October 18, 2013

International Conference on Geoethics 2013 has been finished.  The conference was held as a part of the 52nd Symposium “The Mining Příbram in science and techniques” under the umbrella of the Working Group for Geoethics of the International Association for International Development (AGID). Altogether 30 persons from the Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russian Federation and Senegal attended the meeting. The authors or registered participants included also colleagues from Algeria, Bolgaria, India, Germany, Mongolia and the USA. Altogether 29 papers have been published in the proceedings volume (ISBN 978-80-904993-4-8), 21 of them presented orally (with a following discussion). A special attention was paid to the paper prepared by Professor Ahluwalia sent by e-mail and reporting also fresh news about the recent cyclone in India and the successful evacuation of the population from the endangered regions. (Professor Ahluwalia had to cancel his planned trip to Příbram.) In the plenary session of the Ceremonial opening of the Symposium a special lecture of Dr. Václav Němec was presented under the title “Ethics in the science and techniques”.  

At the first session of the conference on Geoethics,  the introductory lecture “Geoethical principles of balance the interests of governments, local communities and abiotic nature in legislative decisions (case study)” was made by Dr. Nataliya Nikitina.  In this lecture for the first time the instrument to prevent conflicts between the miners and the local population in the geological survey, exploration and mining was presented.

A special program was arranged in the Antonín Dvořák Memorial at Vysoká (near from Příbram) with 3 lectures to a new topic “Support of Arts for Geoethics and Geoeducation” followed by a concert from the work of the most prominent Czech composers Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák with the participation of the outstanding Czech pianist Jitka Čechová and by a visit to the original publicly inaccessible country house of Antonín Dvořák (private property of his family).  

A special committee was established for editing the following final recommendations (Dr. V. Němec /head/, Dr. J. Chyba, Dr. V. Procházka (Czech Rep.), Professor A. Alberti (Italy), Professor N. Nishiwaki (Japan). Only those subjects have been included which have been really discussed in any meeting of the conference with a valuable preliminary work of Prof. Nieć (Poland).

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. In the sphere of education and public enlightenment an appropriate needed minimum know how of Earth sciences should be intensively promoted together with cultivating ethical way of thinking and acting and for the sustainable well-being of the society.

2. In the present situation of very intensive geological and climatic changes it is absolutely necessary in emergency regions of megafloods, landslides, tsunamis etc.:

- to strongly forbid any new construction of buildings and any new private or public investments,

- to complete a system of effective dams (barrages) resistant to floods of a far higher intensity,

- to transfer dangerous industrial objects into more suitable localities,

- to recommend to those people whose houses have been already damaged by floods not to re-install various equipment to the basements and lower floors,

- by means of an intensive public enlightening activities to prepare citizens of all age categories for an adequate behavior in any emergency case (ready to react in a proper way);

- to solve step-by-step and with a high sensibility changes of insurance contracts in areas with increased risks of natural hazards.

3. The actual activities of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes are not sustainable with the existing knowledge of the Earth sciences (as presented in the results of the 33rd and 34th International Geological Congresses). This knowledge should be incorporated into any further work of the IPCC.

4. In the sphere of legislation in a large international co-operation:

- to re-formulate the term of a “false alarm” and its legal consequences (taking into consideration the present extraordinary period),

- to demand very consequently the needed evaluation of existing risks (including their public explaining in a form understandable to anybody),

- to solve problems of rights of individuals and minorities in cases of the optimum use of mineral resources and of the optimum protection of the local population against emergency dangers and disasters; common good (well-being) must be considered as the priority when solving ethical dilemmas.

5. The precaution principle should be applied in any decision making process. Earth scientists presenting their expert opinions are not exempted from civil, administrative or even criminal liabilities. Details must be established by national law and jurisprudence.

6. A support is needed for any effort to analyze and to disclose the problems of the deformation of contemporary science very closely connected with many practical problems in Earth sciences. In the framework of discovering the real and complete truth a broad and open discussion is needed. Possible alternative solutions of any problem are to be admitted in the interest of the common good. Any effort trying to misuse peer reviewing process should be avoided.

7. An open and efficient discussion should be started with media emphasizing their high responsibility for promoting ethical way of thinking and acting as well as a correct promotion of geoethics in the whole world.

8. The safety of any nuclear energy investment should be increased by any means applying geoethical criteria.

9. Geological art (geoart) should be developed and oriented to a further cultivation of nobility and spirituality of the human kind as well as of its sensibility to the Nature and to the Earth.

10. Visions of geoethics should be premeditated aiming to the human wellbeing.

11. In mining activities protection of the environment should be always considered by limitation of unwanted environmental impact and by revitalizing areas abandoned by the exploitation.