COPA green policy
CODE OF CONDUCT:
AIR SPORTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Code of Conduct covers the following:
Promotion of environmental awareness in air sports Understanding
Environmental information Contact with the natural environment Landscaping and
provision for wildlife on flying sites Support for Environmental Protection
Measures Community Service "Eyes in the Sky' Conservation volunteers FAI
Action National Airsport Controls' Action Individual Clubs' Action Participants'
Action Bibliography
Promotion of environmental awareness in air sports
The FAI is committed to protect the natural environment and to encourage its
members to take environmental protection into account when practising air
sports.
The FAI is working to ensure that these detailed codes of conduct for each of
the air sports are implemented by its members.
The FAI on behalf of all air sport practitioners declares that:
Everybody has a duty of care towards nature and the environment, but also has a
right to enjoy the beauty of nature and to seek recreation in natural
surroundings.
Air sports are closely bound to nature and those who fly have a right to enjoy
nature in their own way
The air sport community therefore has an interest in maintaining and protecting
the environment.
Suitable areas need to be opened and maintained in sufficient numbers for the
practice of air sports.
Understanding
Air sports people are aware of the need to maintain a balanced environment.
All air sport participants have an influence on the environment, humans and
wild-life, and affect the basic resources of life - land, air and water - by,
for example:
The need for land: e.g. areas for taking off, landing, buildings, parking and
access roads.
The consumption of energy: e.g. depletion of non-renewable resources.
Creating waste, noise and emissions: e.g. aircraft and vehicle use.
This means that we have to design our flying sites and conduct our operations
with environmental awareness and sensitivity. The organisers and providers of
flying sites cannot do this alone:
The responsibility for environmental awareness in air sports lies primarily with
the individual air sport enthusiast.
Air sport enthusiasts and their clubs must therefore commit themselves to the
protection and improvement of the natural environment by means of:
Environmental information
Air sport participants should improve their knowledge about how natural
phenomena inter-relate and about the effects of aviation activities on the
natural environment.
Contact with the natural environment
Care must be taken in the use of natural resources, and open countryside must be
treated with respect.
Landscaping and provision for wildlife on flying sites
Flying site infrastructure (airfield, parking areas, buildings) must be
landscaped and maintained with provision for wild life where possible and
appropriate.
Support for Environmental Protection Measures
Air sport participants should help to maintain and improve areas surrounding
flying sites. Individual natural features which are worthy of protection should
be preserved, and people encouraged to support environmental protection schemes.
The voluntary achievement of environmental objectives, instead of legislative
restrictions, should be promoted.
Community Service "Eyes in the Sky"
Protected, endangered and threatened areas should be watched for possible
damage (for example, forests threatened by fire or acid rain, rabid animals,
polluted water sources), and assistance should be given to surveys for Nature
Conservation, agriculture and forestry etc
Conservation volunteers
Each individual club should appoint a nature conservation and environmental
representative.
FAI Action
The FAI is active in the promotion of environmental protection and nature
conservation, in order to:
Promote awareness and responsible attitudes among air sports enthusiasts about
environmental matters. Support environmental projects associated with air sport.
Demonstrate how air sports and their infrastructure make a positive contribution
to the environment.
Action by National Air Sport Controls, Individual Clubs and Participants:
The Flying Site
Flying sites should be laid out and operated in an environmentally
sustainable fashion by:
Employing energy-saving measures, and encouraging the introduction of
appropriate new technologies.
Appropriate storing, handling and disposal of environmentally threatening
substances (oil, petrol, paraffin, paints, chemicals and kitchen, campsite and
toilet waste etc).
Restoring temporary flying sites to a suitable environmental state when flying
activities are terminated.
Blending permanent flying sites with the surrounding landscape (for example by
using site-specific local bushes, shrubs and trees, and by sensitive placing of
buildings, engine run-up areas, etc.).
Allowing grass and wild flowers to grow in a predominantly undisturbed fashion
on unused parts of the airfield.
To assist in addressing queries or complaints from people affected by air sport
operations, it can be helpful to set up Airfield Consultative Committees, with
representatives from the flying site and from the local community. Further
details are given in the ICAO paper "Recommended Measures to help Reduce
the Noise Related Nuisance from Light Aeroplanes" listed in the
bibliography.
See the Bibliography for this and some other existing sources of useful
information.
The aircraft
Aircraft should be improved when economically feasible to keep pace with
advances in energy and noise reduction.
Specific Codes of Conduct for Each Air Sport
The following specific codes are appended:
Ballooning Power flying Gliding Parachuting Model Flying Rotorcraft Aerobatics
Para- and Hang-gliding Microlight flying
Bibliography
- "Verhaltenskodex der Luftsportler", published by
Deutscher Aero Club, Rudolf Braas Str 20, Postfach 1361, 63150 Heusenstamm,
Germany.
- "Recommended Measures to help Reduce the Noise Related
Nuisance from Light Aeroplanes", ICAO Working Group 1, report of the
Prop 3 Task Group.
- "Diminishing Noise Nuisance caused by Light
Aircraft", Conseil National du Bruit, France, 1992
- "Considerate Flying" published by General
Aviation Awareness Council, 50a Cambridge Street, London, UK
- "How Green is Your Airfield?" published by
General Aviation Awareness Council, 50a Cambridge Street, London, UK
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