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UDK 327.57
A. Shkaruba, O. Likhacheva, T. Vasileva, V. Kireyeu
OUTCOMES OF EU ENLARGEMENT FOR NATURE RESOURCE GOVERNANCE IN THE REGION OF PSKOV: AN ANALYTICAL OVERVIEW OF EU TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECTS
The paper explores the impact of the EU technical assistance on nature resource governance in the Region of Pskov (Pskovskaya Oblast'), a region in North-West Russia bordering Estonia, Latvia and Belarus. Based on the inventory ofprojects funded by EU institutions or organisations in EU member states since 1991, and on interviews with project participants and/or end-users, we made observations about the nature of funded activities and their post-project sustainability. In particular, we have found that the EU enlargement of2004 had significantly empowered transboundary cooperation of environmental actors in Estonia and Latvia with their Russian counterparts; the most sustainable outputs have been related to the development of physical infrastructure; water management and biodiversity conservation were apparently prioritised over other sectors, while municipal and regional authorities and higher education institutions were the most favoured beneficiaries.
Key words: the region of Pskov, nature resource governance, international technical assistance, transboundary cooperation.
Introduction. Relations of the European Union and Russian Federation is an exciting and a very complicated issue that is under the spotlight of scholarly studies, especially those dealing with international relations and economics [1; 2]. The relations in the field of environmental protection and natural resource governance receive a lot of attention too [9], as long as EU policies and legislation (and policy) had been inspiring a generation of Russian legislators and their experts [12; 14], and the quality of environment and natural resource management have been highly prioritised in most EU-Russia cooperation initiatives, starting from the first generation of TACIS programs (1991-2003) to the Partnership for Modernisation (2010) and the Northern Dimension (started in 1999) that includes a dedicated Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership. Just again, most scholarly work in this field usually has to do with large canvas of international environmental / natural resource governance [4; 7], EU geopolitics [8] or regional politics [6].
Local contexts are greatly underexplored as yet, although most of EU technical assistance projects had addressed specific local issues and/or capacity building needs of organisations or local communities [5]. Furthermore, the cornerstone of the European external policy is the promotion of "people-to-people" contacts [3], and most of those are not visible on the large canvas. To fill this gap in environmental policy literature, we explored EU technical assistance project with beneficiaries in Pskovskaya Oblast' (also the Region of Pskov) in North-West Russia. This region borders Estonia and Latvia, and therefore it was eligible to EU cross-border cooperation programs, and potentially must have been considered as an important and promising target for EU investments in environmental infrastructure (both physical and institutional). In order to understand the impact and sustainability of EU technical assistance on environmental and natural resource governance in the Psk-ovskaya Oblast', we bring forward the following research questions:
- What was the overall impact of EU enlargement on the intensity, thematic/regional range and effectiveness of EU technical assistance in the field?
- What projects appeared to be less or more sustainable (satisfying the end-users) compared to others?
- What funding instruments proved to be the most effective, and why?
- What are the geographical patterns can be observed within Pskovskaya Oblast'?
- What regional and local environmental actors are the most favoured by EU support mechanisms?
In what follows, we explain our research methodology and data, describe our findings and draw conclusions addressing the research questions.
Methodology and data collection. To answer these question, we took stock of completed and ongoing EU technical assistance projects in Pskovskaya Oblast', and analysed the interviews taken from the representatives of project teams, end-users and target groups.
We examined all the projects implemented since 1991 and involving at least one participating organisation or company (beneficiary) from Pskovskaya Oblast'. Lists of projects have been developed based on the lists of awarded projects of the websites of EU programs and agencies (such as INTERREG, Northern Dimension, EACEA etc.); for the past funding programs with discontinued web-presence (e. g. TACIS), we took information about implemented projects from the reports on international cooperation by regional, municipal authorities, higher education and research institutions, and NGOs. In order to put the technical assistance coming from EU institutions into perspective, we have also collected information about some of the project funded by organisations in individual EU member states.
For each project included to the list, we tried to find representatives of beneficiary organisations involved to the project or, at least, end-users familiar with project deliverables. The least of interviewees is set in the Table 1. For several projects we could not find anybody able or willing to comment on the project.
Table 1
List of interviewees
ID Organization / stakeholder group Division or a specific organization Interviewee description Date
1 The Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources Directorate of the Rosprirodnadzor for the Pskov region Director of the Directorate August 10, 2016
2 Pskov City Administration Department on the implementation of cross-border cooperation programs Head of the Department July 26, 2016
3 Protected areas Polistovsky National Nature Reserve Deputy director, Head of the Scientific Department August 15, 2016
4 Deputy director, Head of the Ecological education and tourism Department August 15, 2016
5 Sebezhsky National Park Deputy director on Environmental Education August 22, 2016
6 Lead researcher August 20, 2016
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7 Children educational centers Pskov Regional Center of Gifted Pupils Development / Deputy director for research and experimental work August 9, 2016
8 Pskov Region Children and Youth Center "Raduga" Deputy Director on the organizational and mass work and project activities / August 8, 2016
9 NGO Cross-border cooperation center «Lake Peipsi project, Pskov» Head of the center August 29, 2016
10 Universities An institution of higher education in Pskov, Office for international educational and research projects Head of the International Educational and Research Projects Office August 9, 2016
11 An institution of higher education in Pskov, Botany and Plant Ecology Department Researcher, involved in urban greenery inventories and the development of information systems for green space management August 2, 2016
12 An institution of higher education in Pskov, Zoology and Animal Ecology Department Researcher, involved in the implementation of some international projects on water management August 18, 2016
In July — August 2016, we have conducted semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, addressing the following points:
- Capacity-building needs addressed by the project;
- Level of co-financing required and provided, size of the EU contribution;
- Difficulties with complying with program rules and reporting requirements;
- Thematic focus and benefited groups;
- Overall satisfaction of project participants (or end-users involved to the project implementation) about the project and its deliverable;
- Effectiveness in reaching target and other groups;
- Dissemination of project outputs and association of project deliverables with the EU in general;
- Short- and long-term sustainability of project results.
Where possible, we tried to get information about each project from at least two different sources of information, however in most cases it was possible only for ongoing and recently completed projects. The interviews were summarised, compared with each other (if more than one), supplemented with secondary data (e. g. information from media reports). Then, in order to describe the impact of EU projects, we performed content analysis of the collected data.
Results. The Table 2 gives an overview of our findings, including the list of projects identified as EU technical assistance and the technical assistance coming from private and public organisations established in individual EU member states.
Table 2
International technical assistance for Pskovskaya Oblast'. 1991-2016
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Project title Funding and funded periods Years EU co-funding Partnership Objectives, outcomes and impact
The world of water as seen by kids Estonian municipalities (1995-99), cities of Neuss (DE) andNorrtalje (SE) (2004-07, 2009) 1995-1999, 2004-2007, 2009 No data Initially a partnership of RU, EE and LV cities; LV had withdrawn at certain point The focal point in RU was the Regional Ecological and Biological Centre; from 2007 by the Pskov Regional Youth Centre "Raduga" The original aim was to foster environmental cooperation of RU and EE over the Lake of Peipsi; later the focus was broadened and the competition was joined by kids from NL, SE, LV, NO, DE and even T.T); the exhibitions were organised in Pskov and Tartu, the international jury included artists from EE, LV, BE; the project was highly publicised in Pskov and EE media. Hie international competition is discontinued; however national ones still exist (interview 8).
Inventory of wetlands in Eastern Europe, focus on the Peipsi lakeside lowland RIZA —Inst, for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment (NT) 1998-2000 No data Pskov State Pedagogical Institute (RU), Institute RIZA (NL), Estonian University of Life Sciences (EE) An inventory of wetlands habitats of Pskovskaya Oblast' was made based on remote-sensing imagery, and combined remote sensing recognition and field inventory of wetlands within the Peipsi lakeside lowland. The resulting map is based on the survey of 1998, and it needs to be upgraded to serve the purpose. Other research results co-produced during the inventory were published after 1998 and used in biodiversity conservation and university curricula (interview 12)
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Development and implementation of a management plan for the Ramsar site lake Chudskoe/Pskovskoe, Russia Co-funded by Danish Cooperation for Environment in Eastern Europe (DANCEE) 2000-2004 EUR 593 478 Danish Ministry of the Environment (DK), DANCEE, Ministry of Natural Resources of RF (RU), Pskov Regional Branch of Rosprirodnad-zor (RU), Administration of natural resources and environmental protection of Pskovskaya Oblast' (RU), Administration of Pskovskaya Oblast' (RU), Pskov and Gdov municipalities (RU), Ramboll Group A/S (DK), Pskov State Pedagogical Institute (RU), NGO "Lake Peipsi Project" (RU) The objective was to develop a management plan for wetlands by the Lake Peipsi, including the development of a plan on preservation of large birds of prey of the Ramsar site and adjacent areas (published as a brochure), construction of a watching tower for birds observations, development and construction of an ecological trail, preparation of guidelines for tourist guides, organization of permanent exhibitions, development of GIS describing the site, development of recommendations for the program of monitoring, and creation and publication of the methodical manual. According to an end-user (interview 1), the information collected during the project is out-of-dated, however the trail and watching tower are in use. According to researchers involved into the survey and GIS development (interview 12), the biodiversity inventory was carried on after the end of the project; the trail is almost destroyed (as the municipality owning it could not afford the maintenance), while the watching tower is owned by the University and used for teaching purposes (and therefore reasonably maintained); the management plan has not been updated (although revisions are required every 4-5 years), but successfully used as learning material.
Pskov Model Forest Established by WWF; since April 2005 was under the Russian-Swedish Forest Sector Cooperation Program (2005-2008) 2000-2004, 2005-2008 No data RU: Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, Administration of Pskovskaya Oblast', Administration of Strago-Krasnen-sky District, Forestry Agency for Pskovskaya Oblast', Northwest Forest Inventory Enterprise, St. Petersburg Research Institute of Forestry. EU: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SE), Stora Enso Oyi (FI), WWF Germany (DE) The overall objective was to develop a model case for sustainable and economically successful forestry in biophysical, economic and socio-political conditions of Russia. Tangible outputs included a textbook on sustainable forestry for secondary schools, forestry curricula and learning materials for a forestry college, and establishment of the "Green Forest" private foundation to promote sustainable forestry in Northwest Russia. The project was highly praised by stakeholder communities, however it was discontinued and abandoned.
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Towards the sustainable management of Sebezh National Park Danish Cooperation for Environment in Eastern Europe (DANCEE) (DK) 2001-2005 No data Nordic Agency for Development and Ecology (NORDECO) (DK), DANCEE (DK), Sebezh National Park (RU) The central objective was to develop at the park and local communities' capacity for sustainable development, including capacities for local entrepreneurship and tourism; this also included the development of management plan for the Park, and training sessions for Park employees (interview 5). Partly the Park renewed the management plan for the period of 2015-2020 on self-funding basis.
Management of water resources in the basin of Lake Peipsi EU/TACIS 2003-2006 EUR 2 000 000 Poyry Oy (FI), Halcrow (GB), BCEOM Société Française D'Ingenierie (FR), Administration of Pskovskaya Oblast' (RU), Pskov State Pedagogical Institute (RU) The project objectives included the development of a management plan for the basin of lake Peipsi, to renovate wastewater treatment facilities in the city of Pskov, to acquire lab equipment for water quality monitoring, to acquire wastewater treatment equipment and to build a retention point in the town of Gdov, The equipment and infrastructure part was mostly implemented, and the physical infrastructure is still in use (interview 12), however most positions of the management plan are not used, as it requires more investments.
Lakes Peipsi and Ijs-selmeer: joint management proposals Rijkswaterstaat (NL) 2004-2007 EUR 90 000 RU: Natural Resources Committee for Pskovskaya Oblast", Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, Pskov State Pedagogical Institute, Pskovskaya Oblast" Inspectorate for fish resources protection, NGO "Lake Peipsi Project" / Center for Transboundary Cooperation (Russia) EU: Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation (EE), Environmental Information Centre of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Estonia (EE), Wildlife-Estonia (EE), University of Tartu (EE), Institute of Zoology and Botany, Vortsjarv Lim-nological Station (EE), Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (NL), Regional Directorate of the Ijsselmeer Region (Rijkswaterstaat — RDIJ) (NL) The central objective was to study and compare hydrology, ecosystems and biodiversity of Lake Peipsi (EE/RU) and Ijsselmeer (NL), to develop practical measures for waterfowl protection of the wetland of international importance, and to summarize findings in a textbook. Tangible outputs include updated biodiversity and ecosystem inventories, including new locations of bird colonies, and the textbook, which is, however, of limited use, as students in Pskov have poor English commands (interview 12).
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Environmentally acceptable management of obsolete pesticides in Pskov and Vologda Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA), Danish Cooperation for Environment in Eastern Europe (DANCEE) (DK) 2004-2006 RUR 4 000 000 Danish Cooperation for Environment in Eastern Europe (DANCEE) (DK) The objectives included a detailed inventory of obsolete pesticide storages in Pskovskaya and Vologodskaya Oblast's, renovation of a high capacity storage in each Oblast', introduction of safe containers and storing the pesticides. The project had not been completed; the pesticides were collected and stored, but not recycled [11]. The action was continued in 2011 by the Administration of Pskovskaya Oblast' on self-funded basis [10], however the activity is greatly underfunded and the progress is very slow [13]
Development of a programme for transboimdary wetland conservation along the border of the Russian Federation with Belarus and Ukraine BBI Matra (NE), Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (NL) 2005-2008 No data Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (NL), representatives of administrations and environmental agencies of border regions in BY (Vicebsk, Mahiliou, Homel'), RU (Pskov, Smolensk, Bryansk) and UA (Chemigiv, Sumy) In Pskovskaya Oblast' the objectives included inventory of wetlands and their biodiversity along the BY border, development of an information system, development of priority measures for conservation (in particular in transboundary context), involvement of local communities through small-scale demonstration projects, and building capacity for future transboundary and community-based activities. Formally all the objectives have been achieved, awareness raised and plans for future work drafted. No further activities are really expected due to financial constraints (interview 6).
International Summer Camps for Young People from Boarder Regions / "Youth Camps" ERDF (INTER-REG niA), TACIS 2006-2007 Total: EUR 123 584, ERDF: EUR 40 593, TACIS: EUR 62 514 Aluksne Town Council (LV), Administration of Pechory district (RU), Municipal Education institution "Children Art School" (RU), Pskov Region Children and Youth Center "Raduga" (RU), Madona Town Council (LV) The central objectives were development of contacts and long-term cooperation between schools and youth organisations in LV and RU through organisation of international summer camps focusing on the art, creativity and the environment. All the planned activities have been implemented, no international follow ups, no contacts maintained (interview 8)
Improved cross-border environment in Pskov-Chudsckoe Waterbody "Waters" ERDF (INTER-REG niA), TACIS 2006-2008 Total: EUR 1 245 621, ERDF: EUR 748 275, TACIS: EUR 223 129 Varska Municipal Government (EE), Pskov Municipal Enterprise "Svoi dom" (RU), Meremae Municipal Government (EE), Pskov City Administration (RU) Environmental objectives included the construction of waste water treatment facilities in one of the city districts in Pskov to reduce discharge of polluted storm waters to the lake. Hie project was implemented as planned.
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Improved regional development and cross-border cooperation in the Estonian-Russian border region through partial implementation of Lake Peipsi Management Programme (PEIPSIMAN) ERDF (INTER-REG IIIA), TACIS 2007-2009 Total: EUR 292 210, TACIS: EUR 262 986 NGO "Center for Transboundary Cooperation — SPb" (RU), "Lake Peipsi Project" (RU), Municipal Enterprise of the city of Pskov "Gorvo-dokanal" (RU), Peipsi Regional Development Association (EE), Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation (EE) The activities included reconstruction of wastewater treatment plant in Pskovkirpich area / Pskov Region, conducting of a series of GIS training courses for specialists from Pskov water conservation organizations; certificates issued and a series of international workshops on management of transboundary waters, publication of a guide to the ecotrail "Peipsi lowlands" (Gdov district of the Pskov region), implementation of management program of the Peipsi transboundary basin, awareness raising and information campaign, development of project proposals for follow-up actions, involvement of stakeholders in EE and RU. All formal targets have been reached; the management program is largely abandoned, printing materials (photoalbum, ecotrail guide) are in use and greatly appreciated (interview 9).
Promoting Local Component in Environmental Education in Transboundary Lakes' Regions of Latgalia (Latvia) and Pskov Region (Russia) / "Transboundary eco-Education'" ERDF (INTER-REG IIIA), TACIS 2007-2009 Total: EUR 212 289, TACIS: EUR 190 059 NGO "Lake Peipsi Project" (RU), Latvian office of Euroregion "Country of Lakes" (LV), Pskov Regional Center of Gifted Pupils Development (RU), Daugavpils University (LV) The project objective was the promotion of local component of environmental education in the territories of two major cross-border lake regions of north-western Russia through the development, dissemination and use of teaching materials and methods. The project also provided for equipment acquisition for school biology labs and development of ecotrails. The formal objectives have been reached, but project sus-tainability was limited: the equipment and curriculum materials are in use, but international contacts between schools are not maintained (interview 7).
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Facilitating Effective Management of the Ramsar Site "Pskovsko-Chudskoye Lowland" as an Important Waterfowl Habitat MATRA/KNIP (NL), within the Framework Program in the field of Environmental Protection Russia — The Netherlands 2007-2008 2007-2008 EUR 1 349 979 NGO "Lake Peipsi Project" (RU), Rosprirodnadzor (Pskov branch) (RU), Pskov State Pedagogical University (RU) The project aimed at promoting the Ramsar Site "Psk-ovsko-Chudskoye Lowland" as an important Waterfowl Habitat among decision-makers and general public with the aim of increasing of understanding of its natural values and development of joint proposals for its future management. This included preparation and dissemination of user-friendly environmental information products about Waterfowls; raising public awareness and dialogue about the Ramsar site natural values; Facilitating to the most appropriate de-cision-niaking about the future administrating of the core protected territory of the Ramsar site — Remdovsky Nature Reserve. The formal project objectives have been reached, including the research program, equipment acquisitions, training sessions and publications. The www site "Pskov birds" is still operational and updated (interview 9).
Cooperation in collaborated Creation of Waste Management System in Pskov Region / Appropriate waste management in Pskov Region Baltic Sea Region INTERREG HIB 2007-2008 Total: EUR 280 721, TACIS: EUR 252 122 Waste Management Association (LV), Porkliov district administration, Pskov Region (RU) The project aimed and inventory, development of an appropriate waste management system, capacity building for better waste management and awareness raising.
Baltic Challenges and Chances for local and regional development generated by Climate Change / Baltic climate Baltic Sea Region program 2007-2013 2009-2011 3 336 510; budget for RU partners was c.a. EUR 100 000 23 partners representing DE, SE, FI, LV, LT, EE, PL and RU as an associated partner The project aimed at framing at regional level and awareness raising in relation to climate change challenges. The results included the "Baltic Climate Toolkit" supporting de-cision-niaking at different environmental levels. The project did have significant follow-ups in RU, and its outputs are not really in use, due to changes in top-management of involved administrative district (interview 10).
Integrated water resource management in Russian Federation MATRA(NL), Province of Drentlie (NL) 2009-2011 Province of Drenthe: EUR 22 301 MATRA: EUR 499 869 Milieukontakt International (NL), Province of Drenthe (NL), Wage-ningen University (NL), Pskov State Pedagogical Institute (RU), Omsk State University (RU), Moscow State University (RU), NGO "Dodo" (RU) The objective included development of training modules on water management for managers, policy-makers and university students. Syllabi and learning materials are used for teaching graduate students at Pskov State University (interview 12)
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TEMPUS project "Environmental Governance for Environmental Curricula" TEMPUS IV 2010-2014 c.a. EUR 150 000 for RU 3 partners from RU (including Pskov State University) The objective was to create courses, curriculum outline and learning materials to support multidisciplinary learning in the field of environmental governance. The materials are in use; there are follow-ups (interview 11, 12)
Establishing a network of educational wetland centres in European Russia to promote wetland conservation through the development and implementation of a CEPA Action Plan MATRA(NL) 2011-2013 c.a. EUR 10 000-20 000 Nature reserves in RU: the Bryan-sky Les, and Meshchera preserves, Sebezhsky and Smolensk Lakeland National Parks; NGOs in RU: Biologists for Nature Conservation, Ecocentre of Tver University, Birds&People The project aimed at awareness raising about wetlands, their ecosystem functions and biodiversity, building capacity of stakeholders involved into the management of wetlands, establishment of environmental educational centres under the umbrella of Wetland Link International. In Sebezhsky National Park all the created infrastructure is in use, information and awareness-raising events are regularly organised (interview 5)
Pskov Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Rehabilitation NDEP — Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership EUR 27 400 000 "Gorvodokanal" — Water Supply Enterprise of the City of Pskov The project aims at improvement of water supply and waste water treatment in the city of Pskov
Tartu, Rezekne, Pskov: Green Management for Urban Development & Planning in EE-LV-RU Border Capitals / GreenMan Cross-Border Cooperation Program «Estonia-Latvia-Russia» 2007-2013 2012-2014 EUR 1 753 375,3 RU: NGO "Lake Peipsi Project, Administration of Pskov City, Pskov State University; EE: Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation, Tartu City Government, Estonian University of Life Sciences; LV: Latvian office of Euroregion "Country of lakes", Rezekne City Council, Rezekne Local Municipality, Daugavpils University The project aimed at the development of effective green management policies, practices & innovations compliant with national green regulations & efficiently applied by local urban actors. The outputs in RU included 2 comprehensive inventories of green areas in Pskov, 2 new green areas management systems for Pskov, green areas in Pskov planned and developed, training events, learning materials and GIS (interview 9). All the objectives have been reached, green areas are managed by the city, inventories are being updated, Pskov University uses the learning materials (interview 11).
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Promoting nature education as efficient mean of awareness raising Cross-Border Cooperation Program «Estonia-Latvia-Russia» 2007-2013 2012-2014 EUR 1 349 979 LV: Nature Conservation Agency, Natural History Museum Support Society, Gauja National Park Foundation, Dagda local municipality; EE: Tartu Environmental Education Centre, Peipsi Center for Trans-boundary Cooperation; RU: NGO "Lake Peipsi Project", Sebezh National Park, Pskov regional center of the development of gifted children and youth, The State committee on natural resources use and environment protection of Pskov Region, NGO "Biologists for nature conservation" The project objectives were to raise awareness of general public on nature conservation, to create cooperation network between public and non-governmental organizations in EE, LV and RU, to develop NECs; to advance environmental education methods that attract people and provide knowledge and skills needed for daily life; to train teachers and nature specialists that would secure spreading out ideas of sustainable development of a long term basis. The project was implemented as planned (interview 7, 9).
Water Management Project of Peipsi, Pihkva, Lämmijärve, Saadjärve and Veski-järve Lakes Cross-Border Cooperation Program «Estonia-Latvia-Russia» 2007-2013 2012-2014 EUR 1 682 921,2 EE: AS Emajoe Veevark, Mustvee Municipality, Lohusuu Municipality, Kasepaa Municipality; RU: Municipal enterprise of Pskov city "Gorvodokanal" The project was investing to the renovation and construction of new wastewater treatment facilities in EE and RU municipalities, and to EIA, awareness raising and training activities. No data on sustainability and follow-ups
Sun and Wind: Universal Renewables for Local Sustainability Cross-Border Cooperation Program «Estonia-Latvia-Russia» 2007-2013 2013-2014 EUR 842 512,9 EE: Tartu Regional Energy Agency, Rouge Municipality, Meremae municipality; RU: NGO "PskovRe-gionlnfo", Pytalovo municipality, Gdov municipality Outputs included renovated local heating and electricity supply systems in EE and RU, introduction of ground heat pumps integrated with solar PV panels Street lighting systems, trainings and capacity building seminars for energy experts and municipality employees, introduction smart boards and energy measuring equipment in schools. No information on follow-ups and sustainability
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Water environment protection and green lifestyle measures development in LV and RUS border regions Cross-Border Cooperation Program «Estonia-Latvia-Russia» 2007-2013 2013-2014 EUR 521 939,41 LV: Latvian office of Euroregion "Country of lakes", County Council of Riebini, Local Municipality of Dagda, Comity Council of Preili, Local Municipality of Ilukste, County council of Livani, Local Municipality of Daugavpils; RU: District Administration of Sebezh, Administration of Pechory town, District Administration of Pytalovo, District Administration of Pskov Outputs for Russia included construction of 1 wastewater treatment plant constructed in Pskov, an inventory of water management infrastructure in a format of high-resolution GIS and training events for stakeholder representatives involved to water management. No information on follow-ups and sustainability
Economically and Environmentally Sustainable Lake Peipsi area / Common Peipsi Cross-Border Cooperation Program «Estonia-Latvia-Russia 2007-2013 2014-2015 EUR 8 526 607,3 (EUR 329 248,80 for RU) Municipalities and environmental protections agencies rom EE and RU Objectives for Pskov Region included construction and renovation of wastewater treatment facilities and sewage networks in Pskov and small municipalities In Pskov, development of long-term strategy for water pollution reduction. No information on follow-ups and sustainability
«Governance of natural resources — EU experience and challenges for Russia» (NatRes) Erasmus+, Jean Monnet modules 2014-2017 EUR 29 757 Pskov State University (RU), Central European University (HU), Lund University (SE), Erda Research, Technology, Education (NL) The planned outputs are development of modules on EU water and biodiversity governance in the context of North-West Russia, and research supporting the learning contents; the research findings shall be published in national and international peer-reviewed journals. The project is ongoing and follows up the Tenipus project EnGo (2010-2014) (interview 11).
Protection of endangered species Program of the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Sweden on cooperation in the field of environmental protection 2015-2016 No data Environmental agencies and protected areas in RU and SE; Polis-tovsky preserve was involved in Pskov Region An umbrella project for a set of actions to support the CBD; the actions included exchange of management practices between RU and SE, and joint bioremediation activities (interview 3,4). Ongoing
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Discussion and conclusions. The most important observation from our analysis of EU-funded initiatives and other projects funded by private and public actors in EU member states, is that EU accession had apparent effect on empowering transboundary cooperation between Pskovskaya Oblast' and the bordering states — Estonia, Latvia and (partly) Belarus. Before the EU enlargement in 2004, the joint cooperation initiatives were mostly limited to small-scale actions, such as joint artistic exhibitions for kids; occasionally some larger-scale activities emerged too, usually when external donors were involved such as Danish Cooperation for Environment in Eastern Europe (DANCEE). Once the EU emerged as a neighbour of Pskovskaya Oblast' in 2004, after the EU accession of Estonia and Latvia, the new EU member states, received full access to EU funding mechanisms, while Pskovskaya Oblast' became eligible to the EU transboundary cooperation mechanisms. This gave a push to many large-scale activities involving partners in Pskovskaya Oblast' and Baltic states. At the same time, the visibility of Danish and Swedish institutions, who used to be among the most important international donors, seemed to decline comparing to the pre-accession period.
Another important implication of the EU enlargement-2004 was that the EU environmental agenda and institutions created to support it, were brought to the context of Pskovskaya Oblast' as a component of transboundary cooperation with Estonia and Latvia. This included the main EU environmental directives and regulatory frameworks, such as the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) promoted through joint projects on water management, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals, 1907/2006) and Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) through projects of chemical safe environments, the Habitats (92/43/EEC) and Bird (79/409/EEC) directives through the projects supporting the Bern Convention etc.
Topic wise, most of EU-funded cooperation initiatives had to do with water-related issues and, to a lesser extent, with biodiversity conservation. The high priority of water in the environmental cooperation agenda can be convincingly explained by the pragmatic interest of bordering Estonia and Latvia in sound water management for better water quality in river basins and water bodies they share with Pskovskaya Oblast', as well as clear interests by other countries in the Baltic Sea basin in water pollution reduction, including Denmark and Sweden that traditionally supported water management infrastructure projects in the region since the early 1990s. The projects concerned with waste management or e.g. management of obsolete pesticides would technically come under the same category.
The focus on biodiversity can be explained by a similar set of interests, such as preservation of shared transboundary ecosystems, and protection of wetlands and migratory bird species (with noteworthy involvement by Dutch donors). One biodiversity-related action was dealing with the development of model forest, and as such, stays apart of other projects, as it was addressing the improvement of forestry practices in whole Russia; it was funded by the Swedish government and arguably pursued the agenda of promotion and dissemination of Swedish expertise in forestry. It is also worth mentioning that the only EU Jean-Monnet project awarded to higher education institutions in Pskovskaya Oblast' has to with biodiversity and water governance.
The most sustainable projects identified in the course of the study apparently had to do with the development of physical (e. g. water treatment facilities) and, to some extent, the institutional infrastructure (e. g. management plans integrated to regulatory frameworks). Sustainability of environmental or ecosystem management plan was recognised by many
interviewed end-users, as a serious problem on its own, as their further implementation is usually lacking the financial backup, and, in particular, because budgets for their revisions and upgrades are not normally available. Other types of activities, even such iconic ones as the Pskov Model Forest, discontinued after the end of project funding, with their outputs inevitably degrading or getting out-of-dated (e.g. management plans or tourist guides without sound sustainability planning, biodiversity inventories etc.). Some notable exceptions have to do with higher education, as such activities often lead to new ones, exploring the same or different funding schemes. For instance, this includes the EU Tempus project "Environmental Governance for Environmental Curricula" (2010-2014) resulting in the establishment of a lively scholarly network and at least three follow-up projects (including two project implemented under non-EU funding schemes) to the date.
We could not find clear preferences by EU institutions in the types of environmental actors or organisations receiving the EU technical assistance. Apparently the state actors (including higher education institutions) and municipalities were involved in more projects, but this rather seems to have to do with their better capacity to find cooperation partners and implement a broader range international projects, both as regards the topic or the size. A standing alone example of an environmental NGO successful with project acquisition, is "Lake Peipsi Project" concerned with water management and biodiversity conservation in the basin of the transboundary Lake of Peipsi, which is in spotlight of EU/Baltic region technical assistance programs.
Important indirect implications of EU technical assistance in Pskovskaya Oblast' have to do with research and curriculum development. Academic staff of Pskov State University (Pskov Pedagogical Institute till 2005 and Pskov Pedagogical University in 2005-2011), the major research and higher education institution in Pskovskaya Oblast', have been actively involved in many projects dealing with biodiversity and water management. This resulted in hundreds of research papers, monographs, conference talks and PhD dissertations, and contributed to the promotion of the university as a centre of excellence in these fields in North-West Russia. The Red Book of Pskovskaya Oblast', one of the first regional red lists in Russia, was among such outcomes. Acknowledgement
The research was supported by the EU-funded Jean Monnet activity under the Erasmus + Programme (Project No. 553439).
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About the authors
Dr. Anton Shkaruba, Research Fellow, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University, Hungary.
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Olga Likhacheva, Associate Professor, Botany and Plant Ecology Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Medical and Psychological Education, Pskov State University, Russia.
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Tatiana Vasilieva, Associate Professor, Geography Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Medical and Psychological Education, Pskov State University, Russia.
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Viktar Kireyeu, Research Fellow, Erda Research, Technology, Education, The Netherlands; Project Manager, International NGO "Ekapraekt", Belarus.
E-mail: [email protected]
А. Д. Шкарубо, О. В. Лихачева, Т. В. Васильева, В. В. Киреев
ПОСЛЕДСТВИЯ РАСШИРЕНИЯ ЕС ДЛЯ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ПРИРОДНЫМИ РЕСУРСАМИ В ПСКОВСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ: АНАЛИТИЧЕСКИЙ ОБЗОР ПРОЕКТОВ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЙ ПОМОЩИ
В статье предлагается анализ влияния технической помощи ЕС в сфере управления природопользованием в Псковской области, расположенной на Северо-Западе России и граничащей с Эстонией, Латвией и Беларусью. На основании перечня проектов, финансируемых за счёт органов ЕС или организаций в странах — членах ЕС
с 1991 г., а также интервью с участниками проектов и / или их конечными пользователями, мы обобщили сведения о характере финансируемой деятельности и по устойчивости результатов по завершении проектов. В частности, мы обнаружили, что расширение ЕС в 2004 г. значительно усилило потенциал трансграничного сотрудничества экологических субъектов в Эстонии и Латвии со своими российскими коллегами; наиболее устойчивые результаты были связаны с развитием физической инфраструктуры; управление водными ресурсами и сохранение биоразнообразия получили приоритет по сравнению с другими секторами; основными бенефициарами. стали муниципальные и региональные органы власти и высшие учебные заведения.
Ключевые слова: Псковская область, управление природными ресурсами, международная техническая помощь, трансграничное сотрудничество.
Об авторах
Шкарубо Антон Дмитриевич — кандидат географических наук, научный сотрудник, отделение наук об окружающей среде и экологической политики, Центрально-Европейский университет, Венгрия.
E-mail: [email protected]
Лихачева Ольга Викторовна — кандидат биологических наук, доцент кафедры ботаники и экологии растений, факультет естественных наук, медицинского и психологического образования, Псковский государственный университет, Россия.
E-mail: [email protected]
Васильева Татьяна Владимировна — кандидат географических наук, доцент кафедры географии, факультет естественных наук, медицинского и психологического образования, Псковский государственный университет, Россия.
E-mail: [email protected]
Киреев Виктор Витальевич — PhD environmental sciences and policy, партнер и научный сотрудник Erda RTE, Нидерланды; руководитель проектов НКО «Экопро-ект», Беларусь.
E-mail: [email protected]
Статья поступила в редакцию 28.08.2016 г.
