Экологический центр	Член Международного Социально-экологического Союза

Ecological center "Dront" (further: ecocenter) - is a non-governmental organization of umbrella type, registered with the satus of "public establishment". The ecocenter had been created in 1989 by a group of graduates of the Nature Protection Druzhina of Gorki state university for the implementation of various nature protection programs and projects. Currently the main goal of the work of the center is the consolidation and coordination of the activities of the environmental NGOs of Nizhni Novgorod province and of the Volga river basin. It accomplishes the following tasks:

• work with environmental NGOs (assistance in the activities, coordination, informatonal support, joint programs and actions);
• implementation of various projects and programs in the environmental field, including development and introduction into practice of the nature conservation regulations, living nature conservation, environmental education projects etc.;
• work with the authorities (informational support, review of materials, consultations, preparation nd lobbying of the draft decisions of the power bodies for various nature conservation issues);
• propaganda work (appearance on the TV, radio and publications in mass media, lecturing , preparation for publication and publishing of books and brochures etc.);
• organization and implementation of joint actions and projects etc.

Now there are 27 structural departments working in the ecocenter, each of which engages in its own sphere of activities, has own leaders and in case of necessity - own personnel and is self-funded. Among such departments are : laboratory of biodiversity protection, which engages in the conservation and desingn of nature reserves; energy information bureau, which maintains the data base on the energy problems; the editorial board of "Bereginia" newspaper of the environmental NGOs of the Volga river basin; agency of environmental information AVE-info, which has a network of correspondents all over the Volga river and disseminates among Mass media organs a monthly bulletin of environmental news; program "Let's help the river", which coordinates the activities of the Volga river basin citizens' environmental movement; information and consulting center "Strix", dealing with the development and introduction of environmental education programs et al. In general the ecocenter executes coordination functions both among the departments and among other NGOs of Nizhni Novgorod, Nizhni Novgorod province and the basin of the Volga river. The ecocenter annually submits information on the activities of environmental NGOs for the provin cial report on the state of environment , which is published by the administration of the province and the provincial committee for environmental protection. In 1997 the ecocenter "Dront" prepared and published a "Directory of the environmental organizations of Nizhni Novgorod province", which covers alongside with governmental agencies and scientific establishments the known environmental NGOs.

The ecocenter is a collective member of the International Socio-Ecological Union and maintains close ties with many groups in Russia and abroad. Beginning with January 1998 one of the divisions of the center (press-service) has been operating, as a regional representation of ROLL program. In 1998 in accordance with the results of the contest by the European Union and USA the ecological center "Dront".

Ecological center "DRONT"
603000, Nizhni Novgorod,
P.O.Box 631
Phone 7 (8312) 30-28-81
e-mail: dront@dront.ru