«CURRENT EVENTS»

DECLARATION OF FREEDOM FOR WILDLIFE

Approved of the International Workshop “Natural Rights of Nature” (“Tribune”-9), Kiev, May 16-18, 2003

By proclaiming this Declaration of Freedom for Wildlife we:

• consider freedom as one of paramount achievements of individuals and the society;
• recognize the fact that freedom is an integral condition for natural development not only for the man, but also for every living being;
• take into consideration that wildlife welfare depends largely on human activities;
• understand that the man must assume responsibility for the observance of the right of wildlife for freedom;
• call on citizens of all countries, public and state institutions to promote recognition and observance of this Declaration.

Under "wildlife" we mean parts of biosphere unguided, uncontrolled and slightly disturbed by the man, while under ‘freedom "of wildlife" we mean unrestricted possibility to demonstrate its capacity for natural evolution.

By this Declaration we proclaim the following:

I. The right for freedom is a natural, integral and non-estranged right, one of the most primal wildlife rights.

II. Freedom is a principal condition of wildlife existence. Loss of freedom reduces and limits wildlife creative capacity, limits freedom of wild animals, plants and other organisms.

III. Wildlife possesses freedom regardless of human demands, and only in case of serious danger to men or the mankind in general, limited interference of people in natural processes should be permitted.

IV. It is necessary to treasure, respect and protect wildlife, in particularly everything that remains free, beautiful, wild, savage, strange, or undisturbed. The mankind must learn to appreciate freedom of wildlife as a good itself regardless of advantages or profit it gives to people, ecosystems and live being kinds.

V. The man should protect wildlife, first of all, since it exists, lives and should leave its own life.

VI. People could be content with already developed areas and should rehabilitate areas already disturbed by developments. In its further development, the mankind should allot fragments of biosphere sufficient for natural evolution to wildlife for use in perpetuity.

VII. Biosphere fragments where the man already deliberately and consciously restricts its freedom for the sake of freedom of wildlife, first of all, protected areas, have crucial significance for the biosphere and mankind. Ensuring total freedom of wildlife should become a keystone of protected area management.

VIII. It is not enough to protect only a few remaining wildlife areas. It is necessary to allot considerable biosphere fragments that are now used by the man to wildlife and facilitate the restoration of natural ecological processes there.

Thus draft Declaration has been developed at the Kiev Ecological and Cultural Center and the Biodiversity Conservation Center.