I am the director of one of the
programs of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists (http://www.spns.narod.ru/),
where I'm also the member of the council. The Program ECOM defines its mission
as 'steering public participation in the region'. ECOM has been working on
several projects: monitoring, evaluating, inspiring and finally - managing and
implementing public involvement in environmental decision-making. Those cases
include, i.e. environmental assessment of the Baltic pipeline system and ports
on Baltic Sea, strategy for co-operation between the St. Petersburg and
Leningrad regions, aluminium melting factory and several other projects. The
most recent developments are in the field of new social technologies:
administrative public hearings, public environmental expertise (assessment) and
informing public on environmental decision-making. ECOM is lobbying for local
and regional legislation on public participation, and try to encourage
environmental initiatives in business.
I do have strong interests in local and regional sustainable development.
Currently, I'm involved in the consultations on the sustainability assessment of
St.Petersburg City Development Plan (as a private consultant) and ECOM is
working on the problem of conservation of green spaces in the growing city. In
the previous years I was researching on best practice cases for local
sustainable development and had organized several training initiatives in
St.Petersburg and in other cities.
In 2000 I began teaching courses on Public participation for the students of
Communications and Public Relations Department in a private university in
St.Petersburg (http://www.nilc.spb.ru). Since then the interest for
sustainability communications on the faculty has grown up, and in 2002 I found
myself in the position of the Chair of the Department, teaching also 'The
Introduction into Sustainable Development', 'Non-profit Communications and
Social Investments' and some other cources. The Department intends to build
strong relationships with non-governmental sector and to raise professional
communicators with deep understanding of the issues of sustainability.
My basic education was in zoology (master's degree from the department of
invertebrate zoology at Leningrad State University), PhD - in cellular biology,
but current work is mostly about and around communications. Continuing education
includes courses in environmental impact assessment and sustainable development,
contemporary methods for environmental regulation, and basics of market
economics, organizational management and LEAD