The Legacy Program:

A short profile


The Legacy Program

The legacy of the arms race with its man-made environmental disasters and untold economic and social costs to the quality of human life is a legacy so powerful that Green Cross created in 1994 a program specifically to overcome and prevent the long-term consequences of armed conflicts.

Overall goals are:

  • Facilitation of disarmament and clean-ups;
  • Direct help to communities affected by armed conflicts;
  • Information on the impact of armed conflicts on the environment and related social costs.

For reaching these goals, Green Cross employs a two-part strategy:

  • Establishment of hands-on, pragmatic projects which meet local demands and yield tangible results for local communities and citizens; and,
  • Promotion of a civil society in order to secure these results for the longer run.

Green Cross implements this strategic concept through activities in three main directions:

  • Information and education of all stakeholders; facilitation of public involvement;
  • Promotion of improvements in the health and social infrastructure sectors;
  • Independent and non-partisan scientific investigations answering public concerns and leading to increased trust between stakeholders.

Projects are designed as co-operative efforts of governments, army, academia, local communities, NGOs and individuals.

Program modules

Under the Legacy umbrella, four modules form a comprehensive approach with each tackling a specific area in the expansive scope of the military toxic legacy:

  • Radleg (=Radiation Legacy) collects and compiles data on location, size and scale of nuclear contamination of the environment and advocates clean-up priorities;
  • Chemtrust (=Chemical weapons, Trustbuilding for their destruction) facilitates a chemical weapons destruction process safe for public health and the environment;
  • Conweap (=Conventional Weapons) promotes military base clean-up and conversion as well as the environmentally sound destruction of weapon inventories;
  • Socmed (=Social and Medical assistance) improves the public health services and social infrastructure in regions affected by former military activities.

Projects by type

             

  • Information, education through
    • Public outreach offices for Chemical Weapons Disarmament in Kurgan, Shchuch’ye, Pochep, Penza, Kizner;
    • Publication of a series of brochures, work with mass media;
    • Public meetings with citizens, meetings with army and authorities;
    • Environmental education conferences, roundtables.
  • Mediation through
    • Hearings on Chemical Weapons Disarmament (Gorny, Kambarka, Washington, Indianapolis, Shchuch’ye, Kizner);
    • Establishing of Citizens’ Advisory Commissions in Russia for facilitating the dialogue between local communities and the army.
  • Support of communities through:
    • Epidemiological and medical investigations in chemical weapons stockpile areas (Gorny, Shchuch’ye);
    • Training of medical staff and authorities on chemical weapons-related aspects (Shchuch’ye, Kizner, Kambarka, Briansk, Penza);
    • Therapy camps, Mother and Child Food Programs;
    • Provision of equipment for local hospitals;
    • Elaboration of regional investment plans meeting western standards.
  • Research, pilot projects answering public concerns like
    • Investigation of abandoned chemical weapons destruction site (Penza, Moscow);
    • Risk assessment of chemical weapons destruction facilities (Kambarka, Kizner, Shchuch’ye);
    • Bioremediation of a massive oil spill (Strategic Missile Base Ostrov);
    • Demining of Baltic Coast shoreline in Estonia.
  • Institution building:
    • Russian Ecological Congress and Green Round Table;
    • Ratification of Chemical Weapons Convention, advisory function in the Duma committee elaborating the Russian CW destruction law;
    • Support to foreign assistance in Russia.

Main network partners

             

  • Swiss Government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs);
  • U.S. Government (Co-operative Threat Reduction Program);
  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons;
  • NC Defense Center Spiez (Switzerland);
  • FOA Umea (Sweden);
  • Institutes of Social and Preventive Medicine Bern and Basel (Switzerland);
  • New Technologies Foundation Minsk (Belarus);
  • Russian Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection (Agreement on Co-operation exists),
  • Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Agreement on Co-operation exists),
  • different ministries, regional and local administrations, national and local NGOs, academic institutions, embassies in Russia, U.S., Switzerland, Estonia.

Financial scope

Total expenditures of the Legacy Program in 1994-1997 were 3'080'000 USD. Financial assistance was provided by the Swiss and U.S. Governments, foundations and public donations. All financial statements have been audited.

 

Dr. Stephan Robinson

St.Galler-Ring 9

CH-4055 Basel

Tel./Fax +41-61-382 91 97

E-mail greencross@ubaclu.unibas.ch



© GCI, June 1999 / Green Cross International / Geneva / Switzerland


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