Transition to a Bioeconomy in Northwest Russia
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Transition to a bioeconomy in Northwest Russia Regional cases of the Republic of Karelia and Murmansk oblast By Anna Berlina & Alexey Trubin NORDREGIO REPORT 2019:10 nordregio report 2019:10 1 Transition to a bioeconomy in Northwest Russia Regional cases of the Republic of Karelia and Murmansk oblast By Anna Berlina & Alexey Trubin NORDREGIO REPORT 2019:10 Prepared on behalf of the Nordic Thematic Group for Innovative and Resilient Regions 2017–2020, under the Nordic Council of Ministers Committee of Civil Servants for Regional Affairs. Transition to a bioeconomy in Northwest Russia: regional cases of the Republic of Karelia and Murmansk oblast Nordregio Report 2019:10 ISBN: 978-91-87295-76-8 ISSN: 1403-2503 DOI: doi.org/10.30689/R2019:10.1403-2503 © Nordregio 2019 Nordregio P.O. Box 1658 SE-111 86 Stockholm, Sweden [email protected] www.nordregio.org www.norden.org Analyses and text: Anna Berlina & Alexey Trubin Contributors: Vera Meshko, Alla Shishalova, Mads Randbøll Wolff, Anton Shcherbak and Karen Refsgaard Cover photo: Pixabay This project is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM). In this project, the geographic focus is on the Murmansk oblast and the Republic of Karelia within the bioeconomy. It is a continuation of the NCM-funded project ‘Nordic-Russian bioeconomy pre-study’ that focused on bioeconomy in Arkhangelsk oblast in Russia. Nordregio is a leading Nordic and European research centre for regional development and planning, established by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 1997. We conduct solution-oriented and applied research, addressing current issues from both a research perspective and the viewpoint of policymakers and practitioners. Operating at the international, national, regional and local levels, Nordregio’s research covers a wide geographic scope, with an emphasis on the Nordic and Baltic Sea Regions, Europe and the Arctic. The Nordic co-operation Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, the economy, and culture. It plays an important role in European and international collaboration, and aims at creating a strong Nordic community in a strong Europe. Nordic co-operation seeks to safeguard Nordic and regional interests and principles in the global community. Common Nordic values help the region solidify its position as one of the world’s most innovative and competitive. The Nordic Council of Ministers is a forum of co-operation between the Nordic governments. The Nordic Council of Ministers implements Nordic co-operation. The prime ministers have the overall responsibility. Its activities are co-ordinated by the Nordic ministers for co-operation, the Nordic Committee for co-operation and portfolio ministers. Founded in 1971. The Nordic Council is a forum for co-operation between the Nordic parliaments and governments. The Council consists of 87 parliamentarians from the Nordic countries. The Nordic Council takes policy initiative s and monitors Nordic co-operation. Founded in 1952. Stockholm, Sweden, 2019 Table of contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 7 2. Administration and governance in the Russian Federation.............................10 2.1 Forest management – institutional organisation .......................................................................... 11 3. The bioeconomy in the Republic of Karelia .....................................................................14 3.1 The Republic of Karelia – key facts and figures ............................................................................. 14 3.1.1 Local energy system ................................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Forest-based bioeconomy ....................................................................................................................17 3.2.1 Forest management ...................................................................................................................17 3.2.2 Forestry industry ..........................................................................................................................17 3.2.3 Construction of wooden houses ............................................................................................. 19 3.2.4 The use of other biological resources from forests ........................................................... 20 3.2.5 Bioenergy production from forest-based residues ........................................................... 20 3.3 Marine-based bioeconomy ................................................................................................................. 20 3.3.1 Fisheries and aquaculture ........................................................................................................ 20 3.3.2 Utilisation of fish wastes ...........................................................................................................21 3.3.3 Future perspectives for fish farming ..................................................................................... 22 3.4 Policy framework and state support for the bioeconomy .......................................................... 23 3.4.1 Federal-level support ................................................................................................................. 23 3.4.2 Regional-level support ............................................................................................................... 24 3.5 Educational and research institutions enabling the transition to a bioeconomy .................26 4. The bioeconomy in Murmansk oblast ................................................................................. 27 4.1 Murmansk oblast – key facts and figures ....................................................................................... 27 4.1.1 Local energy system ...................................................................................................................28 4.2 Forest-based bioeconomy ................................................................................................................... 29 4.2.1 Bioenergy production ................................................................................................................. 29 4.2.2 Construction of wooden houses ............................................................................................ 30 4.3 Marine-based bioeconomy ...................................................................................................................31 4.3.1 Coastal and oceanic fisheries ...................................................................................................31 4.3.2 Development of fish processing enterprises ........................................................................ 32 4.3.3 Utilisation of fish wastes .......................................................................................................... 32 4.3.4 Sustainable fisheries .................................................................................................................. 33 4.3.5 Aquaculture .................................................................................................................................. 33 4.4 State support and the policy framework for the bioeconomy .................................................. 33 Regional-level support .......................................................................................................................... 33 4.5 Educational and research institutions enabling the transition to a bioeconomy .................34 5. Opportunities and challenges for bioeconomy development .........................36 References ...................................................................................................................................................... 39 nordregio report 2019:10 5 Appendix 1. List of interviewees ................................................................................................... 45 Figure 1. Institutional organisation of forest management in the Russian Federation. Source: FAO, 2012. ...............................................................................................................................................12 Figure 2. Breakdown of Karelia’s economy in 2013 as a share of GRP, %. Source: PwC 2014 ............................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 3. Production of forest industry products in the Republic of Karelia. Source: PwC 2014……… ................................................................................................................................... …18 Map 1. Case study regions. Map by Eeva Turunen ....................................................................................... 7 Map 2. The location of the Republic of Karelia, its administrative centre, Petrozavodsk, and several companies involved in bioeconomic activities. ...................................................................... 14 Map 3. Map of Murmansk oblast and some companies involved in the bioeconomy ....................... 27 Table 1. Key facts and figures – Murmansk oblast and the Russian Federation. Source: (Kareliastat,