Key Basin Project Results
1. Completion of a Strategic Action Programme for the Protection of the Russian Arctic Environment (SAP-Arctic), directed to preserve and protect Arctic environment and to eliminate negative environmental impacts from economic and other activities.
2. Pre-investment studies were completed for all three areas (western, central, and eastern) of the Russian Arctic, resulting in a set of proposals for environmental projects which are supported by regional and local authorities. These will help set optimal sets of environmental measures which require significant investments and design remediation actions which can be implemented by the Russian Federation and its funding partners
3. Outputs of the project contributed significantly to the implementation of two international agreements: the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA)
Catalytic Impacts
The Project played an important catalytic role in the development of a national law on environmental protection in specific conditions of the Arctic zone of Russia, a number of regulations and procedures for environmental monitoring, risk assessment, analysis, preparation of investment studies and creation of private – public partnerships for preparation and implementation of investment projects directed to social and environmental remediation.
The project results strongly supported the above-mentioned development of new actions concerning the Artic as a legal base for the effective cleaning and future protection of the arctic environment. In addition, the project played an important catalytic role in leveraging additional funds for demonstration and pilot projects. For example, the Ministry of Defence gave funds for FJL remediation project, the government of Arkhangelsk funded the remediation of former military basis, and the Murmansk administration allocated funds for cleaning of the Kola fjord.
The project has a high catalytic potential for the development of legislation concerning Arctic area conservation. Based on the project outputs, the Government of the RF adopted new strategic documents (Arctic SAP, DA) and changed its approaches to solving the environmental problems.
The project results have a very strong replication potential through UNEP and GEF projects, but also through EU and national projects. The evaluated project provides a very good level of knowledge, expertise and experiences concerning a country where the effective solution of environmental problems has been politically unacceptable and unrealistic.
The catalytic role and replication of the project results was evaluated as highly satisfactory due to its very significant role in forming the legislation.
Results Indicators
1/1, with endorsement from regional entities (e.g., Arctic Council, NAFCO)
INDICATOR#1 (Rehabilitation of the environment)
Two demo projects (COMAN and BASES FJL) and three pilot projects (CLEANUP, BIOREMEDIATION and TIKSIBAY) were successfully completed. Implementation of these demo and pilot projects improved the environmental situation on a local scale in the FJL archipelago (BASES FJL- demo), Murmansk region (BIOREMEDIATION-pilot and CLEANUP- pilot) and in Tiksi Bay region – downstream of Lena river and near its estuary zone (TIKSIBAY- pilot). Implementation of COMAN demo project showed stable improvement of co-management practice of local authorities with the indigenous communities of the North in the Russian Federation and establishment of conditions to ascertain interest balance of the local indigenous population and extracting companies in solving economic and environmental problems.
INDICATOR#4 (Implementation of international agreements)
Outputs of this project contributed to the implementation of two principal international agreements: Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS); and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA) as implemented in the Arctic Region through the Regional Programme of Action for the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment from Land- based Activities (RPA) and the Arctic Council Plan of Action to Eliminate Pollution of the Arctic (ACAP).
INDICATOR#1 (Preparation and adoption of a comprehensive Strategic Action Programme for the Russian Arctic)
A Strategic Action Program for the Protection of the Russian Arctic Environment (SAP-Arctic) was completed, with the purpose of preserving and protecting the Arctic environment and addressing damage and threats from land-based activities in the Russian Federation. The SAP was approved by the Maritime Board under the Government of the Russian Federation, who then recommended it for further promotion to the relevant government bodies. The SAP had to satisfy several requirements, which included (1) satisfying Russian requirements for the sustainable exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic (2) stipulate the fulfillment of environmental tasks under the Federal Target Oriented Programme ‘World Ocean’ (3) fully meet the aspirations of the other Arctic states and the Arctic Council, and (4) ensure the Russian contribution to the implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities.
Information sources
GEF5 Tracking Tool (2012), IWC6 Results Note (2011), UNEP Terminal Evaluation (2012)
