UNEP/GEF Project “
5th Steering
Committee Meeting
24-25 March 2011
UN Building,
Report
On the Fifth Meeting of the Project Steering Committee
______________________________________________
Prepared by: the Project Office
Status: approved
Table of Annexes
Annex I List of Participants in the Project Steering Committee Meeting Moscow, 24-25 of March, 2011
Annex II Revised Agenda of
the Meeting
Annex IV
Annex V Report on Environmental
protection System Component Implementation
Annex VI
Report
On the Fifth Meeting of the Project Steering Committee
Introduction
The 5th meeting of the Steering
Committee (StC) for the UNEP/GEF Project “
The meeting started at 10.00 on March
24, 2011. The list of participants is presented in Annex I of this report.
Agenda item 1: Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda
The Chairman welcomed
participants and informed the StC members that this meeting would be the final
meeting of the StC for the UNEP/GEF RF NPA-Arctic Project. He invited Dr. Ampai Harakunarak and Mr.
Takehiro Nakamura to speak on behalf of UNEP, the Project Implementing Agency.
Taking a brief opportunity to
benefit from the participation of Mr. Nakamura, the Chairman proposed that the Project exit strategies and transition to the Arctic Agenda 2020 Programme be reviewed
and discussed on the first day of the meeting, allowing details to be further
discussed on the second day of the meeting.
The StC meeting approved the proposed revisions and adopted the new agenda
as attached in Annex
II of
this report.
Agenda item 2: Project exit STRATEGies and TRANSITION TO THE
ARCTIC AGENDA 2020 PROGRAMme
The StC
reviewed and discussed the development of project exit strategies. It was
agreed that the strategies would specify actions and steps for continued
improvement of the Russian Arctic environment, after the predetermined objectives
of the UNEP/GEF RF NPA Arctic have been achieved, through the results of each
project component and the established partnership and cooperative mechanisms.
It was advised that the strategies should not overtly identify the plan for
applying new GEF funds, but rather propose areas of future work with potential funding
sources – as a basis for the Arctic Program development. The meeting
acknowledged the GEF fund used to implement the project activities and agreed
that some remaining/unutilized project budget (estimated at $25,000) would be
used to hire a consultant to develop the strategies. The StC acknowledged a
suggestion to transfer the remaining amount of GEF fund to UNEP account after
the project is financially closed. A special attention was given to the coordination mechanism(s)
required under the Arctic Agenda 2020 Programme with an involvement of various
GEF Agencies and Russian Executing Agencies.
The
meeting also discussed the following points:
The
Chairman noted that the Project should be completed on May 31, 2011 and all
activities of the Project Office (PO) would also be terminated after this date.
He also requested that the StC members
make decision on follow-up steps including the use of remaining Project funds,
“Arctic Agenda
The UNEP
representative noted that the NPA-Arctic project completed all component
activities successfully. Both Project managerial structures – Project Steering
Committee (STC) and Interagency Working Group performed successfully and the
administrative experience gained could be replicated in the new “Arctic Agenda
UNEP’s
expertise and contribution during the project implementation as well as the
transition period (particularly from now to November 2011) was recognized and
continuous support in developing exit strategies for the NPA-Arctic Project was
encouraged.
UNEP would
support the
The US EPA
representative highlighted excellent implementation of the UNEP/GEF NPA-Arctic
Project and recommended the programme coordination structures built on the
existing ones (i.e., StC, IAWG, networks of partnership among
ministries/agencies and regions). She also emphasized the importance of the Russian
Prime Minister’s recent pledge to earmark 740 million RUB (US$ 25 million) for cleanups
on the Franz Josef Land Archipelago in 2011 and 2012, which was resulted from
the NPA-Arctic demo project. US EPA expressed a strong support to the
development of the project exit strategies and the preparation of the “Arctic
Agenda
NEFCO gave
strong support to the development of NPA-Arctic Project exit strategies, as well as
the PA process. The institution, however, expressed a couple of concern
including on sustainability of the demo and pilot projects which were
successfully implemented under the UNEP/GEF NPA-Arctic Project as well as on
the establishment of coordination mechanisms with activity under Barents Euro/Arctic
Council, EU Northern Dimension and Arctic Council. It was suggested that,
through NEFCO’s mandates and work plans, future work under the Arctic Agenda
2020 could utilize the existing forums and facilities for dealing with ‘hot
spots’ and bridging other activities. Mr. Chairman requested that NEFCO
identify and advise potential support to specific projects/activities of
interest under the Arctic Agenda 2020. One opportunity has been identified as the
Russian Executing Agency of Barents EuroArctic Council, which will be set up
this May under the Barents Hot Spots Facility (BHSF)
<http://www.nefco.org/financing/BHSF>, which is managed by NEFCO on
behalf of the Governments of Finland,
The representative
of GEF Secretariat noted successful implementation of the NPA-Arctic Project
and emphasised that, from GEF Secretary point of view, it is very important to
recognize such an achievement when GEF project generated further development as
in case of the NPA-Arctic Project. It was advised that the next task is to sustain
the Project results by asking how project results can be utilised. He further
encouraged that the RF and its partners should work out the way for sustaining the
project results. It was also emphasized that the NPA-Arctic Project had established
very important and sustainable basis for the next step through development of the
Arctic Agenda 2020 Programme; and that Russian priorities identified during
NPA-Arctic Project should be taken into account in project exit strategies. He
urged the StC to ensure that the proposed programme structure would provide a
congregated result through an adequate and effective flow of information. He
also mentioned about GEF’s experiences and examples concerning implementation
and coordination schemes, which could be shared with the RF in developing
coordination mechanisms for the Arctic Agenda 2020 Programme.
The StC meeting made decision on the
following points:
·
to commit remaining/unutilized NPA-Arctic
Project funds for preparation of the Project exit strategies, which would
provide guidance on steps of transition toward the Programme “Arctic Agenda
·
to properly close the project
implementation, technically and financially, as well as to acknowledge a
suggestion to transfer the remaining amount of GEF fund to UNEP account after
the Project is financially closed;
·
to recommend Project Executing
and Implementing Agencies to seek effective transition from the NPA-Arctic
Project to the Programme “Arctic Agenda
·
to make the NPA-Arctic Project
website available after project-end (May 2011). The website will be
appropriately maintained or mothballed by a temporary host (options identified
included UNEP, IW:LEARN, or a web service provider in RF) – taking into
consideration further developments through future funding;
·
to ask UNEP for sharing its vision regarding possible
UNEP inputs to assist the
Agenda item 3: Project
activities and Progress reports
3.1. Summary
of the Project Implementation versus the bench marks stipulated in the original
Project Document and supplemented by the Project Steering Committee.
Information on the main Project achievements was prepared by the Project Office for the reporting
period from the beginning of the Project in July 2005 to March 2011 and
circulated to Steering Committee members together with all other documents
prepared by the Project Office to the 5h meeting of the Project
Steering Committee.
The main Project achievements for its
lifetime were as following:
ü
Developing and approval
by the Maritime Board at the Government of the Russian Federation of the Strategic
Action Programme for Environmental Protection in the Arctic Zone of the Russian
Federation (SAP). The Maritime Board recommended that the executive federal and
regional authorities as well as other organizations should be guided by the
provisions of this document when elaborating the Russian Arctic Development
Programs and Policies. Both the Russian and English versions of the SAP-Arctic
were uploaded on the Project website (http://npa-arctic.ru/html/sap.html) and were distributed in form of electronic and hard
copies among key national and international stakeholders in the circumpolar
In the framework of this component Diagnostic analysis of environmental
problems of the Russian Arctic (DA) is prepared and the full text uploaded on
the project website (http://npa-arctic.ru/rus/da_content_ru.html). An Advanced Summary of the DA prepared in Russian and English and released in
the form of e-book on CDs. Hard copies of the Advanced Summary will be published soon
(April-May 2011).
ü
Completion of Pre-investment
studies (PINS) in all three selected areas (western, central and eastern) of
the Russian Arctic. Sixteen (16) environmentally sound investment projects
supported by regional and local authorities have been developed. Also, under
this component an update and review of the existing pollution hot spots in the
Russian Arctic were completed. A list of 100 hot spots has been prepared and a
prioritized short list of hot spots (30 hot spots) for the potential
pre-investment studies (PINs) has been prepared and included in SAP-Arctic. A
full database of the hot-spots is available on the project website: http://npa-arctic.ru/rus/hs/hs_list_ru.html (in Russian only). The new list of the hot spots in the
Russian Arctic has been submitted to the PAME (Arctic Council Working Group on
the protection of the Arctic marine environment) and was included in the Arctic
Council Regional Programme of Action for the Protection of the Arctic Marine
Environment from Land-based Activities.
ü
Within Environmental
Protection System Improvements (EPS) component a few important draft documents
have been prepared: Draft Report to the Government of the Russian Federation on
improvement of Environmental Protection System in the Arctic Zone of the Russian
Federation, Analytical materials to this Report, two concept versions of Draft
Federal Law on special regimes on natural resources use and Environmental
protection in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. A resume of the
Analytical materials was officially submitted to the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Ecology of the
ü
Fifteen (15) demo and
pilot projects were implemented under this component with the three projects
mentioned in the Project document and twelve additional projects developed and
approved by the Project Steering Committee.
The meeting approved the Report on the results and achievements of the Project implementation
against the agreed benchmarks. A Summary Report on the Project implementation is enclosed as an Annex III.
3.2. Presentation
of expanded resume of Diagnostic Analysis of State of the Environment in the
Arctic Zone of the
An Advanced Summary of the Diagnostic Analysis of
State of the Environment in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (DA) was
prepared in form of an eBook on CD ROM (in Russian) and distributed among the
STC members together with other documents prepared for the meeting. An English translation (pending to be edited)
of the DA Advance Summary was also completed and made available to the STC
members. The translation is being edited by a native English speaker). The complete versions (both in Russian and in
English) will be published by the “Scientific World” Publishing House in
April-May; A full text version of the DA
in Russian (1300 pp nearly) has been uploaded on the Project website (http://npa-arctic.ru/rus/da_content_ru.html)
The StC members highly commended the EA and PO for
successful completion of the Diagnostic Analysis of State of the Environment in
the Arctic Zone of the
3.3. Presentation of main results of pre-investment studies in the Russian
Under this component, an update and review of the existing
pollution hot spots in the Russian Arctic were completed. A list of 100 hot
spots has been prepared and a prioritized short list of hot spots (30 hot
spots) for the potential pre-investment studies (PINs) has been prepared and
included in SAP-Arctic. A full database of the hot-spots is available on the
project website: http://npa-arctic.ru/rus/hs/hs_list_ru.html
(in Russian only).
The new list of the hot spots in the
Russian Arctic has been submitted to the PAME (Arctic Council Working Group on
the protection of the Arctic marine environment) and was included in the Arctic
Council Regional Programme of Action for the Protection of the Arctic Marine
Environment from Land-based Activities which was approved by the Arctic Council
Ministerial Session (Tromsø Declaration of 29 April 2009).
PINS for priority
hot-spots were completed in western, central and eastern parts of the Russian
Arctic emphasizing the importance of pollution to the freshwater and marine
environments. Several dozens of investment project proposals have been reviewed
together with local authorities before a set of 16 project proposals for the
three geographical sectors of the Russian Arctic was selected. Basing on the
selected proposals 16 investment ecological projects (IEP) were designed and
completed. The selected IEP are focused on a
potential for reduction industrial pollution, to cope with past environmental
liabilities and to develop new or upgrade environmental management infrastructure
(in waste management and water treatment sectors in particular).
The completed IEP were widely disseminated among
Russian and international potential investors and some of them expressed their
interest. Some of EIPs were selected by Russian Ministry for Natural Resources
and Ecology as a priority projects, NEFCO confirmed their interest in projects
connected with oil pollutions and spills in Barents-sea region. The list of IEPs with additional information
is attached (Annex IV).
All final reports on PINS component are available in
the Project website in Russian and English languages (www.npa-arctic.ru).
The NEFCO representative informed the meeting that
NEFCO in cooperation with local authorities and companies has been working on
the IEP #7: “Action to prevent oil pollution of
The STC members welcomed and commended the results of
the PINS component completed by the EA and
3.4. Presentation of Environmental Protection System Component
Implementation
The EPS Task Team Leader presented the final Progress Report on Environmental
Protection System Component Implementation (Annex V). Work under this Project component started ahead of
schedule in
1.
Analytical
materials concerning improvement of the environmental management system in the
Russian Arctic with annexes. Both documents can be seen here:
http://npa-arctic.ru/html/eps.html).
2.
Draft Report
to the Government of the
3.
Proposals on
development of Conception of the Federal Law ‘On Special Conditions for Natural
Resources and Environmental Management’;
4.
Proposals on
development of Conception of the Federal Law ‘On Special Conditions for Natural
Resources and Environmental Management When Developing Oil and Gas Resources in
the Russian Arctic’.
In accordance with the Project Interagency Working Group decisions, a
resume of the Analytical materials was officially submitted to the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation to ensure that the
Arctic component be considered when undertaking an assignment of the President
of the Russian Federation on improvement of the governmental regulation system
in the field of environmental protection.
The final proposal on the draft federal law “On Special Regimes in the
Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection in the Russian
Arctic” was developed including justification and some conceptual highlights of
the draft law. The proposal was submitted by the Ministry of Economic
Development of the
3.5. Presentation on results of Demo and
Pilot Projects and a publication on main results of all demo and pilot projects
implemented on the NPA-Arctic Project life time
The Project Office presented a report on demo and
pilot projects implementation. A list of the projects with brief description is
attached (Annex VI). A report, with summary, pictures and evaluation of all
fifteen demo and pilot projects as well as an assessment on their potential
replicabilities in Arctic conditions, was prepared in Russian (about 70 pages),
and planned to be published and uploaded on the Project website in both Russian
and English languages in April-May 2011.
The StC discussed issues concerning the demo and pilot
projects implementation and results.
NEFCO representatives reminded the meeting that, in
addition to the OIL SPILS pilot project, NEFCO also supported the demo project
FJL BASES-I and cleaning pilot project KOLABAY. It was also noted that NEFCO shared
some comments on the PCB pilot project report including points of NEFCO’s
concern which were not reflected in the contractor’s final report.
The representative of GEF Secretariat emphasized the
importance for GEF to see positive consequences and sustainability of outcomes
of the demo/pilot projects implementation. He added that transition to the
follow-up action should be presented, as well as new technology and new
environmental approaches must be highlighted. The GEF Secretariat representative
also commended the demo and pilot projects for a good sign of co-financing, as
well as highlighted the ‘soft’ aspect of the results of the project
implementation (e.g., stakeholder involvement, positive impacts on the health
conditions of indigenous communities, and knowledge dissemination). He also explained
that the approved GEF 5 Focal Areas strategies, particularly the IW Strategy
would not allow to fund implementation of
investment projects addressing rehabilitation of hot-spots of chemical
and nuclear pollution or past environmental liabilities. However such projects
may be included in the Programme “Arctic Agenda
The Final Reports (the full text version) of all
implemented demo and pilot projects were uploaded on the project website (http://npa-arctic.ru) in both Russian and
English languages.
The StC meeting reviewed and discussed the overall
progress and achievements of activities under the demo and pilot component,
which were evaluated as “more than satisfactory” and provide firm bases for
future developments.
3.6.
Information on Completion of Project Phase 1: Terminal Report and Evaluation;
Project Implementation Experiences, Lessons, and Knowledge Management
UNEP presentation on proposed and required exit
arrangements including termination report and financial reports, as well as an
initial timeline for conducting the independent terminal evaluation, was acknowledged
by the StC members. UNEP requested StC members’ support and participation in
the independent Terminal Evaluation process planned during the Arctic summer
period. Options for website mothball/maintenance
were presented. The StC requested that UNEP explore an opportunity to temporary
host the website until new development emerged.
3.7. Overall
discussion on reported matters
The StC meeting reviewed and discussed the overall progress and
achievements of activities under each project component, which were evaluated
as “more than satisfactory” and provide firm bases for future developments. The
GEF Secretariat representative reminded the RF and StC that GEF5 IWs Focal Area
Strategy do not cover clean up activities, and thus have to be co-financed
under Project 1 of the Arctic Agenda 2020.
Agenda item 4: OTHER MATTERS
No other matters were considered at the meeting.
Agenda item 5: follow up acions
·
EA/PO: To
successfully complete the NPA Arctic Project, the
·
EA: As part of the follow-up actions, revise a draft Arctic
programme concept by mid April; identify agencies for projects development and
implementation within the Programme; a PFD for the Programme and PIFs under it
developed for submission to GEF in November 2011; the work should be
coordinated with and assisted by UNEP and the GEF Secretariat without GEF funds
attraction.
The STC members adopted the meeting results and expressed great satisfaction
with the progress achieved during the reporting period. It was agreed that the Project Office would
prepare a draft meeting report and send for the Steering Committee members and
Partners review and comment.
Agenda item 6: CLOSURE OF THE MEETING
The Chairman of the 5th
StC meeting, in his closing remarks, expressed his appreciations to all participants
for their active involvement and strong contribution to the meeting. He thanked
the GEF, UNEP, NEFCO, and USEPA representatives for their constructive inputs
during the meeting. He expressed deep gratitude to
The meeting was adjourned at 13:10 on 25th
March, 2011.
|
||
Boris Morgunov Assistant of the Minister Minekonomrazvitia of 1.3, 1-Tverskaya-Jamskaya Str., 125993, Tel.: +7-495-650 85 25 Fax: +7-495-650 84 58 E-mail: morgunovba@economy.gov.ru |
Boris Melnikov Project technical adviser Tel./Fax: +7-495-650 84 58 E-mail: Melnikov@economy.gov.ru |
|
Alexander Averchenkov Consultant +7 (495) 139-4252 E-mail: aaverchenkov@rambler.ru |
||
UNEP |
||
Takehiro
Nakamura
Coordinator, Marine Ecosystems Unit, Division of Environmental Policy
Implementation, UNEP P.O. Box 30552, 00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: +254 (20) 623886 Fax: +254 (20) 624041 / 42 E-mail: Takehiro.Nakamura@unep.org |
Ampai Harakunarak
Task Manager,
UNEP GEF (International Waters) Tel.: +66 2 288 1977 Fax: +66 2 280 3829 E-mail: ampai.harakunarak@unep.org |
|
Ludmila
Khorosheva Financial
assistant UNEP/GEF projects 9, E-mail: khorosheva.unep@undp.ru |
|
|
|
||
Eleonora
Barnes Program Manager, Office of Regional and Bilateral Affairs, Office
of International Affairs, |
Agency phone: (202) 564-6473, E-mail: barnes.eleonora@epa.gov |
|
NEFCO |
||
Amund Beitnes Investment Manager Nordic Environment Finance
Corporation (NEFCO) P.O.Box 249, FI-00171 Helsinki, Telephone:
+358 10 618 0658 Mobile: +47
95773829 E-mail: Amund.Beitnes@nefco.fi |
Henrik G. Forsström
Senior
Adviser, Barents Hot Spots Facility, Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO)
tel. +358 10 618 0638 E-mail: henrik.forsstrom@nefco.fi |
|
GEF |
||
Ivan Zavadsky Sr. Water Resources Management Specialist 1818 H Street N.W
Washington D.C 20433 Room P-4-121 Tel.: 202-458-8004 Fax: 202-522-3240 E-mail: izavadsky@thegef.org |
|
|
PROJECT OFFICE |
||
Evgeny Konygin
NPA-Arctic Project
Manager 19 Leninsky prospect, Tel./fax: +7 495 730 4099, +7 495 770 3114 Mob.: +7 916 906 5762 E-mail: konygin@npa-arctic.ru |
Sergei Tambiev Deputy Project Manager NPA-Arctic 19 Leninsky prospect, Tel./fax: +7 495 730 4099, +7 495 770 3114 E-mail: stambiev@npa-arctic.ru, tambiev@npaf.ru, stambiev@mail.ru |
|
Galina Zaitseva Project Financial Manager Officer NPA-Arctic |
Tel./Fax: Tel./fax: +7 495 730
4099, +7 495 770 3114 E-mail: zaytseva@npaf.ru, |
|
SUPPORTING
STUFF |
||
Julya
Surikova
Interpreter
Tel.:
(499) 135 87 90 E-mail: sujul@rambler.ru
|
|
|
STEERING COMMITTEE
UNEP/GEF Project -
Fifth Meeting
24-25 March, 2011
STC 5/1
Meeting Agenda with
Timetable
Prepared by: the Project Office in
cooperation with Executing and Implementing Agencies
Required
actions: No action required
Fifth Meeting of the UNEP/GEF Project
-
UN Office,
AGENDA
1. OPENING OF THE MEETING
1.1.
Welcome address on behalf of the Minekonomrazvitiya
and UNEP
1.2.
Introduction of Participants
1.3.
Adoption of the Meeting Agenda
2. NPA-ARCTIC PROJECT EXIT STRATEGIES AND TRANSITION TO
THE “ARCTIC AGENDA
3. PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND PROGRESS REPORTS
3.1.
Summary of the Project Implementation versus the bench
marks stipulated in the original Project Document and supplemented by the
Project Steering Committee (Project Office)
3.2.
Presentation of expanded resume of Diagnostic Analysis
of State of the Environment in the Arctic Zone of the
3.3.
Presentation of main results of pre-investment studies
in the Russian Arctic (Project Office)
3.4.
Presentation of Environmental Protection System
Component Implementation (EPS Task Team Leader)
3.5.
Presentation of main results of Demo and Pilot
Projects and a publication on main
results of all demo and pilot projects implemented on the NPA-Arctic Project
life time (Project Office).
3.6.
Information on Completion of Project Phase 1: Terminal
Report and Evaluation; Project Implementation Experiences, Lessons, and Knowledge
Management (Project Office)
3.7.
Overall
discussion on reported matters
4. OTHER MATTERS
5. FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
6. CLOSURE OF THE
MEETING
TIME-TABLE
AGENDA
TIME |
AGENDA ITEM |
Thursday,
March 24, 2011 |
|
09:30 –
10:00 |
Registration |
10.00 –
10.20 |
1.
OPENING OF THE MEETING 1.1.
Welcome address on behalf of the Minekonomrazvitiya
and UNEP 1.2.
Introduction of Participants 1.3.
Adoption of the Meeting Agenda |
10:20 –
10:45 |
2. NPA-ARCTIC PROJECT EXIT STRATEGIES AND TRANSITION
TO THE “ARCTIC AGENDA |
10.45 –
11.15 |
Coffee/Tea Break |
11.15 – 12.30 |
2. Continue discussion on NPA-Arctic
Project exit strategies and transition to the “Arctic Agenda |
12:30 –
13:30 |
Lunch |
13.30 – 15.30 |
3. PROJECT
ACTIVITIES AND PROGRESS REPORTS 3.1. Summary
of the Project Implementation versus the bench marks stipulated in the
original Project Document and supplemented by the Project Steering Committee
(Project Office). Discussion 3.2. Presentation
of expanded resume of Diagnostic Analysis of State of the Environment in the
Arctic Zone of the |
15:30 –
16:00 |
Coffee/Tea
Break |
16:00 –
18:00 |
3.3.
Presentation of main results of pre-investment studies in the Russian Arctic
(Project Office) 3.4.
Presentation of Environmental Protection System Component Implementation (EPS
Task Team Leader) |
19:30 –
22:00 |
Reception/Dinner |
TIME |
AGENDA ITEM |
Friday,
March 25, 2011 |
|
10.00 –
11.30 |
3.5.
Presentation of Demo and Pilot Projects implemented during the reported
period. Presentation of publication on all demo and pilot projects
implemented on the NPA-Arctic Project life time. (Project Office) 3.6.
Information on Completion of the Project Phase 1: Terminal Report and
Evaluation; Project Implementation Experience s, Lessons, and Knowledge
Management (Project Office) |
11:30 – 11:45 |
Coffee/Tea
Break |
11:45 – 13:00 |
3.7. Overall
discussion on the reported matters 4. OTHER MATTERS 5. FOLLOW UP ACTIONS 6. CLOSURE OF THE MEETING |
13.00 – 14.00 |
Lunch |
STEERING COMMITTEE
UNEP/GEF Project -
Fifth Meeting
24-25 March, 2011
STC 5/3.1
Summary of the Project
Implementation versus the bench marks stipulated in the original Project
Document and supplemented by the Project Steering Committee
Prepared by: the Project Office
Required
actions: for approval by
STC members
UNEP/GEF Project “
Executing Agency: Ministry of Economic Development of the
Implementing Agency: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Partner Agency: NEFCO.
A short note of project results against the
benchmarks by March 2011
The original Project Document included four main components:
1.
Preparation and
adoption of a Strategic Action Programme (SAP);
2.
Completion of a
set of Pre-Investment Studies (PINS);
3.
Development and
implementation of Environmental Protection System (EPS), embodying legislative,
administrative, institutional and technical capacity improvements consistent
with the SAP; and
4.
Three demonstrations projects (DEMOS):
(i)
Indigenous Environmental Co-management;
(ii) Remediation of the Environment through the Use of
Brown Algae; and
(iii) Environmental Remediation of Two Decommissioned
Military Bases
For possible expansion of donor base for the
Project, twelve additional demonstration and pilot projects have been initiated
and implemented.
The
following benchmarks were defined in the Project Document and achieved:
1.
Successful establishment of Project implementation structure, including Project
Office, Project Steering Committee, and Project Supervisory Council;
2. Strategic
Action Programme fully developed and endorsed by relevant stakeholders;
3. Working
document revised at the first meeting of each of sub-group for each
pre-Investment Study;
4. Selected
lead implementing organization and members of each of the three working groups
for the development of the Environmental Protection System;
5.
Fully designed demonstration activities; and
6. Mid-term review of the project indicating
satisfactory implementation of the project in the phase I.
Scope
of these benchmarks were enlarged and approved by StC members at 3rd meeting in
1. Project
Management: Project implementation structures established, including Project
Office, Project Steering Committee, Project Supervisory Council and Inter-Agency
Working Group.
2. Strategic
Action Programme: Strategic Action Programme fully developed and endorsed by
relevant stakeholders. Diagnostic analysis document prepared and ready for
publication in English and Russian.
3. Pre-investment
Studies: Hot spots list updated and finalised. Pre-investment studies
successfully carried out and interest of financial institutions preliminary
confirmed.
4. Improving
Environment Protection System: Report on gap analysis of the environmental
legislation applicable to the Russian Arctic with recommendations on
improvements prepared and submitted to
the Russian Government.
5. Demo
and Pilot Projects: Demonstration activities in accordance with the original
Project Document fully implemented. New demonstration and pilot projects
approved by the Steering Committee are prepared and implemented.
6. Project
Phase I Evaluation: Project results for all components evaluated by Interagency
Working Group. Independent evaluation of the project completed satisfactory
implementation of the Project Phase I.
The
benchmarks 1 through 5 have been achieved in full to date. This gives a chance
to fulfill all tasks stipulated for both phases in the Project Document during
Phase I. Furthermore, the project has initiated a series of activities to
ensure sustainability and replication after its completion. Major outcomes
against the benchmarks are listed below.
1. SAP component: Strategic Action
Programme for Protection of Environment in the Arctic Zone of the
The
SAP-Arctic is a strategic framework document that sets the priority
environmental problems in the Russian Arctic and main goals, tasks and
principal activities to resolve them.
The document encompasses the protection of the Arctic marine environment in the
context of the overall environmental protection of the Russian Arctic and
represents the only comprehensive strategic framework for the protection of the
Arctic environment at the national level.
Both the Russian and English
versions of the SAP-Arctic were uploaded on the Project website (http://npa-arctic.ru/html/sap.html) and were
distributed among key national and international stakeholders in the
circumpolar
2. PINS component.
Under this component an update and review of the existing pollution hot
spots in the Russian Arctic were completed. A list of 100 hot spots has been
prepared and a prioritized short list of hot spots (30 hot spots) for the
potential pre-investment studies (PINs) has been prepared and included in
SAP-Arctic. A full database of the hot-spots is available on the project website: http://npa-arctic.ru/rus/hs/hs_list_ru.html (in Russian only). The new list of the hot
spots in the Russian Arctic has been submitted to the PAME (Arctic Council
Working Group on the protection of the Arctic marine environment) and was
included in the Arctic Council Regional Programme of Action for the Protection
of the Arctic Marine Environment from Land-based Activities which was approved
by the Arctic Council Ministerial Session (Tromsø Declaration of 29
April 2009).
PINS for priority
hot-spots were completed in western, central and eastern parts of the Russian
Arctic emphasizing the importance of pollution to the freshwater and marine
environments. Several dozens of investment project proposals have been reviewed
together with local authorities before a set of 16 investment ecological
projects (IEP) for the three geographical sectors of the Russian Arctic was
selected.
The following IEP were prepared and suggested
for potential investors for implementation:
In the western Arctic: 1. Improved waste
water management in
In the central Arctic: 1. Land
remediation from oil products in water protection zone of Northern Dvina River
of White Sea basin near settlement Krasnoe of Primorsky district of Arkhangelsk
Region; 2. Construction of new sewage treatment facilities in Lesnaya Rechka
dwelling district of Arkhangelsk; 3. Solid domestic wastes disposal in Vorkuta,
Komi Republic; 4. Modernization of sewage water treatment system in Vorkuta,
Komi Republic, and: 5. Modernisation of Waste Water Treatment Facilities in
Settlement Kachgort and Bondarka, Nenets Autonomîus Okrug.
In the eastern Arctic: 1. Closure of the
Kular Gold Tailings Based on Sound Environmental and Health & Safety
Principles; 2. Mothballing of the Deputatsky Tin Ore Mining and Processing
Plant Based on Sound Environmental and Health & Safety Principles; 3.
Restoration of Commercially Important Fish Species in the Subarctic and Arctic
River Basins in Yakutia; 4. Waste and Contamination Inventory and Clean-Up of
the Wrangel Island Reserve; 5. Search and Disposal of the RITEG installation
Located at Rogers Bay, the Wrangel Island, and 6. Programme of Survey of
Current and Historical Land-Based Contamination Sources of the Laptev Sea, East
Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea.
Full texts of all IEPs can be found on the
Project website: http://npa-arctic.ru/html/pins_ind.html.
All above IEP were considered
by a financial partner agency – NEFCO and some other IFOs. NEFCO is ready to
invest in one of the IEP in the
3. EPS component. Work
under this Project component started ahead of schedule in
1. Analytical materials concerning
improvement of the environmental management system in the Russian Arctic with
annexes. Both documents can be seen here: http://npa-arctic.ru/html/eps.html).
2. Draft Report to the Government of the
3. Proposals on development of Conception of
the Federal Law ‘On Special Conditions for Natural Resources and Environmental
Management’;
4. Proposals on development of Conception of
the Federal Law ‘On Special Conditions for Natural Resources and Environmental
Management When Developing Oil and Gas Resources in the Russian Arctic’.
In
accordance with the Project Interagency Working Group decisions a resume of the
Analytical materials was officially submitted to the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation to make sure the Arctic
component will be considered when undertaking an assignment of the President of
the Russian Federation on improvement of the governmental regulation system in
the field of environmental protection.
Then final proposal on
the draft federal law “On Special Regimes in the Natural Resources Management
and Environmental Protection in the Russian Arctic” was developed including justification
and some conceptual highlights of the draft law. The proposal was submitted by
the Ministry of Economic Development of the
Demonstration projects (DEMOS)
component. Fifteen (15) demo and pilot projects were implemented under this
component with the three projects mentioned in the Project document and twelve additional projects developed
and approved by the Project Steering Committee.
Full
list of DEMOS implemented in the framework of the NPA-Arctic project
(projects stipulated by the
Project Document shown in italic)
1-2. Environmental remediation of Decommissioned Military Bases on
3. Remediation of the Environment through the use of Brown Algae.
4. Environmental co-management of extracting companies, authorities and
indigenous peoples of the North.
5. Cleaning of hazardous
substances from the bottom sediments of the Kola Fjord. Phase 1. Monitoring of hazardous
substances in the bottom sediments of the Kola Fjord.
6. Designing of
bioremediation technology for oil sludge and oil contaminated soil in Arctic
conditions.
7-8. Removing of sunken wood
and ship frames from the sea bottom in
10. Development of system for
eliminating of outdated and banned Pesticides in the
11. Localisation and removal
from a thermokarst crater of two radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RITEG)
of GONG type at the Kondratiev navigation beacon site in Ust-Yanski Ulus of
12. Design of production
engineered and logistic solutions with the purpose of introduction of a system
for collection and elimination (utilisation) of PCB wastes and PCB containing
equipment in the Russian Arctic region.
13. Inventory of pollution
sources at the area of decommissioned military sites on
14. Development of
recommendations aimed at improvement of indigenous population health protection
system in the Russian Arctic.
15. Review and introduction
of system of reaction to emergency of oil spills and oil products in the Arctic
conditions for protection of especially sensitive to petroleum coastal areas
(with examples from Barents Sea and
Details of all above demo
activities in Russian and English including final reports, photo and video
documentation can be found on the Project website: http://npa-arctic.ru/html/demos.html.
Basing of final reports
prepared on each demo and pilot projects a summary was prepared for further
publishing in Russian and English and uploading on the project website.
Over the course of
implementation the Project attracted a lot of attention and response of
regional, national and international stakeholder. Particularly, Project
implementation problems were discussed at meetings held in all Russian Arctic
regions with regional authorities. Substantive amount of outreach and
dissemination activities were implemented as well as additional co-financing
secured. Main outcomes of the NPA-Arctic Project together with planned further
steps after Project termination were presented at the following latest events:
- Five
regular Inter-agency Working Group meetings with representatives from key
ministries (Natural Resources, Economic Development, Regional Development,
Foreign Affairs), Arctic regional administrations, private sector, academia and
NGOs as well as international organizations present in
- Four
Project Steering Committee Meetings (
- Fifth Biennial GEF International Waters
Conference, October 2009,
- Fifth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts,
and Islands, May 2010,
- Sustainable Ocean Summit held by World
Ocean Council, Belfast, UK, 15-17 June 2010
- Third All-Russian Maritime Theoretical and
Practical Conference “Development strategy of
- ACAP Arctic Council Working Group meeting,
- PAME II-2010 Arctic Council Working Group
meeting,
- ARCTICA – 2010, Third All-Russian Marine
Research and Practice Conference,
- Second Arctic
- Meeting of the Senior Arctic Officials
(SAOs) of the Arctic Council, Tórshavn, the Faroe
Islands, Denmark, October 19 – 20, 2010
- Workshop on Convergence of Russian and EU
Environmental Monitoring held by European Environment Agency 15-16 November
2010, Copenhagen, Denmark
Achieved
by the Project results were appreciated positively at all above events. The
Meeting of the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council and Workshop on
Convergence of Russian and EU Environmental Monitoring both approved concept
paper on the new GEF project “SAP-Arctic Implementation” and the
The
NPA-Arctic Project funding and reporting on its implementation both were
exercised in strict correspondence with the Project Document and the Project
Steering Committee decisions. The Project Midterm Evaluation was carried out in
the end of 2009. The Project was positively appraised in a whole.
STEERING COMMITTEE
UNEP/GEF Project -
Fifth Meeting
24-25 March, 2011
STC 5/3.3
Main results of
pre-investment studies in the Russian
Prepared by: the Project Office
Required
actions:
for approval by STC members
Regional pre-investment studies implemented
under UNEP/GEF Project NPA-Arctic*)
# |
Investment Project Name |
Length, years |
Cost, ˆ, mln. |
Covering by existing Hot Spots Lists** |
Financial Agencies (Prospects) |
Comments |
||
SAP Arctic, 2009 |
AMAP/ NEFCO, 2003 |
NPA-Arctic 2008/ (PAME RPA,2009) |
||||||
WEST |
||||||||
1. |
Improvement
of oil waste management |
0,5 |
1.5 |
|
M10 |
|
EVD
(Netherland), NEFCO |
|
2. |
Construction
of Wastewater Treatment Plant in settlement of Severomorsk-3, Murmansk Region |
1 |
6.7 |
|
|
|
EBRD;
“Clean Water” States Program (RF); NEFCO |
|
3. |
Design
and construction of complex of Waste Water Treatment Plant in Severomorsk of
Murmansk region |
6 |
43 |
|
|
|
EBRD;
“Clean Water” States Program (RF); NDEP; NEFCO |
|
4. |
Construction
of waste segregation complex in |
4 |
7.5 |
|
|
|
NDEP;
NEFCO; IFC; Long-term
targeted program “Wastes” 2009-2013 (partily) (RF) |
|
5. |
Development
of the Territorial Automated Network of Ambient Air Control in Towns of the |
1 |
0.5 |
|
|
|
NEFCO;
NDEP; some regional targeted programs (RF) |
|
CENTER |
||||||||
6. |
Modernisation
of the municipal landfill for solid waste in |
3 |
1.7 |
|
Ko6 |
|
EBRD;
NDEP |
|
7. |
Actions
to prevent oil pollution of |
4 |
1.2(min) 7.8(max) |
|
A7 A8 |
|
Regional
program ‘Environment Protection...’ Municipal
bud. financing |
|
8. |
Modernisation
of the Waste Water System in the settlements Kachgort and Bondarny of
Naryan-Mar in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug |
2 |
2 |
|
N3-1 |
Naryan-Mar |
EBRD;
NDEP; Long-term
regional, city and municipal environmental programmes |
|
9. |
Construction
of New Waste Water Treatment Facilities in Lesnaya Rechka Residential
District, |
2 |
0.8 |
|
|
|
Long-term
regional target program; Municipal budget financing |
|
10. |
Improvements
of the municipal waste water system in |
3 |
40.1 |
|
|
|
EBRD;
NDEP; NIB; MUE Vodokanal investment program |
|
EAST |
||||||||
11. |
Mothballing
of Tailings of the Deputatsky Tin |
6 |
12.6 |
|
|
Deputatskiy |
PSI;
World Bank; USAID (US Agency for International Development); “Ellimination of
Past Ecological Damage” Project (RF); PSI |
|
12. |
Closure
and reclamation of the tailings at the Kular gold mill (Yakutiya) |
3 |
3 |
|
|
Kular |
“Ellimination
of Past Ecological Damage” Project (RF); PSI, WB, USAID |
|
15. |
Restoration
of Commercially Important Fish Species in the Subarctic and Arctic River
Basins in Yakutiya |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
RF
budget, EBRD |
|
13. |
Waste and
Contamination Inventory and Clean-Up of the |
4 |
1.4 |
|
|
|
WB, USAID;
some Japanese and Scandinavian agencies (potentially) |
|
14. |
Recovery
and Disposal of the RTG device located at |
1.5 |
1 |
|
|
|
USAID;
“Ellimination of Past Ecological Damage” Project (RF); PSI, Japanese and
Scandinavian agencies,? |
|
16. |
Programme
of Survey of Current and Historical Land-Based Contamination Sources of the
Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea and |
1.5 |
1 |
Pevek |
|
Iultin; |
“Ellimination
of Past Ecological Damage” Project (RF); PSI, WB, USAID |
|
*) Detailed reports on all regional pre-investment studies implemented under UNEP/GEF Project
NPA-Arctic can be seen on the project web-site: http://npa-arctic.ru/html/pins.html
**)
Russian Arctic “hot spots” database (in
Russian only) can be find on the project web-site: http://npa-arctic.ru/rus/hs/hs_list_ru.html
STEERING COMMITTEE
UNEP/GEF Project -
Fifth Meeting
24-25 March, 2011
STC 5/3.4
Environmental Protection
System Component Implementation
Prepared by: the Project Office
Required
actions: for approval by
STC members
Improving Environmental
Regulations for the Russian
Summary Proposals
The
Fundamentals of the National Arctic Policy of the
In
this regard, it is proposed to develop the draft federal law “On Special
Regimes in the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection in the
Russian Arctic” (the Draft Law).
Justification of the Draft Law[1]
Intensive
business and defense-related activities in the Russian Arctic impaired serious
damage to the environment in those areas where the above activities used to be
carried out leading to the ecosystem degradation and public health
consequences. Further intensification of activities associated with the
exploitation of natural resources in the Russian Arctic including on the
continental shelf will generate new threats to the environment, which may take
on the regional (circumpolar) and even global scope in case of failure to
undertake the proper measures. Since the Arctic ecosystems are highly
vulnerable (with the disturbed Arctic ecosystems offering extremely low
restoration capacity), the specific conditions of conducting business in the
Arctic require specific approaches to addressing the environmental concerns in
the Russian Arctic in the context of economic expansion and global climate
changes.
The
analysis showed that the applicable environmental legislation of the
The
most visible and substantial gaps in
the institutional and legal framework that prevent to cardinally address the
problem of environmental safety in the Russian Arctic, while avoiding
establishing obstacles to its economic development include the inadequacy or lack of:
· The system of environmental monitoring in the
Russian Arctic that is based on uniform methodological approaches to ensure
prompt, objective and complete information about (i) the types, sources and
intensity of negative environmental impacts in the Russian Arctic; (ii) the
state of its natural complexes and ecosystems in order to make political,
economic and other decisions at any management levels;
· Environmental standards that take into account the
regional natural and climatic conditions of the Russian Arctic and determine
the permissible levels of man-induced impacts on its natural environment in
order to carry out control functions by the designated authorities;
· Policy tools to encourage environmental activities that meet the
modern level of economic development and ensure the tapping of substantial
investments in the development and implementation environmentally-friendly
technologies (including the best available technologies) and in the carrying
out measures to address past environmental damage in the Russian Arctic;
· The required legal and methodological framework for (i) assessing
environmental risks from the business activities in the Russian Arctic; (ii)
assessing environmental damage; (iii) assessing the justification of proposed
projects; (iv) executing the functions of the state environmental control and
other measures to ensure environmental safety in the Russian Arctic;
· Mandatory insurance or other sources of financing
civil liability for environmental damage from drilling and development
of mineral resources on the continental shelf (these problems are not solved by
the provisions stipulated by the federal laws “On the Continental Shelf of the
Russian Federation”, “On Mandatory Insurance of Civil Liability of the Owner of
a Hazardous Facility for Damage From an Emergency at the Hazardous Facility”,
and Code of Merchant Shipping of the Russian Federation);
· Legal and methodological framework of the ecosystem
approach to the conservation of marine biological and other natural resources,
which has become a standard international practice;
· The legal mechanisms of cleaning-up the so called
“accumulated (or past) environmental damage”; cleaning-up past environmental damage is one of the priorities in the
protection of the environment in the Russian Arctic (there is even no legal
determination of such a category of damage);
· Determination of the concept of and procedures for the
establishment of marine protected natural sites.
For
instance, radical improvements are needed to the system of standard setting for
the quality of the environment and environmental impacts with due regard to the
particular natural and climatic conditions of the Russian Arctic and the
existing levels of the environmental pollution in some areas of the Russian
Arctic.
We need
to eliminate (possibly gradually) the current permissible practice of long-term
excessive environmental impacts whereby the polluter is not subject to any
serious legal consequences. Primarily, this concerns the so called “temporarily
agreed” limit values of emissions and discharges that would be set forth on the
basis of the actual emissions and discharges of the polluter.
Substantial
additions are also required to the legal
mechanism of compensation for damages to the environment or specific
components of the Arctic environment. This, primarily, includes damages caused
by the ongoing business or other operations on the continental shelf and within
the exclusive economic zone of the
The
federal laws “On Exclusive Economic Zone of the
Given
the specific nature of the environmental concerns in the Russian Arctic, care
should be taken to develop a number of methodologies for determining damage
caused in the Russian Arctic in typical situations, such as:
· Oil, oil products
and other pollutants spills in the ice-covered areas;
· Contamination of
coastal areas from oil spills from vessels and oil-production platforms;
· Unauthorized
disposal of waste in the ice-covered areas;
· Destruction or
disturbance of topsoil and vegetation layers in the tundra by moving vehicles
and machines, construction, earth-moving, geological surveys, and other works;
· Disturbance of
agricultural lands such as reindeer pastures, etc.
Here,
it should be noted that such methodologies shall only be approved by the
designated authority where the law directly stipulates that such methodologies
should be adopted.
In the
existing federal legislation (tax laws, budget legislation, laws on investment
activities, etc.), there is practically no reflection of the blanket provisions
contained in Articles 14, 17 of the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection”
with their legislative provisions for economic incentives, in particular (i)
“….enjoying tax and other incentives when
implementing the best available technologies, renewable energy sources,
utilizing recyclables and processing wastes, and carrying out other effective
environmental activities” (Article 14); (ii) “governmental support to businesses the goal of which is to protect the
environment…. by providing tax and other incentives in accordance with the
legislation” (Article 17).
The
legislation on technical regulation and Urban Planning Code of the
The
Federal Law “On Exclusive Economic Zone of the
The
Russian Federation failed to translate into action an opportunity to recognize
the special conditions of the Russian Arctic as specified in the provisions of
the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (in particular Articles 194, 201, 207,
208, 210, 211, 221, 234 of the Convention) and to provide for all the
required measures in order to prevent
contamination of the marine environment from all the contamination sources
(vessels, exploration and production facilities, burial of waste, the sea
bottom operations, air emissions, land-based sources) and accidents on the sea.
The
above and other gaps in the regulation of natural resources management and
environmental protection in the Russian Arctic could be bridged under the
proposed Draft Law.
Another
argument for developing the Draft Law is the decisions of the Intergovernmental
Arctic Council where the Arctic countries, the Council members, call for the
improvement of national legal and regulatory frameworks to regulate navigation
in the Arctic waters and to make binding specific provisions of some of the Council
documents (“Arctic Council: Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Guidelines;
It
will be noted that other
Adopting a federal level law
with a limited territorial scope will not be a unique practice in the domestic
legislation. We know a number of federal laws that have introduced a
specialized regime of legislative regulation (including for natural resources
management and environmental protection) for individual regions in the country
with due regard to their ecological importance, natural and climatic features,
and vital national interests. These, for instance, include the Federal Law of
May 1, 1999 No. 94-FZ "On Protection of Lake Baikal”, the Federal Law of
December 1, 2007 No. 310-FZ" On the Organization and Conducting the XXII
Olympic Winter Games and XI Para-Olympic Games in
Some
Conceptual Highlights of the Draft Law
The
Goals:
· Establishing
special regimes of natural resources management and environmental protection in
the Russian Arctic; these are understood as a set of legislative measures to
prevent and reduce negative impacts of the ongoing, intended, and past economic
activities on vulnerable ecological systems of the Arctic, its flora and fauna;
· Establishing
economic and legislative instruments to ensure clean-up of the environmental
consequences from past economic and other activities in the Russian Arctic;
· Bridging some gaps
in the existing legislation including with regard to setting forth special
legislative measures to protect the environment in the ice-covered areas;
The
Draft Law aims to regulate the relations in areas such as:
· Protection of the
environment, and its individual components (water bodies, marine environment,
lands, flora and fauna, etc.) from negative impacts caused by business
activities including when establishing and using in the Russian Arctic
production and other facilities, materials, products that pose environmental
threats;
· Restoration of the
disturbed environments including as a result of past business and other
activities;
· Establishment and
determination of the legal regime of the areas/aquatic areas with a special
environmental status;
Relations
in the area of natural resources management and environmental protection in the
Russian Arctic will be regulated not only by the proposed Draft Law, but also
by the existing federal laws and other regulations of the Russian Federation,
laws and other regulations of the constituent subjects of the Russian
Federation in consideration of the provisions contained in the Draft Law.
The
Draft Law will be based on the principles of:
· Adherence to the
generally accepted principles and norms of the international law in the course
of the Russian Federation exercising its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in
the Russian Arctic;
· Recognition of the
global importance of the activities aimed at conserving and restoring the
Arctic environment;
· Consideration of
the short-term and longer-term environmental, climatic, economic, demographic
and other consequences in the carrying out of business and other activities in
the Russian Arctic;
· Priority focus to
be given to the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems in the
· Differentiated
approach to the regulation of natural resources management and environmental
protection in the Russian Arctic in consideration of the legal (including
internationally related legal status) status of its individual territories;
· Non-discrimination
nature of the Draft Law-specified special regimes of natural resources
management and environmental protection governing equally the domestic and
foreign legal entities and individuals, as well as other entities conducting
their business within the Russian Arctic;
· Public private
partnership (PPP) and governmental support to investment activities so as to
provide incentives for the cleanup of the past damage caused by business and
other activities in the Russian Arctic;
· Preservation of
the traditional life style and natural resources uses of the small-in-numbers
indigenous peoples of the North inhabiting the Russian Arctic;
· Expanding the
capacity of international cooperation in the cleanup of past environmental
damage, mitigation of new environmental threats, application of best available
technologies, responding to the environmental emergencies in the Russian
Arctic.
This
Draft Law shall apply to the following entities and individuals: (i) federal and
regional authorities of the
This
Draft Law will set forth the mandates of the federal and regional authorities
of the
This
Draft Law will also set forth new rights and obligations for Russian and
foreign legal entities and individuals and other entities in the Russian Arctic
that carry out activities associated with environmental impacts.
The
Geographic Scope of the Draft Law
It is
the Russian Arctic, which has currently no legally defined boundaries. They are
to be defined in the Draft Law in accordance with the norms of the
international law with respect to the marine boundaries of the Russian Arctic.
The
Place of the Draft Law in the System of the Current Legislation
In
accordance with the Legal Acts Classifier as approved by the Decree of the
President of the
Some
New Legislative Provisions in the Draft Law
With regard to the environmental protection
requirements concerning surveys and production of mineral resources in the
ice-covered areas of the continental shelf, it will include provisions to:
· Prevent pollution
of the environment when conducting exploration, design, construction, and other
works associated with the establishment of ice-resistant stationary and mobile
oil and gas production platforms and terminals in the ice-covered areas, as
well as during their subsequent operation and removal from service;
· Prevent pollution
of the ice cover with oil, oil products, other chemical and biological
substances in the course of construction, exploration and extraction of
minerals, as well as during the loading/unloading, transportation and other
operations;
· Prevent discharge
of untreated wastewater including mandatory provisions for furnishing the
accommodations of the ice-resistant stationary and mobile oil and gas
production rigs and platforms with wastewater treatment systems;
· Remove any
production and consumer wastes generated from the establishment and operation
ice-resistant stationary and mobile oil and gas production platforms and
terminals in the ice-covered areas;
· Carry out
mandatory statutory environmental review assessment of the documentation
justifying new types of machinery and technologies to be used in the
ice-covered areas;
· Ensure compulsory
insurance or any other proper financial provisions against environmental risks
associated with the exploration, production, and transportation of oil,
liquefied gas, and other hazardous substances and waste;
· Carry out
mandatory certification of installations, machines and equipment used for the
exploration and production of mineral resources in the ice-covered areas; and
· Introduce bans on:
-
accumulation and storage of any production and
consumption waste including drilling sludge on the surface of ice cover when
establishing, operating and removing from operation offshore stationary and
mobile drilling and oil and gas production platforms;
-
flaring of associated gas on the ice-resistant
stationary oil and gas production platforms;
-
discharge of untreated wastewater and waste;
-
explosive works, etc.
· Ensure that there
are approved oil spill prevention and response plans, and that there are
physical resources to promptly respond to the threat of oil spills;
· Ensure that there
are ongoing communications with the vessels of the support fleet including with
ice-breakers and other arctic navigation vessels designed for emergency and
rescue operations, environment protection, underwater hydrographic and other
works;
· Ensure that the
legal entities that are engaged in exploration and production of oil, as well
as transportation of oil and other hazardous substances and waste maintain
agreements with emergency and rescue services including onshore facilities to
render emergency assistance in responding to emergencies that resulted in
pollution of the marine environment and coastal areas;
· Promptly warn
about emergencies including the onshore emergency response facilities;
· Promptly take
measures to cleanup ice cover in case of its pollution with oil, oil products,
other chemical and biological substances when carrying out the above works;
· Ensure that there
is deepwater mobile equipment to respond to emergencies that may cause environmental
damage;
· Determine a set of
steps for cleaning up and restoring coastal areas contaminated as a result of
oil spills from vessels and oil production platforms including the list of such
works, work schedule and persons that are responsible for their organization;
With regard to the environmental protection
requirements navigation in the ice-covered areas of the continental shelf, it
will provide for the following:
· Ice breakers and
ice-rated Arctic vessels that are designed to carry oil, liquefied gas, other
hazardous substances, materials and waste shall be designed, built, and
operated by incorporating measures to prevent pollution of the marine
environment in case of emergencies. Ban must be imposed on the transportation
of the above cargo in the ice-covered areas by vessels that do not fall into
the ice-rated category. Catamaran tankers of icebreaking category shall be used
to transport oil in the ice-covered areas.
· Environmental
safety measures when operating, mothballing, and utilizing nuclear-powered
vessels, as well as when handling radioactive waste generated from the
operation of nuclear-powered ice-breakers, other nuclear-powered vessels,
submarines, and power plants;
· Navigation routes for ice-breakers and other
ice-rated Arctic vessels shall be determined in consideration of fauna
conservation requirements (in particular, by passing the spawning, wintering,
reproduction, feeding, and migration grounds and routes of animals) and in
accordance with the provisions of international agreements, Russian
legislation, and recommendations of competent international organizations;
· The navigation
routes of vessels transporting oil along the coastal line shall be determined
in consideration of the need to mitigate the risks of oil pollution of the
coastal areas in case of offshore accidents.
With regard to the economic and legislative
instruments for the cleanup of past environmental damage from economic
activities in the Russian
a)
How long ago it was caused and/or identified in order
to distinguish it from the environmental damage caused by the current business
and other activities;
b)
Spatial criteria of definitions such as an “area”,
“aquatic area”, etc., as a subject area of activities concerning the cleanup of
past environmental damage;
c)
Whether it would be possible or impossible to identify
legal entities and other entities/persons responsible for causing such damage
or successors of such persons/entities;
d)
Presence/Lack of noncompliance (i.e. violation of the
legislation) when causing such damage;
As a
priority, these objectives could be met in the context of the Russian Arctic,
where these are of vital importance.
To
ensure economic incentives to entities engaged in the natural resources
management or other business activities in the Russian Arctic with respect to
the implementation of measures for the cleanup of past environmental damage,
the following legislative instruments might be useful:
· Credit for tax or
non-tax payments (i.e. pollution charges) against the documented expenses for
the actual cleanup works with regard to such damage that were carried out in
the reporting period in accordance with the approved design documentation and
as accepted in accordance with the approved procedure;
· Inclusion of the
condition for the participation in the implementation of measures associated
with the cleanup of such damage when providing subsoil use licenses for the
exploration of minerals including of mineral resources on the continental
shelf, etc.
Political
Consequences Associated with the Draft Law
Adopting
the Draft Law will be an important step toward the implementation of the
objectives as set forth in the main policy document of the Arctic component –
the Fundamentals of the National Arctic Policy of the
Adopting
and implementing the Draft Law will demonstrate to the world community that
In
consideration of the generally accepted principles and norms of the
international law, the Draft Law will set forth the definition “The Russian
Arctic (the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation)” having included therein the
land and marine areas within the boundaries of the Russian Federation, as well
as offshore areas within the boundaries of the exclusive economic zone and
continental shelf of the Russian Federation. Legal framework will be
established to use the
The
Draft Law will establish the legal framework for the national environmental
policy in the Arctic, which is of paramount importance taking into
consideration the fact that the Russian Arctic may well become the strategic
resource base of the
Developed
on the basis of the international treaties, where Russia is a signatory, for
the prevention of pollution from vessels by the discharge of waste and other
materials, the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for
Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by
Sea (1996), and other international acts, the Draft Law will serve as an
effective legal framework for the implementation of the international
obligations of the Russian Federation arising from these international treaties
as applicable to the Arctic region.
The
Draft Law will contribute to the implementation of Article 234 (Ice-Covered
Areas) and other provisions of the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea (1982)
with the purpose of control and regulation of maritime activity in the Russian
Arctic.
Social
and Economic Consequences of the Draft Law
The
main effect from the adoption and implementation of the Draft Law will be
reduced negative impacts on the Arctic environment and restoration of the
disturbed areas including through the cleanup of past environmental damage.
This will lead to the improvement of living conditions of people in the Russian
Arctic including small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North, reduced
morbidity levels, longer life span and better life quality, reduced migration
to other regions of
Reduced
negative impacts in the areas of traditional use of natural resources and
restoration measures will lead to the demographic improvements among the
small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North. Conservation measures with
respect to the Russian Arctic natural ecosystems including the marine and fresh
water ecosystems will increase populations of various types of water biological
resources and terrestrial fauna, which are traditional game resources for the
small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North. This will also serve as a
vital contribution to addressing the problem of conserving reindeer pastures as
the main resource for reindeer husbandry.
There
will be other positive outputs as well including:
· Relative reduction
of expenses for health promotion activities and rehabilitation of local
population including small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North;
· Improved
conditions for the development of tourism (marine and land-based) including
ecotourism;
· Prerequisites for
the establishment of new protected areas and restoration of populations of rare
and valuable species of flora and fauna.
Legal
Consequences of the Draft Law
The
goal of the Draft Law is to develop further a number of norms of the
Constitution of the
Adopting
the Draft Law will require amendments in some existing federal laws, while for
the Draft Law to be implemented it will be necessary to adopt a number of
regulations.
ANALITICAL MATERIALS
Status of Environmental
Regulation in the Context of the Russian
OVERVIEW
1. Why is there a need for special environmental
regulation in the Russian
1.1. Under the Fundamentals of the National
Arctic Policy of the Russian Federation Towards 2020 and Beyond (the Fundamentals) as approved by
President of the Russian Federation on 18 September, 2008, this state has
special national interests in the Arctic, including, in particular:
· Using the Russian
Arctic as a strategic resource base of the
· Conserving the
unique ecosystems of the
According
to this Document, attaining the strategic economic goals of
· Conserving its
unique ecosystems, biodiversity of the Arctic flora and fauna including by
expanding the networks of the protected natural sites and water areas;
· Ensuring
environmental safety of the use of natural resources and other business
activities with due regard to the natural and climatic features of the
· Addressing
environmental consequences from past business and other activities such as
restoring natural landscapes, utilizing hazardous industrial waste including
decommissioned nuclear-powered vessels;
For
many decades, the intensive economic and defense-related activities in the
Russian Arctic resulted in numerous local ecological “hot spots” demonstrating
the levels of environmental pollution that exceed the pollution limit values
many times. Other impacts include ecosystem degradation, deteriorated public
health, loss of biodiversity and disturbance of the utilities. Further
intensification of activities associated with the exploitation of natural
resources in the Russian Arctic including on the continental shelf will
generate new threats to the environment, which may take on the regional
(circumpolar) and even global scope in case of failure to undertake the proper
measures.
In
2009, the Maritime Board with the Government of the
On 23
September 2010, speaking at the International Arctic Forum “Arctic is the
Territory of a Dialogue”, Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, stated
that time had come to do the spring cleaning in the Arctic and “in the literal
sense of the word, to clean up those dumps that for decades accumulated around
the polar cities and settlements, mineral deposits, military bases, ports and
aerodromes, in the tundra, on islands, and in the seas of the Arctic Ocean”.
This statement proved the seriousness of the intentions of the country
leadership to address the environmental concerns in the Russian Arctic.
1.2. The main environmental concerns in the
Russian
1.
Pollution of the environment and its individual
components (water bodies, lands, and the atmospheric air) with chemical
(including radioactive) substances, and oil products;
2.
Deterioration of the quality of surface and
underground waters in the coastal areas; availability of numerous sunken and
ownerless vessels;
3.
Land degradation and violation of land management
conditions;
4.
Reduced biodiversity; degradation of natural
ecosystems;
5.
Reduced stock of water biological resources including
as a result of illegal catch;
6.
Deteriorated living standards of people living in the
Russian Arctic and conditions of traditional natural resources uses by
small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North;
The
main sources of negative environmental impacts include:
1.
Mining, pulp and pump, and metallurgical industries;
2.
Water facilities and structures, and electricity generation
facilities;
3.
Defense facilities;
4.
Utilities;
5.
Navigation including shipping of hazardous wastes;
6.
Catch of marine water biological resources;
Within
the Russian Arctic, there are over 100 “hot spots”, with 30 of them viewed as
priority concerns. The degraded areas of the tundra account for about 3 percent
of the total land area of the Russian Arctic but near the smelters of
Every
year, the Russian Arctic sees up to 1 billion tons of tailings and solid waste.
Vast sites of tailings and solid waste are concentrated in Murmansk Oblast, in
the lower reaches of the Pechora river, Nenets AO, in the southern areas of
Yamalo-Nenetsky Okrug, in Norilsk Industrial Area, in the northern areas of the
These
environmental problems were not only caused by past business and other
activities, but also by regular transfer of pollutants from other regions with
atmospheric flows, river flows and sea currents.
The
intended intensification of business activities and the ongoing climate
changes, which are most pronounced in the Arctic, may exacerbate the above environmental problems of the Russian
1.
Increased risks of environmental emergencies due to
potential deformations and destruction of infrastructure facilities;
2.
Increased environmental risks when conducting business
in the coastal areas (erosions, floods, waterlogging, storms);
3.
Alterations in the habitats of wild animals that were
traditionally hunted by small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North (sea
animals, reindeer, Arctic fox, fresh water and migratory fish, water fowls,
etc.) and reduction in their numbers;
4.
Degradation of pastures and seasonal movement routes
of reindeer, loss of reindeer husbandry;
5.
Irreversible changes in the fresh water bodies
(shallowing of rivers, loss of spawning grounds, drying up and eutrophication
of lakes) destruction of traditional fisheries of small-in-numbers indigenous
peoples of the North;
In
accordance with the Fundamentals, “the specific features of the Russian Arctic
influencing the formulation of the National Arctic Policy” include:
1.
Extreme natural and climatic conditions including
permanent ice cover or drift ice in the Arctic seas;
2.
Spot nature of the industrial and economic development
of the territories and low density of population;
3.
Extended distances from the main industrial centers,
high resource intensity, and the fact that business and life depended on the
supply of fuel, food stuff and essential commodities from other regions of
Russia;
4.
Low sustainability of ecosystems determining the
biological balance and climate of the Earth and the fact that they depend even
on slight man-induced impacts;
Also
in accordance with the Fundamentals, the “main national interests of
1.
Using the Russian Arctic as a strategic resource base
of the
2.
Maintaining the
3.
Conserving the unique ecosystems of the
4.
Using the
The
national interests of
Anticipatory
adaptation to the natural and climatic changes in the Russian Arctic may bring
about substantial economic benefits and minimize threats to the ecosystems,
public health, economic development, infrastructure facilities.
The Policy Document “Improving Legislation
Including in the Area of Environmental Protection” in the context of the
national interests and specific nature of the region (Section 10 “a” of the
Fundamentals) is one of the main tools to implement the national policy of the
Improving
legislation (in the narrow sense of this word) always means adopting a new federal law (or more than one law).
In
order to meet the goals as set forth in the Fundamentals, it is proposed to
adopt the Federal Act “On Special
Regimes in the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection in the
Russian Arctic and Amending Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”
(the Law).
On the
one hand, this Proposed Law will be a framework act laying down the basic
goals, principles, areas and measures concerning the execution of the national
policy in the Russian Arctic. On the other hand, it will have the provisions
introducing amendments into the a number of existing federal acts (on
environmental protection, on the continental shelf, on the exclusive economic
zone of the Russian Federation, on fisheries and conservation of water
biological resources, on urban development, on technical regulation, into the
acts of the water, forest, land, tax and other legislation).
Legal
and technical arguments in favor of this Proposed Law include:
· Establishing
uniform conceptual structure and legal definitions of some conceptions (i.e.
the “Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation/Russian Arctic”; “special regimes of
natural resources management and environmental protection”; “ice-covered
areas”; “specially protected natural marine areas”, etc. and using them when
introducing into other federal acts amendments connected with the establishment
of special regimes of natural resources management and environmental
protection;
· Setting forth
through a legislative act the southern boundary of the Russian Arctic;
· Setting forth the
general legal principles as a single legal framework for special legislative
regimes of various types of natural resources management (i.e. subsoil use,
water resources use, etc.) and environmental protection;
Important
arguments for adopting the Proposed Law include:
· Provisions of the
international treaties, where
· Provisions of the
federal acts of the
· Decisions of the
Intergovernmental Arctic Council where the Arctic countries, the Council
members, call for the improvement of national legal and regulatory frameworks
to regulate navigation in the Arctic waters and to make binding specific
provisions of some of the Council documents.
These
reasons will be discussed in more details in the following sections.
1.4. The Overall Goals of the Proposed Law
Include:
· Establishing
special regimes of natural resources management and environmental protection in
the Russian Arctic; these are understood as a set of legislative measures to
prevent and reduce negative impacts of the ongoing, intended, and past economic
activities on vulnerable ecological systems of the Arctic, its flora and fauna;
· Establishing
economic and legislative instruments to ensure clean-up of the environmental
consequences from past economic and other activities in the Russian Arctic;
· Bridging some gaps
in the existing legislation including with regard to setting forth special
legislative measures to protect the environment in the ice-covered areas;
II. What
is Regulated? The Scope of Entities/Persons and Geographical Scope of the
Proposed Law
2.1 What is Regulated by the Proposed Law?
The
Proposed Law aims to regulate the relations in areas such as:
· Protection of the
environment, and its individual components (water bodies, marine environment,
lands, flora and fauna, etc.) from negative impacts caused by business activities
including when establishing and using in the Russian Arctic production and
other facilities, materials, products that pose environmental threats;
· Restoration of the
disturbed environments including as a result of past business and other
activities;
· Establishment and
determination of the legal regime of the areas/water areas with a special
environmental status;
Relations
in the area of natural resources management and environmental protection in the
Russian Arctic will be regulated not only by the Proposed Law, but also by the
existing federal acts and other regulations of the
The
use and conservation of resources on the continental shelf of the Russian
Federation, exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation, internal marine
waters and territorial sea of the Russian Federation located within the
boundaries of the Russian Arctic will be regulated in accordance with the
Constitution of the Russian Federation, generally accepted principles and norms
of international law, international treaties of the Russian Federation, and the
legislation of the Russian Federation on the continental shelf of the Russian
Federation, on the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation, on the
internal marine waters, and territorial sea of the Russian Federation with due regard to the provisions of the
Proposed Law.
The
use and conservation of lands, water bodies, forests, subsoil, fauna, and water
biological resources within the Russian Arctic will be regulated accordingly by
the land, water, and forest legislation of the Russian Federation, legislation
of the Russian Federation o subsoil, on wildlife, on water biological resources
with due regard to the provisions of the
Proposed Law.
Establishment,
protection, and use of specially protected natural areas including the areas of
traditional use of natural resources of small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of
the North must be regulated correspondingly by the legislation of the Russian
Federation on specially protected natural areas and areas of traditional use of
natural resources of small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North with due regard to the provisions of the
Proposed Law.
Under
this Proposed Law, legal regulation will be based on the following legal principles:
· Adherence to the
generally accepted principles and norms of international law in the course of
the Russian Federation exercising its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the
Russian Arctic;
· Recognition of the
global importance of the activities aimed at conserving and restoring the
Arctic environment;
· Consideration of
the short-term and longer-term environmental, climatic, economic, demographic
and other consequences in the carrying out of business and other activities in
the Russian Arctic;
· Priority focus to
be given to the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems in the
· Differentiated
approach to the regulation of natural resources management and environmental protection
in the Russian Arctic w the legal (including internationally related legal
status) status of its individual territories;
· Non-discrimination
nature of the Proposed Law-specified special regimes of natural resources
management and environmental protection governing equally the domestic and
foreign legal entities and individuals, as well as other entities conducting
their business within the Russian Arctic;
· Public private
partnership (PPP) and governmental support to investment activities so as to
provide incentives for the cleanup of the past damage caused by business and
other activities in the Russian Arctic;
· Application of
best available technologies when conducting business within the Russian Arctic;
· Preservation of
the traditional life style and natural resources uses of the small-in-numbers
indigenous peoples of the North inhabiting the Russian Arctic;
· International
cooperation when conducting business and other activities in the Russian Arctic
including the area of environmental information exchange, application of best
available technologies, responding to the emergencies in the Russian Arctic.
2.2. This Proposed Law shall apply to the
following entities and individuals
This Proposed Law will apply to the federal
and regional authorities of the Russian Federation and local self-governments;
(ii) Russian and foreign legal entities and individuals; (iii) international
organizations; and (iv) other entities in the Russian Arctic that carry out
activities associated with environmental impacts.
This
Proposed Law will set forth the mandates of the federal and regional
authorities of the
This
Proposed Law will also set forth new rights and obligations for Russian and
foreign legal entities and individuals and other entities in the Russian Arctic
that carry out activities associated with environmental impacts.
2.3. The Geographic Scope of
the Proposed Law
The
geographic scope of the draft law is the Russian Arctic.
As a
regulated entity, the Russian Arctic has currently no single legally defined boundaries. Given the existing approaches
to the determination of its geographical boundaries it, conditionally, covers:
· Part of the
territory of the
· Areas beyond the
boundaries of the
In
accordance with the Fundamentals of the National Arctic Policy of the
·
In whole or in part, the territories of the Republic
of Sakha (Yakutia), Murmansk Oblast, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Oblast,
Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Okrugs, as determined by the
decisions of the State Arctic Commission with the USSR Council of Ministers on
April 22, 1989;
·
Lands and islands listed in the Resolution of the
Presidium of the USSR Central Executive Committee on April 15, 1926 "On
Declaring Lands and Islands in the Arctic Ocean between 32°04¢35² of east longitude
(and in the range of 74° north latitude to 81° north latitude
between meridian 35° of east longitude, taking
into account the Soviet Union accession to the Treaty of Svalbard in 1935) and
168°49¢30² western longitude as the
Territory of the Soviet Union”;
·
The lands and islands of the Russian Federation,
internal waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and continental
shelf, within which the Russian Federation has sovereign rights and jurisdiction
in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, which are
adjacent to the said territories;
In accordance with the
decision of the State Arctic Commission of April 22, 1989, the Russian Arctic
includes the following territories:
· Lovozersky,
Pechengsky and Kolsky Rayons of Murmansk Oblast, Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets and
Chukotka Autonomous Okrugs (in whole), Taymarksy (Dolgano-Nenets) Rayon of
Krasnoyarsk Krai; Allaihovsky, Anabarsky, Bulunsky, Nizhnekolymsky and
Ust-Jansky Rayons (Uluses) of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Given
the geography of the Russian Arctic, its outer (eastern western, and northern)
boundaries shall be determined in accordance with the norms of international
law and updated as soon as they are defined in accordance with the
internationally accepted practice.
The southern boundary of the Russian Arctic passes along the
southern boundaries of the above territories of the
It is
not advisable to use the Northern Polar Circle as a criterion for the
definition of the southern boundary of the Russian Arctic since such a
criterion fails to take into account the administrative division of the
In
addition to the distinctive features of the Arctic, as specified in the Arctic
Atlas, it is proposed to consider the following differentiation criteria that
recognize the main geographical characteristics and other structural,
substantive and functional features that could only be found in the
·
All the marine water bodies including the White Sea,
Gulf of Ob, which are components of the Arctic Ocean and participate in an
intensive energy and water mass exchanges with the latter;
·
The shallow shelf and coastal areas form an integrated
morphodynamic system (river valleys extended on the underwater slope, coastal
dynamics, waterlogging and disturbance of permafrost on the flat coastal areas,
etc.);
·
The geology of the coastal plains and continental
shelf have structures and minerals of one origin (extension of the onshore oil
and gas structures and deposits in the subsoil of the continental shelf);
· From the
catchments, liquid and solid runoff enters the Arctic seas, including
pollutants.
III. Review of Current Regulation in the Area of
Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection in the Russian
3.1 Currently, natural resources
management and environmental protection in the Russian Arctic is regulated by
the provisions of about 40 federal acts,
including:
·
Federal Act of 10 January 2002 N 7-FZ "On
Environmental Protection";
·
Federal Act of 30 November 1995 N 187-FZ "On the
Continental Shelf of the
·
Federal Act of 17 December 1998 N 191-FZ "On the
Exclusive Economic Zone of the
·
Federal Act of 31.07.1998 N 155-FZ "On the
Internal Marine Waters,
·
Federal Act of 4 May 1999 N 96-FZ "On Protection
of Atmospheric Air";
·
Federal Act of 14 March 1995 N 33-FZ "On
Specially Protected Natural Areas";
·
Federal Act of 23 November 1995 N174-FZ "On
Environmental Expert Review";
·
Federal Act of 7 May 2001 N 49-FZ "On the Areas
of Traditional Natural Resources Use of Small-in-Numbers Indigenous Peoples of
the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation";
·
Federal Act of 24 June 1998 N 89-FZ "On
Production and Consumption Waste";
·
Federal Act of 9 January 1996 N 3-FZ "On
Radiation Safety of Population";
·
Federal Act of 21 July 1997 N 116-FZ "On
Industrial Safety of Hazardous Production Facilities;
·
Federal Act of 21 July 1997 N 117-FZ "On Safety
of Hydraulic Structures"
·
Federal Act of 21 December 1994 "On Protection of
Population and Territories from Natural and Man-Induced Emergencies";
·
Federal Act of 30 March 1999 N 52-FZ "On the
Sanitary-Epidemiological Welfare of Population";
·
Federal Act of 10 July 2001 N 92-FZ "On Special
Environmental Programs, Restoration of
·
Federal Act of 21 November 1995 N 170-FZ "On the
Use of Nuclear Energy";
·
Federal Act of 16 July 1998 N 101-FZ "On
Regulation to Ensure the Fertility of Agricultural Lands;
·
Federal Act of 27 December 2002 N 184-FZ "On
Technical Regulation";
·
Federal Act of 30 December 2009 N 384-FZ
"Technical Procedures for Safety of Buildings and Structures";
·
Federal Act of 24 April 1995 N 52-FZ "On
Fauna";
·
Federal Act of 20 December 2004 N 166-FZ "On
Fishery and Conservation of Marine Biological Resources;
·
RF Law of 21 February 1992 N 2395-1 "On
Subsoil";
·
Water Code of the
·
Land Code of 25 October 2001 N 136-FL;
·
Forest Code of the
·
Federal Act of 24 July 2009 N 209-FZ "On Hunting
and the Protection of Hunting Resources, and on Introducing Amendments into
Some Legislative Acts of the
·
Urban Development Code of the
·
Code of Administrative Offences of RF, of 30 December
2001 N 195-FZ, etc.;
In furtherance of the
provisions of these federal acts numerous regulations were adopted, including
resolutions of the Government of the
The
most important regulations of other federal executive authorities may, in
particular, include the Order of the State Ecological Committee of Russia of
May 16, 2000 N 372 "On Approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment of
the Proposed Economic and Other Activities in the Russian Federation"
(Registered with the Russia’s Ministry of Justice on 04.07.2000 N 2302);
Resolution of Rostekhnadzor of Russia of June 5, 2003 N 58 "On Approval of
Safety Regulations for the Exploration and Development of Oil and Gas Deposits
on the Continental Shelf" (registered with the Russia’s Ministry of
Justice of 20.06.2003 N 4783) and many others.
Despite
a great number of various regulations, the status of the existing federal
legislation governing natural resources management and environmental protection
in the Russian Arctic does not meet
the objectives of addressing the environmental concerns in the Russian Arctic,
as set forth in the Fundamentals of the National Arctic Policy of the
Intensive
business and defense-related activities in the Russian Arctic impaired serious
damage to the environment in those areas where the above activities used to be
carried out having resulted in the ecosystem degradation and public health
consequences. Further intensification of activities associated with the
exploitation of natural resources in the Russian Arctic including on the
continental shelf will generate new threats to the environment, which may take
on the regional (circumpolar) and even global scope in case of failure to
undertake the proper measures. Since the Arctic ecosystems are highly
vulnerable (with the disturbed Arctic ecosystems offering extremely low
restoration capacity), the specific conditions of conducting business in the
Arctic require specific approaches to addressing the environmental concerns in
the Russian Arctic in the context of economic expansion and global climate
changes.
The
analysis of the applicable legislation allows the unequivocal conclusion that
the respective norms governing natural resources management and environmental
protection in the Russian Arctic has practically no legislative provisions that
recognize the natural, climatic, and
other geographic conditions of the Russian Arctic that are unique only to this
region of Russia including:
· Vast ice-covered
areas;
· Highly vulnerable
natural ecosystems of the
· Many areas of the
· Seasonality of
work and that they had to be carried in the context of permafrost;
· The forecasted
climate changes that may lead to thawing of permafrost masses and the resulting
increase in the amount of technological disasters with serious environmental
consequences, etc.
The
subject legislation of the
An
absolute gap in the law is understood as absence of legislative provisions
governing the respective public relations. A relative gap is generally
understood as the availability of blanket or reference legal provisions and the
absence of legal provisions of other legislative acts required for their
implementation and detailing.
3.2.1 The absence in the
applicable legislation of the
The
current Russian legislation does not differentiate the conception of “damage”
against the period of time when it was caused. There is neither any legal definition of such a category of
damage as “accumulated environmental damage” or “past environmental
damage”. From time to time, these or similar definitions are used in laws or
other regulations, for instance in the Federal Act of 24.07.2008 N 198-FZ “On
the 2008 Federal Budget and the Planning Period of 2009 and
In
order to create the corresponding legal mechanism, it is necessary to (i)
develop the legal definition of such damage; (ii) divide the obligations of
public entities (such as the Russian Federation, constituent subjects of the
Russian Federation, municipalities), business and other entities with regard to
the cleanup of past environmental damage; and (iii) stipulate the legal
mechanisms to encourage attraction of off-budget sources for financing such
measures.
3.2.2. As an absolute legal gap, one
views the current legislative gap with respect to the determination of the
concept of and procedures for the
establishment of specially protected natural marine areas, in particular,
marine sanctuaries, in order to ensure the implementation of measures for the
conservation of habitats (feeding and spawning grounds, rookeries, etc.) of
specific animal species and water biological resources by introducing the
corresponding limitations on the carrying out of business and other activities
within such areas/water areas.
3.2.3. Another absolute gap is the
gap with respect to the introduction of mandatory
insurance or other sources of financing
civil liability for environmental damage (environmental risks) from
the exploration and development of mineral resources on the continental shelf.
These activities are associated with high environmental risks, in particular,
in the
The
Federal Act “On the Continental Shelf of the
According
to the Act of the Russian Federation of 27.11.1992, No. 4015-1 "On the
Organization of Insurance Sector in the Russian Federation" (as amended in
the Federal Act of 27.07.2010 N 226-FZ), the conditions and procedure of
compulsory insurance are defined by federal acts on specific types of
compulsory insurance. In this case, a federal law must contain the following
provisions: a) insurers b) entities to be insured, c) a list of insurance
events, d) the minimum sum insured or the procedure for determining it, e) the
size, structure or procedure for determining the premium rate; e) the timeframe
and manner of payment of insurance premiums (insurance payments); g) the term
of the insurance contract, h) the procedure for determining the size of
insurance payments; i) monitoring the implementation of insurance; and k) the consequences
of default or improper performance of the obligations of insurance agents
(Article 3, Section 4). Only under these conditions, compulsory insurance can
be viewed as established.
The
Code of Merchant Shipping of the
The
Federal Act of 27.07.2010 No. 225-FZ "On Mandatory Insurance of Civil
Liability of Owners of Hazardous Facilities for Damage from an Emergency at the
Hazardous Facility" does not provide an appropriate legal framework
either, since it does not apply to insurance events beyond the territory of the
3.2.4.
An example of a relative gap includes the following provisions of Article 32
"Protection and Conservation of Ice-Covered Areas," the Federal Act
of 17 December 1998 N 191-FZ "On the Exclusive Economic Zone of the
Russian Federation:
“With
respect to the areas located within the exclusive economic zone, where
particularly severe climatic conditions and the presence of ice covering such
areas for most of the year creates obstructions or exceptional hazards to
navigation, and pollution of the marine environment could cause major harm to
or irreversible disturbance of the ecological balance, the Russian Federation -
for the prevention, reduction and control of marine pollution from vessels –
shall have the right to adopt and enforce federal acts and other regulations.
Such federal acts and other regulations must have due regard to navigation and
the protection and preservation of the marine environment and natural resources
of the exclusive economic zone of the
The
above legislative norm mostly repeat the provisions of Article 234 of the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (ratified by the Federal Act of 26
February 1997, N 30-FZ) according to which “…Coastal States have the right to
adopt and enforce non-discriminatory laws and regulations for the prevention,
reduction and control of marine pollution from vessels in ice-covered areas
within the limits of the exclusive economic zone, where particularly severe
climatic conditions and the presence of ice covering such areas for most of the
year create obstructions or exceptional hazards to navigation, and pollution of
the marine environment could cause major harm to or irreversible disturbance of
the ecological balance. Such laws and regulations shall have due regard to
navigation and the protection and preservation of the marine environment based
on the best available scientific evidence”.
But
specific legislative measures for the protection of the environment in the
ice-covered areas of the exclusive economic zone of the
3.2.5 The Russian Federation failed
to translate into action an opportunity to recognize the special conditions of
the Russian Arctic as specified in the provisions of the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea and to provide for all the required measures in order to prevent contamination of
the marine environment (in particular Articles 194, 201, 207, 208, 210, 211,
221, 234 and other articles of the Convention). For instance, under Article 208
of the Convention “Coastal States shall adopt laws and regulations to prevent,
reduce and control pollution of the marine environment arising from or in
connection with seabed activities with due regard to their jurisdiction and
from artificial islands, installations and structures under their jurisdiction,
pursuant to articles 60 and 80.” These articles of the Convention
recognize the exclusive jurisdiction of a coastal state over artificial
islands, installations and structures located within its exclusive economic
zone (Article 60) and within its continental shelf (Article 80).
The
provisions of the Convention stipulate additional measures including with
respect to the prevention of pollution from vessels, pollution from waste
dumping, and prevention of the marine environment from the atmospheric air.
Article 207 of the Convention sets forth that states shall adopt laws and
regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment
from land-based sources, including rivers, estuaries, pipelines and outfall
structures, taking into account internationally agreed rules, standards and
recommended practices and procedures. However, the national legislation failed
to further develop this article, which has particular importance to the Russian
Arctic.
Article
221 of the Convention gives a coastal state the right to take and enforce -
pursuant to international law, both customary and conventional - measures
beyond the territorial sea proportionate to the actual or threatened damage to
protect their coastline or related interests, including fishing, from pollution
or threat of pollution following upon a maritime casualty or acts relating to
such a casualty, which may reasonably be expected to result in major harmful
consequences. The use of this article is very much relevant taking into
consideration the increased scope and scale of oil and oil products maritime
carriage in the western part of the Russian Arctic (the Barents Sea and
Therefore,
international law allows the legislation of the
3.2.6. Substantial additions are
also required to the legal mechanism of
compensation for damages to the environment or specific components of the
Russian Arctic environment. This, primarily, includes damages caused by the
ongoing business or other operations on the continental shelf and within the
exclusive economic zone of the
The
federal acts “On Exclusive Economic Zone of the
Given
the specific nature of the environmental concerns in the Russian Arctic, care
should be taken to develop a number of methodologies for determining damage
caused in the Russian Arctic in typical situations, such as:
· Oil, oil products
and other pollutants spills in the ice-covered areas;
· Contamination of
coastal areas from oil spills from vessels and oil-production platforms;
· Unauthorized
disposal of waste in the ice-covered areas;
· Destruction or
disturbance of topsoil and vegetation layers in the tundra by moving vehicles
and machines, construction, earth-moving, geological surveys, and other works;
· Disturbance of
agricultural lands such as reindeer pastures, etc.
Here,
it should be noted that such methodologies shall only be approved by the
designated authority where the law directly stipulates that such methodologies
should be adopted.
3.2.7. The existing legislation fails to set forth the organizational and narrative particulars of
environmental monitoring in the Russian
Arctic that is based on uniform methodological approaches to ensure prompt,
objective and complete information about (i) the types, sources and intensity
of negative environmental impacts in the Russian Arctic; (ii) the state of its
natural complexes and ecosystems in order to make political, economic and other
decisions at any management levels. It will also be necessary to implement the
system of on-line environmental monitoring.
3.2.8. Radical improvements are needed to the system
of standard setting for environmental impacts and the quality of the
environment with due regard to the particular natural and climatic conditions
of the Russian Arctic and the existing levels of the environmental pollution in
some areas of the Russian Arctic.
It is
necessary to eliminate (possibly gradually) the current permissible practice of
long-term excessive environmental impacts whereby the polluter does not bear
any serious legal consequences. Primarily, this concerns the so called
“temporarily agreed” limit values of emissions and discharges that would be set
forth on the basis of the actual emissions and discharges of the polluter.
Potential
ways for the improvement of the system of environmental standard setting are to
set limited values of permissible impacts based on the application of best
available technologies, as well as to set forth targets for the reduction of
negative impacts to be attained by a specific deadline. In particular, such
targets may include the “zero discharge” requirement.
3.2.9. In the existing federal
legislation (tax laws, budget legislation, laws on investment activities,
etc.), there is practically no reflection of the blanket provisions contained
in Articles 14, 17 of the Federal Act “On Environmental Protection” with their
legislative provisions for economic incentives, in particular (i) “….enjoying tax and other incentives when
implementing the best available technologies, renewable energy sources,
utilizing recyclables and processing wastes, and carrying out other effective
environmental activities” (Article 14); (ii) “governmental support to businesses the goal of which is to protect the
environment…. by providing tax and other incentives in accordance with the
legislation” (Article 17).
The
above and other legal mechanisms of economic incentives are primarily needed to
tap off-budget sources in order to finance measures for the cleanup of past
environmental damage caused by past business and other activities in the
Russian Arctic.
3.2.10. The legislation on technical
regulation, in particular, the Federal Act “Technical Procedures for Safety of
Buildings and Structures”, while having provided definitions such as “natural
hazards”, “complex natural conditions” and while having set general provisions
for engineering protection of buildings and structures to be constructed under
such conditions, fails to set forth any special requirements and measures of
engineering protection under the Arctic conditions, in particular, under the
conditions of possible thawing of permafrost soils.
3.2.11. The Urban Development Code
of the
It is
deemed practical to introduce mandatory state environmental expert review or
procedure of mandatory strategic environmental expert review of the above
territorial planning documents as applicable to the Russian Arctic.
3.2.12. Neither there are any
important regulations, i.e. rules setting forth environmental and other
requirements when establishing, operating, and removing from operation
artificial islands, installations, and structures on the continental shelf of
the
3.3. The above and other gaps in
the regulation of natural resources management and environmental protection in
the Russian Arctic could be bridged under the proposed federal law “On Special Regimes in the Natural Resources
Management and Environmental Protection in the Russian Arctic and Amending Some
Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”, including by introducing the
corresponding amendments and additions to the existing acts of the federal legislation.
Therefore,
the Proposed Law will (i) introduce additional (compared to the existing
legislation) environmental requirements for
the carrying out of business in the Russian Arctic with due regard to
particular vulnerability of the unique ecosystems in the Russian Arctic,
specific nature of such business in the ice-covered areas, forecasted climate
changes; and (ii) provide governmental
support to measures for the cleanup of past business and other
activities.
IV. Practice of Environmental Regulation in the
Arctic States as Applicable to the Russian
4.1. Review of the existing
legislation of the foreign Arctic (
4.1.1. It comprises both
regulations applicable not only to the
4.1.2. The subject legislation of foreign states focuses
on measures to prevent pollution of the marine environment and coasts of the
Arctic seas, as well as to protect terrestrial Arctic ecosystems. Such laws and
regulations include, among others, the
Canadian Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act (AWPPA), the USA Clean Air Act,
the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (USA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (USA), Nature Protection
Act (Island), the Toxic Substances Control Act (USA), etc.
4.1.3. Both general and specialized
(i.e. applicable to the Arctic areas) foreign legislation is characterized by a
higher level (compared to the Russian legislation) of detalization with regard
to the environmental and legal requirements, directly applicable norms, and
tougher legal sanctions for noncompliance with the requirements.
At the
same time, there is common practice of the so called “framework laws” defining
the basic goals, principles, and measures regulating natural resources
management and environmental protection including in the Arctic areas. In the
4.1.4. Some countries regulate the subject relations
including those applicable to the Arctic areas by implementing the principles
of an ecosystem approach. Of particular importance to the protection of the
Arctic environment, the principles of the ecosystem approach are still under
formulation in both
4.1.5. The federal states delegate
certain competencies for the regulation of the subject relations to the
corresponding constituent entities of the federation located within the Arctic
areas or the areas near the Artic zone.
For
instance, the Arctic state of
In
4.1.6. In recent decades, one of the main trends in the
development of foreign legislation in the above countries has been transition
from the policy of environmental pollution control to the policy of pollution
prevention by introducing best available technologies into all the spheres of
economic activities and by involving businesses and other actors in this
process.
4.1.7. Provided for in foreign legislation, some effective
legal and institutional environmental measures are not reflected in the Russian
legislation and could be introduced into the legislative body by adapting them to
the Russian legal system. Such measures include both strictly administrative
regulatory measures and economic/legal measures aimed at encouraging
environmental activities.
The
following examples of regulation could be of interest in the context of potential
introduction into the Russian system.
The
Canadian Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act (AWPPA, 1985), National Marine
Conservation Areas Act (CNMCAA, 2002) bans the discharge of any waste in water
areas. They also determine framework conditions for the adoption of regional
legislation, rules and regimes for the protection of marine ecosystems from any
negative impacts.
The
Canada’s Oceans Act (1996) and Marine Protected Areas Act in the Arctic Seas,
the Norway Petroleum Act and Nature Protection Act set forth the procedures for
the establishment of specially protected areas in the Arctic seas based on the
ecosystem approach to their management.
The
USA Superfund Act set forth measures aimed at involving both the polluters and
parties concerned in the cleanup of the areas that had been exposed to chemical
and radioactive pollution.
The
USA Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act ban the
development of oil and gas deposits along the migration routes of the
corresponding species.
The
USA Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act provides for measures to ensure the
proper balance between the potential damage to the environment and economic
benefits from the development of oil and gas resources.
The
USA Oil Pollution Act (1990) set forth liability for oil pollution,
compensation for damage from pollution, requirements to the tanker design, as
well as the procedures for responding to oil pollution events.
4.2. Arctic Council Environmental Activities
4.2.1. In June
As
stated in the Rovaniemi Declaration, the Strategy objectives are:
· To protect the
Arctic ecosystem including humans;
· To provide for the
protection, enhancement and restoration of environmental quality and the
sustainable utilization of natural resources, including their use by local
populations and indigenous peoples in the
· To recognize and,
to the extent possible, seek to accommodate the traditional and cultural needs,
values and practices of the indigenous peoples as determined by of the Arctic
environment;
· To review
regularly the state of the Arctic environment;
· To identify,
reduce, and, as a final goal, eliminate pollution.
Five
groups were established to implement five programs:
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment
Program (AMAP): The primary objective of the AMAP is the measurement
of the levels of anthropogenic pollutants and the assessment of their effects
in relevant component parts of the Arctic environment.
Protection Of The Arctic Marine Environment (PAME): to take
preventive measures directly or through competent international organizations,
consistent in particular with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea regarding marine pollution in the Arctic, irrespective of origin
Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR): preparing
a framework for taking early cooperative action on emergency prevention, preparedness
and response in the
Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF): exchange
of data and information on issues such as shared species and habitats and to
collaborate, as appropriate, for more effective research, sustainable
utilization and conservation;
Sustainable Development and
Utilization: preparing proposals on measures to be adopted by the
governments in order to implement their obligations
with respect to sustainable exploitation and development of the
The 1996 (March) Conference adopted the Inuvik
Declaration on the Protection of the Environment and Sustainable Development in
the
The
Declaration listed the following priorities:
· To develop the
Arctic Rules for Prevention of, Preparedness to, and Response to Emergencies;
· To adopt measures
to prevent and ensure liability for oil and gas pollution and to involve
indigenous people in this process;
· To analyze
effectiveness of the current system of the emergency notifications;
· To analyze the
international treaties enforcement practice.
September
1996 saw the adoption of the Declaration
on the Establishment of the Arctic Council. The Council’s activities are
concentrated on the conservation of the Arctic environment and measures to
ensure sustainable development as means to improve the economic, social, and
cultural wellbeing in the North.
In
1998, the Arctic states signed the Iqaluit
Declaration. The Council adopted the Procedural Rules and Determined the
Competence of the Arctic Council with respect to the sustainable development
program. It also approved the status of observers for some countries (
Guidelines for Transfer of Refined Oil and Oil
Products in Arctic Waters was prepared by the Arctic Council in 2004. This
document is basically a guide, which contains no specific measures. The
Guidelines were prepared for vessels bringing oil and oil products to Arctic
settlements, industrial enterprises and other vessels. Its objective is to help
prevent spills of the transported oil and liquid fuels that could damage the
environment when pumping them in any direction from one vessel to another or
between a vessel and an onshore facility.
Navigation
in the Arctic and prevention of pollution in the operation of vessels are
addressed in the Guidelines for Ships
Operating in Ice-Covered Waters in the
PAME,
a working group of the Arctic Council responsible for the Report on the
Assessment of Shipping on the Arctic Environment, recommended that the Council
should make these Guidelines a binding document. This proposal was adopted at
the 2009 (April) meeting of the Council.
In
2006 (October), the Council members signed the Salekhard Declaration focusing on the need for pollution abatement
in the Arctic and stating their concern in connection with the climate changes
processes in the Arctic.
4.2.2. In 2009, the Arctic Council
published the Arctic Offshore Oil and
Gas Guidelines, 2009. The target
group for the Guidelines is thus primarily the authorities, but the Guidelines
may also be of help to the industry when planning for oil and gas activities
and to the public in understanding environmental concerns. The Guidelines are
intended to define a set of recommended practices and procedures that are to be
followed when implementing oil and projects on the Arctic shelf. It should be
recognized that the eight Arctic nations have different systems with different
emphases on the division of responsibility between the operator and the regulator.
The goal is to assist regulators in developing standards, which are applied and
enforced consistently for all offshore Arctic oil and gas operators.
·
According to
the Guidelines, Arctic offshore oil and gas activities should be based on the
following principles:
·
Principle of
the Precautionary Approach;
·
Polluter
Pays Principle;
·
Continuous
improvement of management and control systems;
·
Application
of best available technologies;
·
Sustainable
Development principle (conservation of biodiversity, risk minimization,
involving the public in making environmentally important decisions, etc.);
The Guidelines provide assessment of the current and
potential impacts of gas and oil activities on nature and population of the
1.
Take into
consideration the local specifics and knowledge of local residents/indigenous
population when developing and designing projects;
2.
Encourage
participation of local residents, indigenous peoples and the public at large
when making environmental important decisions;
3.
Urge, and
where required, demand that the oil and gas operators incorporate measures for
the protection of the environment and cultural inheritance in the project
documents, construction of oil and gas facilities and their operation;
4.
Identify
natural areas with a high level of sensitivity to human impact and strictly
control oil and gas activities in such areas;
5.
Identify
biological resources with a high economic value and take into consideration
their vulnerability to human impacts when planning and making project decisions
and solutions.
The guidelines analyze principles and offer
recommendations for basic environmental procedures such as EIA, environmental
monitoring, assessment and management of environmental risks, safe waste
management, environmental support to all the stages of oil and gas projects
including planning, construction, operation, stoppage, abandonment, etc.
Special focus is on measures to prevent and respond to emergency oil spills.
4.2.3.
In
February
·
Climate change (impacts, adaptation and measures to
mitigate negative impacts);
·
Reduction of emissions of environmentally hazardous
substances and improving management of hazardous waste;
·
The cleanup of environmental "hot spots ";
·
Implementation of the Russian-Norwegian Cleaner
Production Program;
·
Water Resources Management (cooperation in the
management of transboundary water bodies, reducing discharges into the water
environment and clean drinking water supply);
·
Biodiversity (conservation of habitats and species,
strengthening the network of protected areas), etc
V. The Place of the Proposed Law in the System
of the Current Legislation
5.1.
In accordance with the Legal Acts Classifier as approved by the Decree of the
President of the Russian Federation of 15 March 2000, No.511, the Federal Act
“On Special Regimes in the Natural Resources Management and Environmental
Protection in the Russian Arctic and Amending Some Legislative Acts of the
Russian Federation” will refer to the legal acts under No.110.000.000 “Natural
Resources and Environmental Protection”.
According to the Constitution
of the
The joint jurisdiction of the
5.2. In accordance with the
above mentioned articles of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the
Federal Act of 31 December 2005 No.199-FZ "On Amendments to Certain
Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Improvement
of Division of Competencies" (Art. 8, 10, 19 - 21 , 27, 30, 33), the Federal
Act of 6 October 2003 N 131-FZ "On General Principles of Local
Self-Government in the Russian Federation, Federal Act of 6 October 1999 N
184-FZ"On General Principles of Legislative (Representative) and Executive
Authorities of the Subjects of the Russian Federation", this Proposed Law
will delegate some competences in the area of natural resources management,
environmental protection and ecological safety in the Russian Arctic to the
subjects of the Russian Federation and local authorities.
In the drafting of the Law,
consideration will be given to the obligations of the Russian Federation in the
area of natural resources management and environmental protection in the
Russian Arctic arising from
international treaties, in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea (1982), applicable federal acts, as well as the main provisions of official
documents defining the fundamentals of the national in the Russian Arctic,
including those aimed at addressing their environmental and socio-economic
problems:
5.3. Adopting a federal level
law with a limited territorial scope will not be a unique practice in the
domestic legislation. We know a number of federal acts that have introduced a
specialized regime of legislative regulation (including for natural resources
management and environmental protection) for individual regions in the country
with due regard to their ecological importance, natural and climatic features,
and vital national interests. These, for instance, include the Federal Act of
May 1, 1999 No. 94-FZ "On Protection of Lake Baikal”, the Federal Act of
December 1, 2007 No. 310-FZ" On the Organization and Conducting the XXII Olympic
Winter Games and XI Para-Olympic Games in
Very similar in orientation
to the proposed law was the USSR Law "On Approval of the Decree of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On Strengthening the
Protection of Nature in the Far North and Marine Areas Adjacent to the Northern
Coast of the USSR of 28 November, 1984 No. 1422-XI.
VI. New Rights and Obligations of Business
Entities in the Area of Environmental Protection
Based
on the gap analysis of the applicable legislation, on the specific nature of
the natural resources management in the Russian Arctic, and the need for
addressing the above environmental concerns, new legislative measures are proposed in the Proposed Law.
These include:
6.1. The environmental protection requirements
concerning exploration and production of mineral resources in the ice-covered
areas of the continental shelf are to:
Prevent
pollution of the environment when conducting exploration, design, construction,
and other works associated with the establishment of ice-resistant stationary
and mobile oil and gas production platforms and terminals in the ice-covered
areas, as well as during their subsequent operation and removal from service;
Prevent
pollution of the ice cover with oil, oil products, other chemical and
biological substances in the course of construction, exploration and extraction
of minerals, as well as during the loading/unloading, transportation and other
operations;
Prevent
discharge of untreated wastewater including mandatory provisions for furnishing
the accommodations of the ice-resistant stationary and mobile oil and gas
production rigs and platforms with wastewater treatment systems;
Remove
any production and consumer wastes generated from the establishment and
operation ice-resistant stationary and mobile oil and gas production platforms
and terminals in the ice-covered areas;
Carry
out mandatory statutory environmental review assessment of the documentation
justifying new types of machinery and technologies to be used in the
ice-covered areas;
Provide
for compulsory insurance or any other proper financial provisions against
environmental risks associated with the exploration, production, and
transportation of oil, liquefied gas, and other hazardous substances and waste;
Carry
out mandatory certification of installations, machines and equipment used for
the exploration and production of mineral resources in the ice-covered areas;
and
Introduce
bans on:
·
accumulation and storage of any production and consumption
waste including drilling sludge on the surface of ice cover when establishing,
operating and removing from operation offshore stationary and mobile drilling
and oil and gas production platforms;
·
flaring of associated gas on the ice-resistant stationary
oil and gas production platforms;
·
discharge of untreated wastewater and waste;
·
explosive works, etc.
6.2. Emergency Prevention and Response
Requirements for Ice-Covered Areas are to:
6.2.1.
Ensure that there are approved oil spill prevention
and response plans, and that there are physical resources to promptly respond
to the threat of oil spills;
6.2.2.
Ensure that there are ongoing communications with the
vessels of the support fleet including with ice-breakers and other arctic
navigation vessels designed for emergency and rescue operations, environment
protection, underwater hydrographic and other works;
6.2.3.
Ensure that the legal entities that are engaged in
exploration and production of oil, as well as transportation of oil and other
hazardous substances and waste maintain agreements with emergency and rescue
services including onshore facilities to render emergency assistance in
responding to emergencies that resulted in pollution of the marine environment
and coastal areas;
6.2.4.
Promptly warn about emergencies including the onshore
emergency response facilities;
6.2.5.
Promptly take measures to cleanup ice cover in case of
its pollution with oil, oil products, other chemical and biological substances
when carrying out the above works;
6.2.6.
Ensure that there is deepwater mobile equipment to
respond to emergencies that may cause environmental damage;
6.2.7.
Determine a set of steps for cleaning up and restoring
coastal areas contaminated as a result of oil spills from vessels and oil
production platforms including the list of such works, work schedule and
persons that are responsible for their organization;
6.3. The environmental protection requirements
in connection with navigation in the ice-covered areas are to:
6.3.1.
Ice breakers and ice-rated Arctic vessels that are
designed to carry oil, liquefied gas, other hazardous substances, materials and
waste shall be designed, built, and operated by incorporating measures to
prevent pollution of the marine environment in case of emergencies. Ban must be
imposed on the transportation of the above cargo in the ice-covered areas by
vessels that do not fall into the ice-rated category. Catamaran tankers of
icebreaking category shall be used to transport oil in the ice-covered
areas.
6.3.2.
Environmental safety measures when operating,
mothballing, and utilizing nuclear-powered vessels, as well as when handling
radioactive waste generated from the operation of nuclear-powered ice-breakers,
other nuclear-powered vessels, submarines, and power plants;
6.3.3.
Navigation
routes for ice-breakers and other ice-rated Arctic vessels shall be determined
with due regard to the fauna conservation requirements (in particular, by
passing the spawning, wintering, reproduction, feeding, and migration grounds
and routes of animals) and in accordance with the provisions of international
agreements, Russian legislation, and recommendations of competent international
organizations;
6.3.4.
The navigation routes of vessels transporting oil
along the coastal line shall be determined with due regard to the need to
mitigate the risks of oil pollution of the coastal areas in case of offshore
accidents.
6.4. Economic and legal instruments to ensure
cleanup of past environmental damage in the Russian
6.4.1. To ensure economic incentives to
entities engaged in the natural resources management or other business
activities in the Russian Arctic with respect to the implementation of measures
for the cleanup of past environmental damage, the following legislative
instruments might be useful:
6.4.1.1.
Credit for tax or non-tax payments (i.e. pollution
charges) against the documented expenses for the actual cleanup works with
regard to such damage that were carried out in the reporting period in
accordance with the approved design documentation and as accepted in accordance
with the approved procedure;
6.4.1.2.
Inclusion of the condition for the participation in
the implementation of measures associated with the cleanup of such damage when
providing subsoil use licenses for the exploration of minerals including of
mineral resources on the continental shelf, etc.
VII. Socioeconomic, Political, Legal, and Other
Consequences of the Proposed Law
7.1. Political
Consequences of the Proposed Law
Adopting
the Proposed Law will be an important step toward the implementation of the
objectives as set forth in the main policy document of the Arctic component –
the Fundamentals of the National Arctic Policy of the
This
Law and the follow-up regulations will bridge the existing gaps in the
applicable legal framework associated with the Russian Arctic regulation.
Adopting
and implementing the Proposed Law will demonstrate to the world community that
With
due regard to the generally accepted principles and norms of international law,
the Proposed Law will set forth the definition “The Russian Arctic (the Arctic
Zone of the Russian Federation)” having included therein the land and marine
areas within the boundaries of the Russian Federation, as well as offshore
areas within the boundaries of the exclusive economic zone and continental
shelf of the Russian Federation. Legal framework will be established to use the
The
Proposed Law will establish the legal framework for the national environmental
policy in the Arctic, which is of paramount importance taking into
consideration the fact that the Russian Arctic may well become the strategic
resource base of the
Developed
on the basis of the international treaties, where Russia is a signatory, for
the prevention of pollution from vessels by the discharge of waste and other
materials, the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for
Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by
Sea (1996), and other international acts, the Proposed Law will serve as an
effective legal framework for the implementation of the international
obligations of the Russian Federation arising from these international treaties
as applicable to the Arctic region.
The
Proposed Law will contribute to the implementation of Article 234 (Ice-Covered
Areas) and other provisions of the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea (1982)
with the purpose of control and regulation of maritime activity in the Russian
Arctic.
Complementing
and developing the provisions of the applicable legal and other regulatory
acts, the subject Law will take the domestic regulation of natural resources
management and environmental protection in the Russian Arctic to a much higher
quality level. This will establish a basis for effective business partnership
between
7.2. Social and Economic Consequences of the
Proposed Law
The
main effect from the adoption and implementation of the Proposed Law will be
reduced negative impacts on the Arctic environment and restoration of the
disturbed areas including through the cleanup of past environmental damage.
This will lead to the improvement of living conditions of people in the Russian
Arctic including small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North, reduced morbidity
levels, longer life span and better life quality, reduced migration to other
regions of
Reduced
negative impacts in the areas of traditional use of natural resources and
restoration measures will lead to the demographic improvements among the
small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North.
Conservation
measures with respect to the Russian Arctic natural ecosystems including the
marine and fresh water ecosystems will increase populations of various types of
water biological resources and terrestrial animals, which are traditional game
resources for the small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North.
Availability and development of such game resources, as well as expansion of
commercial catch of water biological resources will serve as a vital
contribution in meeting other socioeconomic challenges in the Russian Arctic.
Measures
aimed at reducing adverse environmental impacts, at cleaning-up past
environmental damage will also serve as a vital contribution to addressing the
problem of conserving reindeer pastures as the main resource for reindeer
husbandry.
There
will be other positive outputs as well including:
· Relative reduction
of expenses for health promotion activities and rehabilitation of local
population including small-in-numbers indigenous peoples of the North;
· Improved
conditions for the development of tourism (marine and land-based) including
ecotourism;
· Prerequisites for
the establishment of new protected areas and restoration of populations of rare
and valuable species of flora and fauna.
7.3. Legal Consequences of the Proposed Law
The
objective of the Proposed Law is to further a number of norms of the
Constitution of the
The
Proposed Law is intended as furtherance of Art. 18 of the Federal
Constitutional Law of 17 December 1997 No. 2-FKZ "On the Government of the
Russian Federation: the Government of the Russian Federation: provides the
uniform national policy in environmental protection and safety; undertakes
steps to ensure the rights of citizens to healthy environment, environmental
well-being; manages the activities related to protection and rational use of
natural resources; regulation of the use of natural resources and development
of the Russian mineral resources base; coordinates activities to prevent
natural calamities, emergencies and disasters, emergency and risk
management"
The
goal of the Proposed Law is to develop further a number of norms of the
Constitution of the
The
Proposed Law will ensure implementation of a number of provisions of the
Federal Act dated 7 May 2001 N 49-FZ “On the Territories of Traditional Natural
Resources Use of Small-In-Numbers Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia, and
the Far East of the Russian Federation”, in particular, of Article 2
“Establishment, Conservation, and Use of the Territories of Traditional Natural
Resources Use shall be Regulated by this Federal Act, Other Federal Acts, and
other Regulations of the Russian Federation, as well as by Laws and Regulations
of the Constituent Subjects of the Russian Federation”
Adopting
the Proposed Law will require amendments in some existing federal acts,
including:
·
Federal Act of 10 January 2002 N 7-FZ "On
Environmental Protection";
·
Federal Act of 30 November 1995 N 187-FZ "On the
Continental Shelf of the
·
Federal Act of 17 December 1998 N 191-FZ "On the
Exclusive Economic Zone of the
·
Federal Act of 31.07.1998 N 155-FZ "On the
Internal Marine Waters,
·
Federal Act of 14 March 1995 N 33-FZ "On
Specially Protected Natural Areas";
·
Federal Act of 23 November 1995 N174-FZ "On
Environmental Expert Review";
·
Federal Act of 24 June 1998 N 89-FZ "On
Production and Consumption Waste";
·
Federal Act of 21 December 1994 "On Protection of
Population and Territories from Natural and Man-Induced Emergencies";
·
Federal Act of 30 December 2009 N 384-FZ
"Technical Procedures for Safety of Buildings and Structures";
·
RF Law of 21 February 1992 N 2395-1 "On
Subsoil";
·
Water Code of the
·
Land Code of 25 October 2001 N 136-FL;
·
Urban Development Code of the
·
Code of Administrative Offences of RF, of 30 December
2001 N 195-FZ, etc.;
Implementing
the provisions of the Proposed Law will require adoption of a number of
regulations, i.e. Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation “On
Approval of the Procedures for the Establishment, Operation and Use of
Artificial Islands, Installations and Facilities the Establishment, Operation
and Use of Artificial Islands, Installations and Facilities in the Ice-Covered
Areas of the Continental Shelf of the Russian Federation”.
8.1. List of Strategic, Conceptual, and Program
Documents in the Area of Natural Resources Protection and Environmental
Protection
1.
Fundamentals of the National Policy of the
2.
The Concept of Governmental Support to Economic and
Social Development of the Northern Areas, approved by the Government of the
Russian Federation of 07.03.2000, No. 198;
3.
Priorities of the Government of the
4.
The Concept Of Long-Term Socio-Economic Development Of
The Russian Federation Towards 2020 (approved by the Order of the Government of
the
5.
The Marine Doctrine of the Russian Federation towards
2020, approved by the President of the Russian Federation, July 27, 2001;
6.
The Environmental Doctrine of the
7.
Fundamentals Of The National Policy For Nuclear And
Radiation Safety Of The Russian Federation Towards 2010 and Beyond (approved by
the President of the
8.
The Strategic Action Program for Environmental
Protection of the Russian Arctic, approved by the Maritime Board of the
Government of the Russian Federation (Minutes of the Board Meeting, 19 June
2009, N 2(11), Section I, Par.2);
9.
The Resolution of the Government of the
8.2. The List of Federal Acts Governing
Relations in Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection
8.3.
The List of Federal Acts and Regulations Governing the State Environmental
Review and Environmental Impact Assessment
8.4.
The List of Federal Acts and Regulations Governing Permitting and Licensing
8.4.
The List of Federal Acts and Other Regulations Governing the State Environmental
Control
8.5.
The list of federal acts and regulations governing the protection of water
bodies in the territory of the
8.6.
The List of Federal Acts and Regulations Governing Soil and Land Protection
8.7.
The List of the Atmospheric Air Protection Regulations and Methodological
Guidelines
8.8.
The List of Federal Acts and Regulations Governing Production and Consumption
Waste Management
8.9.
The List of Regulations Governing Protection of Flora and Fauna and
Biodiversity Conservation
8.10.
The List of Regulations Governing Compensation for Damages to the Environment
from Economic Activities
8.11.
The List of Federal Acts and Regulations Governing the Forecasting, Prevention
and Cleanup of Oil Spills Emergencies
8.12.
The List of Federal Acts and Regulations to Ensure Radiation (Radioecological)
Safety
8.
13. The list of Regulations and Information Documents Related to the Implementation
of the
8.14.
List of International Environmental Treaties
N |
International
Convention (treaty) |
Place and
year of signing |
Year of
entry into force |
|
General documents |
||||
1 |
Convention for the Protection of World
Cultural and Natural Heritage |
|
1975 |
Party (USSR ratified in 1988) |
2 |
UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact
Assessment in a Transboundary Context |
|
1997 |
Observer (USSR signed in 1991, Russia failed to ratify) |
3 |
The Protocol on Strategic Environmental
Assessment to the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a
Transboundary Context |
|
2010 |
|
4 |
The UNECE Convention on Access to
Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in
Environmental Matters ( |
|
2002 |
Observer (unsigned)
|
5 |
The Agreement on Cooperation of CIS Countries
in the field of Ecology And Environmental Protection |
|
1992 |
Party from 1992 |
6 |
The Agreement of the CIS Countries on
Cooperation in Environmental Monitoring |
|
1999 |
Party from 1999 |
Documents on the Protection of Natural Conditions,
Environment Components, Territories and Water Areas |
||||
7 |
The Antarctic Treaty |
|
1961 |
Party (USSR ratified in 1959) |
8 |
The Convention on the Prevention of
Marine Pollution from Ships Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter ( |
|
1975 |
Party (USSR ratified in 1975) |
9 |
Convention on the Long-Range
Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) |
|
1980 |
Party ñ 1983 |
10 |
The
Protocol to LRTAP on the Reduction Of Sulfur Emissions or Their Transboundary
Fluxes by At Least 30% |
|
1987 |
Party |
11 |
The
Protocol to the LRTAP - Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or their
Transboundary Fluxes |
|
1991 |
Party |
12 |
The
Protocol to the LRTAP - Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or
their Transboundary Fluxes |
|
1997 |
Observer |
13 |
The
Protocol to LRTAP and the Further Reduction Of Sulfur Emissions |
|
1998 |
Observer (not signed) |
14 |
The
Protocol to the LRTAP Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants |
|
2003 |
Observer (not signed) |
15 |
The
Protocol to the LRTAP on Heavy Metals, 1998 |
|
2003 |
Observer |
16 |
Protocol
to LRTAP to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone |
Geteborg, 1999 |
2005 |
Observer |
17 |
The |
|
1988 |
Party since 1986 |
18 |
The |
|
1989 |
Party sonce 1987 |
19 |
The Protocol on Environmental Protection
to the Antarctic Treaty ( |
|
1998 |
Party |
20 |
The Convention on the Protection and Use
of Transboundary Watercourses and |
|
1996 |
Party |
21 |
The Convention for the Protection of the
Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area ( |
|
1993 |
Party since 1993 |
22 |
The Convention for the Protection of the
|
Bukharest, 1992 |
1993 |
Party since 1993 |
23 |
The United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) |
New-York, 1992 |
1994 |
Party since 1994 |
24 |
The UN Convention to Combat
Desertification |
|
1996 |
Party since 2003 |
25 |
The |
|
2005 |
Party since 2005 |
26 |
The International Convention on the
Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water |
2004 |
Not in force |
|
27 |
The International Convention on the
Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships |
2001 |
2008 |
Party |
28 |
The Oslo-Paris Convention for the
Protection of Marine Environment of the |
|
1998 |
|
29 |
The International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) |
|
1983 |
Party since 1983 |
30 |
The International Convention for the
Prevention of Marine Pollution by Oil |
|
1958 |
For the |
31 |
The Convention on Civil Liability for
Oil Pollution Resulting From Exploration And Exploitation Of Marine Mineral
Resources |
|
Not in force |
|
Documents
on Environmental Protection from Hazardous Activities |
||||
32 |
The Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal ( |
|
1992 |
Party since 1995 |
33 |
The UNECE Convention on the
Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents |
|
2000 |
Party since 1993 |
34 |
The |
|
2004 |
Observer |
35 |
The |
|
2004 |
Observer (signed in
2002 but not ratified) |
36 |
The Convention on Civil Liability for
Damage Resulting from Activities Dangerous to the Environment |
|
Not in force |
|
Fauna Protection Documents |
||||
37 |
The Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) |
Ramsar ( |
1975 |
Party since 1976 (as
part of the |
38 |
The Agreement on the Conservation of
Polar Bears |
|
1976 |
Party (hunting banned
since 1956) |
39 |
The Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) |
|
1975 |
Party since 1992
(USSR joined in 1976) |
40 |
The Convention for the Protection of
Wild Flora and Fauna and Natural Habitats ( |
|
1982 |
Observer |
41 |
The Convention for the Protection of
Migratory Species ( |
|
1983 |
Observer |
42 |
The Convention on Biological Diversity |
|
1993 |
Party since 1994 |
8.15.
A list of the most important multilateral documents prepared as the joint
effort of the Arctic States
i.
Maps of Arctic Resources under Threat of Oil
Pollution, 2002
8.16.
A list of the main legislative acts of Norway, aimed at the environment
conservation in the
·
1963 N 12. Act relating to scientific research and
exploration for and exploitation of subsea natural resources other than
petroleum resources.
·
17.6. 1966 N 19. Act relating to
·
19.6. 1970 N 63. Nature Conservation Act
·
20.12. 1974 N 73. The Wildlife Welfare Act.
·
1975 N 35. Act relating to the taxation of subsea
petroleum deposits etc. [Petroleum Taxation Act]. Last amended by Act
2005-12-09-109 Ministry of Finance.
·
17.12. 1976 N 91. Act relating to the economic zone of
Norway. Note: With supplement: Royal decree of 17th December 1976 relating to
the establishment of the economic zone of Norway.
·
9.6. 1978 N 50. Act concerning the cultural heritage
[Cultural Heritage Act].
·
13.3. 1981 N 6. Act relating to protection against
pollution and relating to waste [The Pollution Control Act].
·
29.5. 1981 N 38. Act relating to wildlife and wildlife
habitats. [The Wildlife Act].
·
3.6. 1983 N 40. Act relating to sea-water fisheries,
etc.
·
8.6. 1984 N 51. Act relating to harbors and fairways
[The Harbour Act]. Translated November 1994 Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
·
1990 N 36. Act on the Government Petroleum Fund.
Amended by Act N 1999 of 20 December 1996 Norges bank.
·
21.12. 1990 N 72. Act relating to CO2 tax in the
petroleum Activity on the continental shelf. Amendments as of June 2000.
·
15.5. 1992 N 47. Act relating to Salmonids and
Fresh-Water Fish etc
·
24.6. 1994 N 39. The Norwegian Maritime Code. With
later amendments up to and including Act of 2 August, 1996, no 2. Amended
latest on 15 June 2001 Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority. Note:
Annulled by Act 2003-07-04-83.
·
29.11. 1996 N 72. Act relating to petroleum
Activities.
·
22.5. 2000 N 36. Act on radiation protection and use
of radiation.
·
24.11. 2000 N 82. Act relating to river systems and
groundwater [Water Resources Act].
·
21.12. 2000 N 118. Act relating to sea-ranching.
·
15.6. 2001 N 79. Act relating to the protection of the
environment in
·
9.5. 2003 N 31. Act relating to the right to
environmental information and participation in decision-making processes
relating to the environment [Environmental Information Act].
·
17.12. 2004, N 99. Act relating to greenhouse gas
emission allowance trading and the duty to surrender emission allowances
[Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Act].
·
27.5. 2005 N 31. Act relating to forestry [Forestry
Act].
·
17.6. 2005 N 85. Act relating to legal relations and
management of land and natural resources in the
8.17.
A List of the Main Legal Acts of
8.18.
List of main
STEERING COMMITTEE
UNEP/GEF Project -
Fifth Meeting
24-25 March, 2011
STC 5/3.5
Main results of demo and pilot projects implemented
on the NPA-Arctic Project life time
Prepared by: the Project Office
Required
actions:
for approval by STC members
List of Demonstration and
Pilot Projects implemented under the UNEP/GER Project NPA-Arctic
Completed demo and pilot projects mentioned in the Project Documents
1. FJL BASES-I - demo
project (Environmental remediation of Decommissioned Military Bases on
2. CLEANUP – pilot
project (Remediation of the Environment through the use of Brown
Algae). A contract with a bid-winner (“Sirena Ltd”) was signed on 29/08/2007. The pilot
project was completed, fully paid and final report both in Russian and English
was uploaded on the Project website.
3. COMAN - demo project
(Indigenous Environmental Co-management). A contract with a
bid-winner Consortium RAIPON, “BATANI” Fund and GRID-Arendal was signed on
15/11/2007. The demo project was completed, fully paid and final report both in
Russian and English was uploaded on the Project website.
The following additional pilot projects approved by the 2nd
Project STC meeting were completed:
4.
KOLABAY - Cleaning of hazardous
substances from the bottom sediments of the Kola Fjord. Phase 1. Monitoring of
hazardous substances in the bottom sediments of the
5.
BIOREMEDIATION -
Designing of bioremediation technology for oil sludge and oil contaminated soil
in Arctic conditions. Pilot project.
6.
TIKSIBAY -
Removing of sunken wood and ship frames from the sea bottom in
7.
Teriberka - Salvation and scrapping of the
hunting ship “Teriberka”. This pilot project was implemented by
8. RITEG-Kondratiev - Localisation
and removal from a thermokarst crater of two radioisotope thermoelectric
generators (RITEGs) of GONG type at the Kondratiev navigation beacon site in
Ust’-Yanski Ulus of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). This pilot project was approved by
the 2nd meeting of the Steering Committee. Objectives: to determine the depths of two RITEGs which
are buried near Kondratyev navigation beacon site and to dig up both RITEGs
from a thermokarst crater to the surface for following removal to the specially
equipped storage. Project implementation was started in February 2010 and implemented by the individual enterprise
“Sell’yakhov”. Both RITEGs were found, excavated and put in safe storage for
future transportation to special enterprise for proper dismantling. All works
were successfully finalised and fully paid. A copy of the final report is
available on the Project website.
The following additional pilot projects approved by the 3rd
Project STC meeting were completed:
9.
ONEGA-BASES. Environmental
Remediation of the Former Military Site near Pokrovskoye (Onezhsky District of
Archangel Region of
10. TIKSIBAY-2. Removing of
sunken wood and shipwrecks from the sea bottom in
11. International Training Workshop on Environmentally Safe Management
of Hazardous Wastes, Including Occupational Health and Safety Issues – the International training workshop was held in Moscow on July
20-23,
Purpose of the training seminar is
to familiarise audience with up-to-date safety methods of hazardous wastes
handling including labour and health protection items. Particularly attention
should be paid to safe handling and removing of abandoned metal drums with
hazardous wastes spread in huge amounts in Russian Arctic, to all elements of
.obsolete and prohibited pesticides handling and destruction, to reclamation
works and other.
12. BASES-FJL-2. Development
of technology of clean up from hazardous waste of the area of decommissioned
sites of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense in the Arctic by the
example of Alexandra Island of Franz Josef Land Archipelago. Phase 2. The project were completed
by non-profit organization “Polar Foundation” mainly at Nagurskaya Station
(Alexandra Land Island) and some additional reconnaissance works and ecological
mapping were fulfilled also on abandoned military bases situated on Graham-Bell
and Goffman islands. This pilot project addresses serious environmental
security threats posed by large contamination sources located at three
abandoned military sites in
13. Pesticides. Development
of system for eliminating of outdated and banned Pesticides in the
The following new pilot projects were introduce at the 4th
Steering Committee meeting, approved by
STC members via email communications later on and completed to date:
14.
PCB. Design
of production engineered and logistic solutions with the purpose of introduction
of a system for collection and elimination (utilisation) of PCB wastes and PCB
containing equipment in the Russian Arctic region - The project was implemented by the bid winner OOO “Scientific Production
Association “Centre for Improvement and Waste Handling”.
There is a fair quantity of
local sources of POPs including PCB wastes. They are dispersed throughout a
huge territory and very often in some distant locations that are difficult to
access. The amount of PCB wastes and PCB containing equipment inventory results
are considered to be incomplete for the Russian Arctic Zone, but they give an
opportunity to start practical steps for development and implementation of a
system for collection and elimination (utilization) of PCB wastes and PCB
containing equipment in the Arctic Region what is actually the main objective
of the project. The pilot project were successfully finalised and fully paid.
The final report is available on the Project website in Russian and English.
15.
16. Indigenous people health. Development of recommendations
aimed at improvement of indigenous population health protection system in the
Russian
17.
OIL SPILLS. Review and introduction of system of reaction to emergency of oil
spills and oil products in the Arctic conditions for protection of especially
sensitive to petroleum coastal areas (with examples from Barents Sea and
A report
with summary, pictures and evaluation of all fifteen demo and pilot projects as
well as an assessment on their potential replicabilities in Arctic conditions
has been prepared in Russian (about 70 pp) and it is planned to be published
and uploaded on the Project website in both Russian and English languages in
the nearest future.
Final
reports (full texts) of all implemented demo and pilot projects uploaded on the
project website (http://npa-arctic.ru) in Russian and English.
[1] Summary of analytical materials on the state of the environmental
regulations for the Russian Arctic prepared within the UNEP/GEF Project “