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National Plan of Action for the Protection
of the
Arctic Marine Environment
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Documents prepared in the
framework of the NPA Arctic |
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The National Plan of Action
for the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment from
Anthropogenic Pollution in the Russian Federation (NPA-Arctic)
was implemented as a complementary activity to the GEF
PDF-B Project (see above) from 1999 to 2001.
In addition to the
activities covered in the GEF PDF-B Russia Project (see
above), the following activities were implemented:
identification of existing capacity for environmental
management in the Arctic; programme of measures for
radioactive waste and nuclear materials treatment, storage
and disposal, as well as development of proposals for
restoring the environment at decommissioned military bases
in the Russian Arctic (especially in coastal zones); and
preparation (in co-operation with organisations of
indigenous People) of the Arctic Charter to ensure
protection of the habitat and traditional lifestyle of
ethnic groups and communities, and their participation in
matters related to development in areas they have
traditionally inhabited and used.
This page contains reports
of the meetings held, and documents produced, in the
framework of the NPA-Arctic.
The files are
in Microsoft Word format and have been compressed using
Winzip. Click the icon below to download the latest
version of Winzip:
To download
files click on the file Title. |
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Document
Summary:
This report
analyses the progress made on dismantling Russian nuclear
submarines. It includes a historical overview and a
description of the regulatory and legal framework, data on
the number of decommissioned submarines and their condition
and information on the submarine-dismantling infrastructure
in northwestern Russia. It describes all stages of the
submarine dismantling methods used and the basis of the
Russian concept for the integrated dismantling of nuclear
submarines to 2010. Submarines are being decommissioned
much faster than they are being dismantled. An average of
eight submarines per year are decommissioned, but no more
than four are dismantled. As a result, large numbers of
submarines are being mothballed, some with spent nuclear
fuel on board. Cutout reactor compartments are also stored
afloat.
For various
reasons, inadequate attention has been given to
establishing and developing the necessary infrastructure
throughout the lifetime of the nuclear fleet. Since there
is practically no infrastructure for handling spent nuclear
fuel and radioactive wastes, large stocks of untreated
spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste have accumulated
in northwestern Russia. They are kept for lengthy periods
in stores that do not meet modern safety standards and are
often judged to represent risks of accidents with severe
consequences. The Navy has no liquid radioactive waste
decontamination units or solid radioactive wastes
compacting units and the regional radioactive waste
handling systems are practically inactive.
Attention is
also given to various factors determining the potential
impact of nuclear fleet vessels on environmental safety.
There is an analysis of risk assessment and the associated
methodological, regulatory and legal aspects. Particular
attention is focused on radiation risk issues.
There is an examination of all of the major
sources of contamination and potential hazards arising
during nuclear fleet vessels dismantling. The main hazard
accompanying dismantling operations arises from the
potential nuclear and radiation consequences of accidents,
especially those involving spent nuclear fuel. An
examination is made of potentially dangerous situations
that can arise at various stages of dismantling with a more
detailed consideration of hypothetical accidents that can
lead to the release of large quantities of radioactivity
into the atmosphere and marine environment. Existing
methods make it possible to analyse unprojected (beyond
design) accidents and assess their radiation consequences.
Assessments
reveal that the most serious such consequences are
presented by accidents involving a fission chain reaction
and vessel sinking. Even in these accidents, radioactive
contamination is usually localized.
Storage of decommissioned nuclear vessel
reactors afloat (within submarines or section blocks)
represents a danger of radioactive contamination of the
environment and contravenes existing standards and
international recommendations that prohibit the storage of
radioactive wastes at marshy sites and those prone to
flooding, especially those afloat, underwater or in shallow
waters. The current practice should therefore be regarded
as an emergency, short-term measure. The number of vessels
stored afloat and the periods of storage should be
minimized.
This report
substantiates the need for the integrated study of the
environmental consequences of all stages of nuclear
submarine dismantling. It illustrates the link between the
measures taken and the need for a systematic solution to
outstanding challenges. The rate of spent nuclear fuel
extraction may have to be reduced if there is no solution
to the problem of safe reactor compartment storage or
interim spent nuclear fuel storage.
It will also
be slowed unless steps are taken to increase the interim
storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel and expand the
spent fuel reception facilities at the Mayak reprocessing
plant.
The main
recommendations relate to the need to maintain current
spent nuclear fuel extraction rates. This can only be done
through the construction and equipping of new spent fuel
extraction facilities, the provision of containers for fuel
storage and transport and the construction of maritime and
railway transport vehicles. Finance will have to be raised
to enable these investments to be made both nationally
within the Russian Federation and internationally at
bilateral and multilateral levels.
Table 7.1
identifies and prioritises measures to ensure radiation
safe handling of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive wastes
in northern Russia in the context of their effectiveness in
reducing radiation risks, the adequacy of measures to
control and reduce risk and the need for additional
measures and investment.
Table 7.2
contains a plan of urgent measures for the extraction of
spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned naval nuclear
submarine reactors and the reduction of radiation risk at
coastal technical bases.
Document
size: 1.22mb
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Document
Summary:
This document
has outlined the subject of impediments to the reuse of
decommissioned
military bases in the Russian Arctic coastal zone and
provided a ranking of priority sites for minimizing the
human health and environmental hazards posed by these
bases. The summary Table 6.1, which uses previous
information regarding the list of decommissioned military
bases in the arctic coastal zone from sections 4 and 5 of
this document, provides an indication of priorities among
bases that may be deemed suitable for further use in
non-military sectors.
The next step
is to develop and implement pilot projects to proceed with
remediation and pre-investment studies at one or two of the
high-risk bases that are amenable to reuse. Such sites are
indicated in Table 6.1. The sites selected for
pre-investment studies should also satisfy three additional
criteria:
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an interest
by local authorities in cooperating and proceeding with
remediation and/or remediation following pre-investment
studies;
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a
prospective user of the site has been identified and the
nature of users interest has been defined (i.e., there
exists documentation regarding the specific facilities
and land area that is of interest to the potential user);
and
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the site and
proposed project should have the potential to leverage
funding from domestic or international sources.
Given the
difficulty in securing funding to address the significant
ecological and health risks associated with these bases to
date, this third of these criteria may well constitute the
key to achieving progress.
The document
contains the following chapters:
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Characterisation of decommissioned military bases in the
coastal zone of the Arctic that damage or endanger the
environment and human health;
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Survey of
international agreements and domestic policies and
programmes relating to monitoring and prevention of
environmental pollution during decommissioning of
military bases in the Russian Arctic;
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Identification of decommissioned military bases posing
the greatest risks or causing the greatest damage to
human health and the environment;
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Identification of priority projects for environment
remediation at decommissioned military bases in the
coastal zone of the Russian Arctic that could be the
subject of pre-investment studies; and
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Conclusions
and Recommendations.
Document
size: 263kb |
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Indigenous
Peoples of the Russian Arctic: Present Situation and the
Transition to Sustainable Development (by T.M.
Krasovskaya, L.I. Abryutina, E.V. Agitaev, K.D. Arakchaa,
B. Funston, K.B. Klokov, M.Y. Lyubimtsev, A.A. Mikhailov,
O.M. Proskurkina, E.N. Sumina, M.A. Todyshev, T.K.
Vlasova, A.N. Yamskov and N.V. Zubarevich)
(London-Moscow, 2000)
Document
Summary:
Adverse anthropogenic
impact on the arctic land and marine environment can be
considerably reduced through the creative incorporation of
indigenous experience of non-depletive nature management
into the modern system for economic exploitation of the
region. It is emphasised that the practice of approaching
environmental and developmental issues in isolation from
the interests of the region's indigenous population is at
odds with the fundamental principles of the sustainable
development concept.
Section 1
of the document outlines the current socio-economic
situation of the indigenous peoples of the Russian Arctic
and emphasises the role of the traditional economy in their
socio-economic well-being. A comparative analysis is made
of the situation of the various peoples using the Human
Development Index. Regional opportunities are identified
for the socio-economic development of the arctic indigenous
peoples.
Section 2
is devoted to the development of the conceptual framework
for the sustainable development of the indigenous
population of the Arctic. It defines the environmental and
ethno-cultural foundations for the sustainable development
of the indigenous arctic peoples and the role of
traditional environmental knowledge in the modern economic
development of the region. The results of a sociological
survey are used to illustrate the current views of
representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North on
sustainable development and social well-being.
Section 3
contains information on the legislation of the Russian
Federation relating to protection of the environment, the
lands under traditional nature management and the right of
the indigenous peoples to use those lands and on State
support to the indigenous peoples in the new economic
conditions. Detailed attention is given to the loopholes in
the existing legislation on the protection of the lands
under traditional nature management and the informed
participation of the indigenous population in
decision-making relating to arctic developmental issues.
Positive examples of legislative support for such
participation are described for a number of northern
Russian regions and other Arctic countries. Particular
attention is given to issues relating to indigenous
self-governance and indigenous public organisations in the
Russian Arctic. Recommendations are made with respect to
improving the legislation to protect the traditional way of
life of the indigenous peoples, preserve their natural and
cultural heritage and ensure their informed participation
in the relevant decision-making.
Section 4
sums up the analysis and theory contained in the report.
The conclusions are reflected in recommendations for the
economic development of the indigenous peoples of the
Russian Arctic and its legislative support as well as for
the main activities to improve their welfare. There is a
particular focus on recommendations relating to the
preservation of the natural and cultural heritage and
traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples and
proposed measures to stimulate social activities and public
responsibility among the indigenous peoples. The section
contains proposals for forms of cooperation among the
circumpolar indigenous populations and measures to ensure
broad-based discussion of measures to promote the
sustainable development of the indigenous peoples of the
Russian North.
In
concentrated form, the recommendations and conclusions are
reflected in the Arctic Declaration, which is addressed to
the President of the Russian Federation, the federal and
regional legislative and executive authorities, public and
scientific organisations, entrepreneurs and workers in
industries using the Arctic's natural resources, and
citizens of Russia conscious of the responsibility they
bear for the future of their country.
The document
ends with twelve annexes, which include the full text of
the Arctic Declaration, a matrix of the main socio-economic
developmental indices of the indigenous peoples living on
the arctic coast, a calculation method for the Human
Development Index, the sociological questionnaire and its
answers, and reference sources.
Document size:
918kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains the Report of
the Second Meeting of the Working Group on Radioactive
Waste Management Associated with the Nuclear Fleet
Infrastructure in the Russian Arctic and Proposals for the
Restoration and Remediation of the Environment at former
Military Facilities in the Arctic Coastal Zone of Russia.
The meeting reviewed the draft documents on radioactive
waste management and decommissioned military bases and
established a work plan for the completion of both
documents. The report contains the outline of the revised
document “Proposals for Priority Measures for the
Management of Radioactive Wastes and Nuclear Materials in
the Coastal Zone of the Russian Arctic” and a list of
relevant Canadian references.
Document
size: 33kb |
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Document Summary:
Environmental
management in the Russian Arctic is an integrated system
involving all of the different types of authority. This
document analyses the existing capacity and puts forward
recommendations for improving it.
Section 1 of the report provides an
overview of the development of the environmental-economic
mechanism for environmental protection in the Russian
Federation. It depicts the overall trends of change in
environmental protection activities in the country and
analyses the system of environmental inspection in
operation since 1988. Section 2 sets out the fundamental
principles and priorities for development in the Russian
Federation. It presents the actors participating in the
environmental management process in the Russian Arctic and
their structure. Section 3 analyses current federal-level
institutional support to environmental protection measures
in the Russian Arctic, provides a table of polluted areas
in the Russian North and lists the main ministries and
authorities involved in environmental management in the
Russian Arctic. It also lists legislative acts and certain
standards on which the environmental management system is
based and examines the interaction of the federal executive
authorities in the realm of environmental management.
Section 4 analyses regional-level institutional support to
environmental protection measures. It depicts the role of
the local representations of certain ministries and
authorities and summarises them in tabular form. As a
result of the inadequate federal environmental protection
legislation, the northern regions of the Russian Federation
have had to adopt their own local legislation, which in
some cases has led to complications including
incompatibility with the Constitution or with federal laws.
Section 5 discusses local-level environmental management
and, in particular, the role of the organs of
self-governance and the local community, together with new
approaches to certain environmental management activities.
Currently, conflicts between social and environmental needs
are felt most keenly at the local level. The reasons for
this are analysed and listed. Section 6 assesses the
existing capacity of the institutional environmental
management infrastructure and the potential for increasing
its efficiency. Considerable progress in this field may be
achieved by further delineating and targeting the federal
and regional powers. It is essential to eliminate
duplication of work and establish precise co-ordination of
the various authorities. The excellent potential of the
scientific research and higher educational establishments
is contrasted with the currently inadequate potential of
the Russian non-governmental environmental organisations.
International scientific and non-governmental organisations
are listed together with their projects. Section 7
concludes that the work in progress must be continued.
Section 8 presents conclusions and recommendations.
The report concludes with four annexes.
The first lists federal normative acts relating to
environmental protection that play a significant role in
supporting environmental management measures. The second
lists environmental protection projects conducted in the
Russian Arctic by the executive authorities, regional and
municipal administrations, scientific establishments and
Russian and international non-governmental organisations.
The third annex reproduces a questionnaire entitled
“Identification of Existing Capacity for Environmental
Management in the Arctic Region of the Russian Federation”.
Finally, the fourth annex identifies institutions acting at
the level of the Russian Federation and its constituent
parts to provide environmental management in the Russian
Arctic.
Document size:
146kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains global
perspective; regional perspective; National Plan of Action
for the Protection of the Marine Environment from
Anthropogenic Pollution in the Arctic Region of the Russian
Federation (NPA-Arctic); timetable for development and
implementation of the NPA-Arctic; and revised work plan for
the implementation of the NPA-Arctic.
Document
size: 50kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains the Action
Plan for Sustainable Development of Indigenous Peoples of
the North with proposed calendar of its implementation.
Document size:
20kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains Report of
the First Meeting of the Working Group for the Preparation
of the Arctic Charter to Ensure Protection of Habitat and
Traditional Lifestyle of Small Ethnic Groups and
Communities and their Participation in Matters Related to
the Development in Areas of their Habitats and Traditional
Nature Use. Report contains summary of the discussion;
review in the progress in the implementation of the action;
fundamentals for sustainable development of indigenous
people of the Russian Arctic; terms of reference for WGAC
members; and programme for the preparation of the final
document.
Document Size:
26kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains Report of
the Second Meeting of the Working Group for the Preparation
of the Arctic Charter to Ensure Protection of Habitat and
Traditional Lifestyle of Small Ethnic Groups and
Communities and their Participation in Matters Related to
the Development in Areas of their Habitats and Traditional
Nature Use. Report contains summary of the discussion,
including the Canadian constitutional and legal framework
in relation to the rights of the aboriginal peoples of
Canada; constitutional and legal frameworks in relation to
indigenous peoples in Denmark/Greenland, Finland, Norway,
Sweden and the United States of America; sociological
survey of representatives of the indigenous peoples of the
Russian Arctic region; the Arctic Declaration; and
proposals for the Partnership Conference.
Document Size: 87kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains concept of
the identification of existing capacity for environmental
management in the Arctic Region of the Russian Federation;
preliminary list of institutions relevant to the
environmental management of the Russian Arctic; and work
plan for the implementation of the activity.
Document size: 31kb
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Document Summary:
This document contains terms of
reference of the Working Group on identification of
existing capacity for environmental management in the
Arctic Region of the Russian Federation; preliminary list
of institutions relevant to the environmental management of
the Russian Arctic; and draft questionnaire.
Document size: 42kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains Report of
the Intersessional Meeting of the Working Group on the
Development of a Plan of Priority Measures for Radioactive
Waste and Nuclear Materials Treatment in the Coastal Zone
and Development of Proposals for Restoration and
Remediation of the Environment at Decommissioned Military
Bases in the Russian Arctic. Report contains summary of the
review of the implementation of this activity and work plan
for the completion of the work.
Document
Size: 19kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains Report of
the Preparatory Meeting on the Development of a Plan of
Priority Measures for Radioactive Waste and Nuclear
Materials Treatment in the Coastal Zone and Development of
Proposals for Restoration and Remediation of the
Environment at Decommissioned Military Bases in the Russian
Arctic. Report contains summary of the discussion,
proposals for the member of the Working Group and work plan
for the implementation of this activity.
Document Size: 26kb
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Document Summary:
This document contains Report of
the First Meeting of the Working Group on the Development
of a Plan of Priority Measures for Radioactive Waste and
Nuclear Materials Treatment in the Coastal Zone and
Development of Proposals for Restoration and Remediation of
the Environment at Decommissioned Military Bases in the
Russian Arctic. Report contains summary of the discussion
on the preparation of the final document and work plan for
the implementation of the activity.
Document Size:
21kb |
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Document Summary:
This document contains Report of
the First Intersessional Meeting of the Working Group on
the Identification of Existing Capacity for Environmental
Management in the Arctic Region of the Russian Federation.
Report contains summary of the discussion, review in the
progress in the implementation of the action, and programme
for the preparation of the final document.
Document Size: 17kb |
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Document
Summary:
This document contains the Report of the
parliamentary
hearing in the state duma of the federal assembly of the
Russian Federation on “Protection of the Marine Environment
from Anthropogenic Pollution in the Arctic Region of the
Russian Federation (NPA-Arctic)”, held in Moscow on 12
March 2001. Report contains the summary record of the
hearing; recommendations adopted by the hearing; the
National Plan of Action for the “Protection of the
Arctic Marine Environment from Anthropogenic Pollution in
the Russian Federation (NPA-Arctic)”; and statements
by: Prof. Vladimir A. Grachev, Chairman of the State Duma
Committee on Ecology; Mr Mukhamed M. Tsikanov, Deputy
Minister, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade; Mr
Arthur N. Chilingarov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma;
Mr Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of UNEP, also on behalf
of GEF; Mr Geoffrey Holland, Representative of Canada; Ms
Mary Beth West, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and
Fisheries, United States of America; and Mr Viktor Sebek,
Executive Director of ACOPS.
Document Size:
83kb |
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