist route (for example, a trip by Dereyiv horse).

The thousand-year-old eco-cultural greatness of the Dnipro, its spiritual and ecological aura have been feeding the vital forces of the people inhabiting the basin, of the people of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. According to a hypothesis by Danylenko, the ancient name of the Dnipro—the Borysphen—is associated with "a storehouse of vital forces." In the late 20th century, these forces were undermined. In addition to all the misfortunes already befallen the ancient Dnipro, saddled with hydroelectric dams, the most treacherous one happened—a violent attack against the spirituality of the people who had lived in harmony with nature. The absence of any spirituality among the conquerors of nature brought Chernobyl to the Dnipro banks, 'blooming' reservoirs, sludge-pools, flooded areas (artificial deluge on the Dnipro) and other environmental and spiritual calamities, as well as the suffering to people.

The peoples of the Dnipro, whose ancestors were tillers and cattle-breeders on one of the world's richest black soils,* worshiped Mother Earth and never thrust a spade into the ground without necessity. They never cut bread, they merely broke it using their hands. The toloka was the foundation of their lifestyle. They animated water and purified themselves with it on the Epiphany. As present-day Muslims gather in Mecca for their spiritual purification, not too long ago Orthodox believers had a tradition of making a pilgrimage from near and distant parts of the Slavic world for spiritual purification to the revered Kyiv and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

The Dnipro basin is a common home for all peoples who share ancient Slavic traditions, culture, and spirituality. Awareness of the historical, cultural, and ecological communality is a necessary condition for saving this common heritage. Nowadays, the ecological and spiritual aura of the Dnipro suffers from a serious ailment. It does not matter were the ailment is, be it at the headwaters, the middle of the river, or the mouth: the ailment affects everybody and

* The European Land Resources Laboratory in Paris contains a Black-Soil sample collected from the Dobrovelychkivsky Rayon, Kirovograd Oblast, Ukraine.

everything. The ecological rehabilitation of the Dnipro is, first of all, a moral and spiritual task. Unless everyone, every individual, accepts this notion, no amount of international aid will produce a single tangible result in addressing the problem. The problem must be resolved as soon as possible. It ought to engage every individual from the Dnipro basin, from teachers and priests to representatives of scientific and business circles.

We have a divine destiny to "cultivate and care for" our environment, which we have thus far failed to achieve. Yet, we can see our modern role. Let the true believers be reconciled by the unity of this great spiritual and ecological purpose. They will become the leaders of a spiritual-ecological movement for the sake of the salvation of the once paradisiacal waters and lands of the Dnipro basin, with its picturesque scenery of small rivers and tributaries, dear to each Ukrainian's heart. The time has come to collect the 'spiritual' stones.

Sowing that which is eternal and wise is a task for the pedagogues and scholars. The ecology and vital forces of the Dnipro are eternal. Education and enlightenment should become everyone's way of life and pedagogues—the followers of our wise predecessors V. Sukhomlynsky, Rerikh, Vernadsky, Podolynsky, and other world famous enlighteners—should become our guides of knowledge and culture. According to Vernadsky, noosphere, noospherogenesis is the philosophy of wisdom. A reasonable coexistence with nature is, indeed, a moral principle of upbringing, a comprehensive school of noospherogenesis, and the basis upon which the wonderful uniqueness of nature is built, a unique richness of archaeological monuments of the Dnipro. Knowledge feeds the mind, and knowledge about nature, its riddles, mysteries, and laws of existence, purifies our essence and our mind from the informational heartlessness and inveterate political cynicism, regenerating and strengthening our origins and our genetic essence.

Science must regain its original purpose of deepening and enriching human wisdom and the true understanding of the harmonious integrity of nature. Before it is too late, we must reconsider our attitude towards development as merely a process of economic growth. We should resist the pressure to increase gross domestic product and devote ourselves to the criteria of social and ecological health and the quality of human existence. Market supply and demand should not dictate the rate nor the quality of life. The pace of life should be determined by ecological demands and the harmonisation principles of human existence. The individual, society, and humanity as a whole should develop primarily along spiritual and ecological dimensions. We should rely on the cultural traditions of the people, communities, and ethna, referring at the same time to the principles of wisdom of the holy scripture and nature. All the rest—material, intellectual and natural human needs—should be harmonised using reason.

Technological breakthroughs should be ecologically justifiable and aim first and foremost at the sustenance of dynamic equilibrium on the basis of the utilisation of solar and other renewable energy sources.

The harmony of vital forces is the higher virtue and the higher aim of human existence within the natural environment. It is very difficult to attain this harmony, especially when preference is recklessly given to foreign political and ideological guidelines. They try to teach us everything that has been practised since time immemorial by our ancestors, the Slavs and the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks. The democracy of the Zaporizhzhian Cossacks, consolidated in Pylyp Orlyk's Constitution, is much more ancient and democratic than others. Thus, let us refer to our predecessors, to the wisdom of the Indo-European people, to whom we are bound by our historical past. They had lived in harmony with nature for millennia (India, Tibet, Scandinavia); for them spiritual forces and values have always been the essence of existence, and not 'consumerism' reduced to vulgarity and absurdity.

Today, there are already wonderful examples of wise actions, conscientious and good-hearted initiatives. For example, the non-governmental organisation Ridna Zemlya ("Homeland") from Kyiv and the pan-Ukrainian social movement Simeyne Dzherelo ("Family Source") have developed and are implementing a project which foresees the establishment of a network of ecological settlements. The settlements are based on a new culture, new education, a new form of community life, new production principles, and, finally, a new attitude towards the environment based on family land parcels and family estates. The partners in the project include the public organisation Stvorennia ("Creation")—Donetsk, Zemlekorystuvach ("Land User")—Zhytomyr, Rodova Zemlya ("Ancestral Land"), the club Anastasia—Kyrovohrad, and other non-profit organisations.

We, the people of the Dnipro basin, should accept our own eco-spiritual code of life, our own ecological basin constitution—a codification of fundamental laws for the harmonisation of life and the achievements of the highest moral principles of our coexistence with nature.

The ecological rehabilitation of the Dnipro basin is a spiritual, moral, physical, and genetic rehabilitation of the nations inhabiting it. It involves conscious compliance with the laws of nature and harmony which should become the norm of life for people and societies of the Dnipro basin. The following are the most important of them:

• Fundamental Laws on Ecology (Barry Commoner): everything is interconnected; everything has its place; nature knows best; nothing is granted for free (these are the premises of the harmonisation process).

• The Rule on the Extent of Transformation of Natural Systems: one cannot exceed the limits of self-sustaining capabilities (self-organisation and self-regulation). This is also a premise of the harmonisation process.

• The Principle of Naturalness: as time passes, the eco-socioeconomic efficiency of 'technical devices' steadily diminishes, while the economic expenditures for their sustenance steadily increase.

• The Rule on Socio-Ecological Balance: society develops only to the extent that it may maintain a balance between its own pressure on the environment and its capability of regenerating this environment, regardless of whether it is a natural or artificial process.

• The Principle of Cultural Management of Development: development criteria in which economic profit and enrichment prevail is anti-ecological. A new paradigm for human cultural behaviour is required in the management of development. This law is a reflection of the profound interaction process between society and nature on one hand, and society and people (social groups) on the other hand. The process of harmonisation corresponds to this law.

• The Principle of Ecological Conformity: the form of existence of an organism (human) always corresponds to the living conditions (harmonisation aims to change the living conditions in order to reach a state of ecological conformity).

• The Law on Common Influence of Factors: the interrelation of ecological factors and their mutual strengthening and weakening stipulate their impact on an organism, and, consequently, on the quality of its life course (polluted air + contaminated water + polluted land + viruses + noise pollution +... = maximum harmful impact).

• The Stability Principle: any relatively closed ecosystem with an energy flow passing through it during the process of self-regulation develops in the direction of a sustainable state (the harmonisation process oriented towards the achievement of sustainable society).

• The Rule on Relative Inner Non-Discrepancy: the functioning of species within natural ecosystems is oriented toward sustenance of these ecosystems as their habitats (it does not occur in artificial ecosystems).

• The Principle of Ecological Complementarity: no functional part of an ecosystem can remain viable without the other complementing parts (the harmonious completeness of life forces).

• The Law on Internal Dynamic Development: matter, energy, information, and the dynamics of natural systems and their hierarchy are interdependent. Any change within the environment inevitably leads to natural chain reactions aimed at neutralising the change or the formation of new natural systems. These new systems may be irreversible and may produce negative results if the changes to the environment are significant. This law is the backbone of environmental management and is the main law on life harmonisation.

• The Law on System Development at the Expense of the Environment: any system may develop solely based on the exploitation of its environment. This law operates both in natural and social systems. The term 'sustainable development' contradicts this law and the principles of harmonisation.

• The Law on Functional Systemic Irregularity: the rates of reactions and the passage of phases of system development (in reaction to external factors) are naturally irregular—they accelerate (strengthen) and decelerate (weaken), which is known as harmonious pulsation.

• The Principle of Aberration of Living Conditions: the more deviations there are within an environment, the fewer the species within it.

• The Principle of Systemic Complementarity: either the systemic complementarity principle will be observed with respect to the relationship between Homo sapiens and nature, or the ecological crisis will exacerbate to a state of catastrophe (systemic harmonisation of relationships).

• The Law on Decreasing Efficiency: increasing a specific energy input into an agro-system will not result in an adequately proportional increase in its productivity (fertility).

• The Rule on Acceleration of Historical Development: the faster the rate of environmental change due to human impact, the faster the rate of change in the socio-ecological characteristics of people and societal development. The process may be equally positive or negative, and, consequently, it is more difficult to reach harmonisation under these conditions.

• Vernadsky's Law on Noosphere: the biosphere will inevitably turn into a noosphere, that is, a system in which the human mind will play the dominant role in the harmonisation of the human-nature relationship.

Only a common effort, a one-of-a-kind 21st century ecological toloka' involving the 33 million people of the Dnipro basin will be able to save it and strengthen its vital forces and, consequently, the vital forces of every person, family, settlement, and society as a whole. Today, there is still a chance to preserve the Dnipro's vital forces for our children and grandchildren if the people of this Great River choose their own path of harmonisation. There is still hope if they give preference to their own life values, their own historical traditions, which are genetically coded in each of us by the previous cultures and civilisations that once lived and left their historical and spiritual aura in the Dnipro basin.

Document(s) 9 of 10