Consider Nizhnii Tagil, a heavily industrialized city in the Ural Mountains of Russia. Nizhnii Tagil's pollution was severe, and the available resources limited, but a committee of business leaders, government officials and representatives of local academic and citizen organizations came together and recruited members from the public to take action on the environment. For three years the group studied health data and pollution information, then targeted the most severe pollutants for emissions reductions. So far the results have included several hundred thousand dollars of concrete environmental improvements, and changed the approach of the city government toward how it makes decisions and consults its citizens. A successful, sustainable ecology on any scale is nothing if not a recognition of community, and successful communities are built by creative and energetic individuals who believe they can make a difference.
Ecological awareness can start in our own backyards and spread across the globe.
For example, ISC helped connect community leaders from the areas surrounding Lake Ohrid on the border of Albania and Macedonia with their counterparts from Lake Champlain in the United States. The lakes have much in common, including the United Nations designation of being among the world's most significant natural resources. Through the efforts of local leaders, the project has resulted in a historic partnership to protect Lake Ohrid and its native fish, and has also played a role in reducing ethnic tension between two neighboring countries in a volatile region. If we're interested in solving problems for the new century, working at the community level may not make for great Hollywood thrillers, but it will generate true stories that will inspire our children for generations to come, and give the planet and its endangered creatures a new lease on life.