Hot Spots Tackling Environmental Challenges in the Barents Region
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Hot Spots Tackling environmental challenges in the Barents Region The unique and highly Contents 3 Case studies Preface sensitive natural ‘environmental hot spots’, was prepared by Preface environment of the Barents Region is ex- the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Pro- 16 posed to a multitude of threats that need to gramme of the Arctic Council (AMAP) and 4 It all depends be addressed through extensive internation- NEFCO. Over the years, the report has served Co-operation on Lake Onega al efforts. The accelerating climate change is as a frame of reference and compass for on Barents already visible in the Barents region; moreo- tangible projects and measures to address environmental 22 ver, airborne emissions and discharges from environmental issues.. hot spots More heat with less energy industrial facilities have an impact on the As we gather in Inari, Finland, for a meet- 6 ecosystem and cause health problems. En- ing of the BEAC Ministers of Environment Fund Manager’s 26 vironmental pollution transcends national in December 2013, it is time to bring it all Overview Towards a borders and therefore it is important that together and draw conclusions. What envi- 01 cleaner Komi environmental initiatives are addressed by ronmental problems have been attended to ER G 8 international co-operation. and what remains to be done to achieve a Chair’s 30 This year marks the 20th anniversary of cleaner environment in the Barents Region? ASTENBER Overview The hunt the establishment of the Barents Euro-Arctic We will approach these issues partly by pre- R for clean water Council and the Kirkenes Declaration signed senting tangible examples in this brochure atrik P 10 by Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ice- of successful environmental projects imple- Environmental 34 land, Russia and the EU. Environmental is- mented in the Barents Region with local ef- hot spots in Arctic Russia sues were at the core of the international co- forts and within the framework of interna- the Barents being cleaned up Thanks to operation from the very beginning. tional co-operation. In addition to this bro- Region In 1994, the Barents Region Environment chure, we will also issue a special assess- 38 joint efforts, Fresh winds in environmental Action Programme was adopted by the Min- ment providing a detailed analysis of the Archangel isters of the Environment of the countries 42 hot spots singled out in 2003. issues are today involved. In 2003, a report was released iden- International environmental co-operation 42 high on the tifying 42 acute environmental problems in in the Barents Region is not only about in- Energy out of political agenda the Barents Region requiring urgent action. vestments, statistics, emission reductions pesticides The report, which introduced the concept of and project portfolios. Thanks to joint ef- forts, environmental issues are today high on the political agenda. The inventory of hot spots carried out in the Barents Region has prompted similar surveys elsewhere in Russia, showing the power of leading by ex- ample. apankki MNRE RF MNRE It is our sincere hope that the examples in this brochure will encourage further en- / YHA KUV YHA / vironmental improvements in order to up- grade the living conditions and the state of OKKANEN H the environment in the Barents Region. entti P 01 Sergey Donskoy Ville Niinistö The city centre Minister of Natural Minister of of Archangel with Novodvinsk Resources and the Environment, paper mill on Environment of the Finland the horizon. Russian Federation 2 Barents Hot Spots Barents Hot Spots 3 01 01 KNP Co-operation Orthodox wooden chapel on Barents in the Kenozero environmental National Park. hot spots The Barents Euro-Arctic Council The Barents Foreign (BEAC) is the forum for inter- and Environment governmental and interregional Ministers have called for the implementa- co-operation in the Barents region. tion of environmental measures at all hot It gathers together the countries spots by 2013. To estimate the achievement and regional authorities in Northern of this goal, the WGE ordered an assessment Europe to promote stability and report in order to collect comprehensive in- sustainable development in the formation on the status of each of the orig- Barents Region. inal 42 hot spots. The Consultancy Agency Akvaplan-Niva carried out the assessment based on reports provided by the Regional The Working Group on Environment (WGE) Hot Spot Exclusion Groups in the Russian of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council started to Barents Region. work on environmental ‘hot spots’ in 1995 The assessment report and presented a hot spot list for the Minis- concludes that ters of the Environment in the region. Hot measures aimed at solving environmental spots are sites which are polluted and pose problems have been taken at all 42 hot spots both environmental and health risks. The identified by the original report from 2003. WGE commissioned the Nordic Environ- However, the measures are on different lev- ment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and els. Three hot spots have been entirely ex- the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Pro- cluded from the list to date. Additional hot gramme (AMAP) to update the list of hot spots are expected to be excluded from the spots in 2003. This report evaluated the pro- list by the end of 2013. gress of the work performed during the first years and the updated list. 4 Barents Hot Spots Barents Hot Spots 5 Since the early days, the Nordic Fund Environment Finance Corporation and projects at the hot spots. Over EUR 4 Manager’s (NEFCO) has played a central role million has been set off for around 70 var- in international and regional co- ious initiatives. There are also other dedi- Overview operation in the Barents Region. cated trust funds such as the Swedish Bar- ents Window. The Project Support Instru- ment (PSI) that NEFCO manages for the Arc- NEFCO is in a unique 01 position for such a task, tic Council will also be pivotal for the Bar- V acting as an observer not only in the BEAC it- ents Region. REHANO self but also having similar roles in the Arctic Besides general institutional support to . K . E Council, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the the exclusion process, the BHSF has contrib- Northern Dimension Environmental Part- uted to sector studies, inventories, feasibility nership and many other fora for environ- studies, business plans and other measures mental and clean energy co-operation. related to different hot spots. They range As a Nordic financial institution, NEFCO in size and scope from small demonstra- has over 20 years’ experience in develop- tion projects, such as water and wastewa- ing and financing environmental projects ter schemes in the Kenozero National Park, in Russia and neighbouring countries. Co- to multifaceted industrial challenges – as ordinating and promoting synergies be- seen at the Vorkuta Cement Plant – and ma- tween international initiatives and the jor municipal infrastructure investments funding that comes with them is a natural like the water and wastewater projects in part of NEFCO’s activities. Petrozavodsk. Already in the early 1990s, NEFCO was In order to promote visibility and en- involved in the first inventories and reports hance the experience gained, the BHSF has in the Barents Region. In 2003, they were financed the Barents Hot Spot Information followed up by the NEFCO-AMAP Report, System that will be available at the Barents which defined 42 environmental ‘hot spots’. website (beac.st). NEFCO is the leading co- NEFCO chaired the Ad-hoc Task Force that financier for the Adviser at the Internation- developed the Criteria & Procedures for the al Barents Secretariat in Kirkenes that will exclusion of hot spots that were adopted by facilitate the hot spot progress in co-ordi- the Ministers in Tromsø in 2010. nation with the BEAC’s broader priorities Since it was set up in 2004, the Barents for climate change and the environment. Hot Spot Facility (BHSF) has been NEFCO’s NEFCO is proud to have been an instru- ÄÄ main tool for promoting progress, actions mental part of the environmental co-oper- ation in the Barents over the last 20 years, ANKAANP K LI and is still looking forward to tackling the -TUU I challenges that lie ahead in this northern- SUV most part of Europe. Henrik G. Forsström 01 Senior Adviser, Folk dance perfor- Barents Hot Spots mance in the Kenozero Facility, NEFCO National Park. 6 Barents Hot Spots Barents Hot Spots 7 01 A This publication illustrates V Chair’s the practical main municipal point sources of pollution. aro Z NA results of environmental protection in the There are also success stories of the improve- Overview ‘hot spots’ in the Russian Barents Region. ments achieved via bilateral co -operation IRINA Promoting environmental improvements programmes. Also in these cases, the lo- and excluding hot spots from the list have cal funding and commitment has been the been among the main activities of the Bar- main driver for success in the projects. ents Euro-Arctic Council’s Working Group Our work, however, is not yet accom- on Environment (WGE). We note that dur- plished. The principle of environmental ing the last ten years, environmental mod- management is to aim towards continu- ernisation is on-going in many places such ous improvements. Companies have set tar- as in the pulp and paper sector and in the gets on emission and discharge reductions. wastewater treatment of some major towns. In addition, further efforts are needed, for In some places, the heating systems have example, to improve the quality of drink- been switched from oil or coal to natural ing water, develop environmentally sound gas. The first steps to develop comprehen- waste management, and to ensure the safe, sive waste management plans have been final destruction of hazardous wastes.