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Education for Sustainable Development: Russian-Swedish Project

RUSSIAN SUSTAINABILITY NewsLETTER
Special Issue. October 2011
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This issue includes...
Program for exploration of the continental shelf Workshop on black soot pollution in the Arctic Russia's participation in supporting Arctic Council projects An idea for integrated sea management Russia's cooperation with the OECD on the Environment Russian Seminar-meeting of heads of national parks Greenpeace on United Russia's attitude towards nature reserves Solving the problem of solid household waste in the Moscow region Attitude to separate waste collection in St. Petersburg Appointments in the Ministry of Natural Resources Meeting of the Environmental Public Council of the Ministry of Natural Resources Seminar on ESD in Voronezh

Program for exploration of the continental shelf
Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has developed a draft program for exploration of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation for the period from 2012 to 2030. As a result of this program, Russia's competitive advantage will be strengthened in the global hydrocarbon market, and the development of the national economy, energy and social spheres will be secured. The program aims to increase the geological knowledge of the continental shelf, to build infrastructure in order to replace retiring subsoil resource sites, and to development pilot projects located in the territory of Russia. The draft text considers inertial and innovative options for studying and developing the resources of the continental shelf of the country. The inertial option would preserve the current system of regulatory and government relations of subsoil use. The innovative option provides admission of wide range of persons to conduct work on the study and exploration of the shelf, including the stage of regional geological studies, as well as economic incentives for projects on the shelf. The program describes a need for drilling exploratory wells with the total number of 150-290 pc. and total length of 400-650 meters, as well as conducting 2D seismic exploration in the amount of 800-930 thousand running km (including 610-630 thousand running km within the framework of the regional geological exploration), 3D - in the amount of 60-80 thousand km2. The expected increase of the reserves of oil and gas condensate is 850-1300 million tons, and the increase of natural gas reserves 3400-13000 billion m3. The expected volume of accumulated oil and gas condensate production on the continental shelf during the period of the Program is 380-1250 million tons, excluding production projects under production sharing agreements (PSAs) and 925-1795 million tons taking PSA production into account. The volume of accumulated gas production on the continental shelf during the period of the Program is 1003 -2610 billion m3, excluding PSA production and 1588-3195 billion m3 billion including PSA production. The draft Program for exploring the continental shelf of the Russian Federation and the development of its mineral resources in the long term has been prepared by the Ministry of Natural Resources and 1


Environment in accordance with the request of Prime Minister and is currently being approved by the federal bodies of executive power.
Source: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

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Workshop on black soot pollution in the Arctic
Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has conducted a workshop on Arctic pollution with black soot (soot carbon). The event was held October 7, 2011 in the Working Group on environmental protection of the bilateral Russian-American presidential commission and the Working Group of the Arctic Council to address pollution in the Arctic (ACAP). Black soot (carbon in the form of soot) is released as a result of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. Its source can be natural fires, but the bulk of emissions come from manifestations of anthropogenic factors. Black soot stays in the atmosphere only for a short time, from several days to a couple of weeks, since it is washed away by precipitation.

The meeting discussed the problem of carbon emissions. Its reduction would result in reduced rate of heating of arctic surfaces and melting of polar ice and snow. The parties noted t he lack of studies of black soot emissions and pollution and the need for further implementation such studies. The Russian side noted the need for measures to regulate short-lived climatic factors, in particular, the reduction of black soot from stationary diesel generators in the Arctic. According to experts, this measure will give the most effective and fast results in reducing the rate of melting ice in the Arctic and the reduction of carbon dioxide. The meeting participants agreed on the decision on the need to prepare and implement joint ACAP projects to reduce emissions of black soot. One outcome of the workshop is the possibility of forming and implementing a package of projects to be funded from the Project Support Instrument of the Arctic Council (AC). The Russian Federation was the first AC country to sign an agreement on establishing a mechanism for accumulating and providing financial resources to implement initiatives to clean up the circumpolar north, and has transferred 10 million euros to the AC. In the workshop participated experts from a wide range of interested scientific institutes and institutions in Russia, the United States and other countries of the Arctic Council, representatives of federal executive authorities of the Russian Federation, public organizations and NGOs.
Source: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

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Russia's participation in supporting Arctic Council projects
A meeting has taken place at Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, between Yuri Trutnev, head of the ministry, and Magnus Ristedt, executive director of the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO).

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During this meeting the Treaty on participation in the Support tool for Arctic Council (AC) projects was signed. The Russian side is the first of the AU countries to sign this document. The treaty provides a mechanism for accumulating and providing financial resources to implement initiatives to clean up the circumpolar north. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation declared at the meeting: "The Russian Federation and the Arctic Council have a common goal - to make the Arctic clean." The Minister also noted: "For the first time since the establishment of the Arctic Council, we proceed to the practical implementation of activities aimed at environmental protection in the Arctic zone."

NEFCO ­ The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation, an international organization whose activities are aimed at providing the preparation and implementation of Arctic Council projects. The Arctic Council () - an intergovernmental highlevel forum, formally created by the 1996 Ottawa Declaration. The activities of the AC aim to promote cooperation, coordination and interaction of the Arctic countries with indigenous Arctic peoples and other inhabitants of the Arctic territory on general issues of development, preservation and protection of the Arctic, in particular on sustainable development and environmental protection. The member countries of the AC are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and USA. Support tool for AC projects - a mechanism for accumulating and providing financial resources for priority projects of the Ac. Participants of the meeting at the Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

In accordance with a RF governmental decree, Russia is making a one-time voluntary contribution of 10 million Euro to the AC during the period 2011-2013. The Minister noted: "Russia has already begun the work to eliminate the damage accumulated from Soviet times. The first three projects on cleaning up pollution are already being implemented on Franz Joseph Land, on Wrangel island and on Baikal island." The Russian Federation is counting on the active participation of the AC countries in joint projects." According to M. Ristedt, funds will be used to implement measures to protect the environment in the Arctic zone, much of which is located in Russia.
Source: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

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An idea for integrated sea management
The International Arctic Legal Forum "Conservation and sustainable development in the Arctic: Legal Aspects", organized by the Government and the Legislative Assembly of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District was held in Salekhard on 27-28 October. The event was attended by Anton Vasiliev - Russia's representative to the Arctic Council, Jon Svensson - Second Secretary of the Embassy of Sweden in the Russian Federation, Alexander Viktorov - Deputy Minister of Regional Development, representatives of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Jurisprudence under the Government of the Russian Federation, the Center for the economy of the North and the Arctic, the Council on stud y of productive forces of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and the Russian Academy of Sciences, representatives of other leading Russian and foreign scientific organizations and universities involved in Arctic issues. The participants of the International Arctic legal forum "Conservation and sustainable development in the Arctic," supported the idea of integrated management of the seas. Sectors must work together and 3


coordinate their interests in the name of careful and judicious use of resources in the Arctic, of this wWF experts are convinced. "It is very important that all forum participants were unanimous in recognizing the need for development in the Arctic to take into account its unique value from a geopolitical point of view, its frag ile ecosystems, and the interests of local residents," says Yekaterina Khmeleva, forum particpant and coordinator of WWF-Russia's program on environmental law. - Integrating integrated management approaches for the Arctic seas into Russian legislation should become one of the most effective mechanisms for the conservation of marine ecosystems." It should be noted that WWF started working on promoting the concept of integrated management of marine environmental management in 2010. The Fund offers the following steps in order to integrate these approaches into the Russian legislation: - analyze the Russian legislation to determine the best legal ways to integrate into the Russian legal framework approaches integrated management of marine natural resources. - facilitate the creation of a single coordinating body of state power in the management of marine natural resources. Another step in this direction is a WWF brochure, which will soon be published. The brochure contains material on rational integrated management of marine environmental resources, analysis of international experience in implementation of integrated management practices, as well as the possibility of its implementation in Russia. The edition will be released in November this year.
Source: WWF Russia

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Russia's environmental cooperation with the OECD
Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment took part in the meeting of the Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Policy Environment in Paris (France). As head of the delegation, the Director of the International Cooperation Department Nuritdin Inamov presented the views of the Russian side with respect to OECD regulations on core issues at the meeting. The plan of action on Russia's accession to the OECD was discussed in a closed session. At present, Russia is in the "transition" stage; proceeding further requires compliance with the 37 OECD Council Acts. On 23 of these the Russian legislation meets international standards, the remaining 14 w ill be adopted in accordance with the established timetable. An important part of work on entry into the OECD is to harmonize the Russian legislation. The Rotterdam Convention and Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants have been ratified in 2011, and national plans for implementation are being developed. N. Inamov said: "We work not only in the legal field. In practical terms, the "spring-cleaning" of Russia has started. Projects for cleaning oFranz Josef Land, Wrangel Island and Lake Baikal are being implemented". During the presentation of the Russian Federation a list of actions to implement decisions and recommendations of the OECD in the Russian legislation was presented. The Russian delegates noted that a radical reform of the environmental legislation in Russia is taking place. The bills are in various stages of consideration in the Russian government, and 6 of the laws are awaiting processing in the State Duma, among them key and politically significant ones. The bills concern the system of regulation and environmental incentives for environmental protection, waste management, the elimination of accumulated environmental damage, protecting the seas from oil pollution, the development of specially protected areas, improving the efficiency of environmental auditing, monitoring and control. 4


The next meeting of the OECD on the environment will be held in February 2012 in Paris (France) and will be devoted to the practical issues of waste management in Russia.
Source: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

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Russian seminar-meeting for heads of national parks
Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has held an All-Russian seminarmeeting in Irkutsk for the heads of national parks on the topic development of national parks. It was attended by leaders of 40 national parks in Russia, the Federal Forestry Agency, as well as representatives of educational and environmental non-governmental organizations.
Under the authority of Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment there are especially protected natural territories of federal significance: 98 state nature reserves, 42 national parks and 68 federal reserves. Their total area is 55.5 million hectares, the land area with internal freshwater ponds is 45.6 million hectares, and the area of marine waters is 10.1 million hectares.

The seminar discussed the fight against environmental offenses on Protected Areas (PAs), forest fire protection, wildlife conservation, the development of ecotourism, as well as the environmental education, research and financial activities of the national parks. The deputy director of the Department of state Policy and regulation in the field of environmental protection and ecological safety of Russia 's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vsevolod Stepanitsky gave a presentation on key problems and prospects of the national parks subordinated to Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In discussing the protection of forests from fires V. Stepanitsky charged in a timely manner to start preparing for the fire season 2012, focusing on quick detection of fires, including the use of existing possibilities of space monitoring. The deputy director of the Department emphasized that n ational parks should cooperate more actively with community organizations and volunteers in the prevention, detection and extinguishing of fires. V. Stepanitsky drew attention to the need to regularly update the Internet site of each national park and recommended use of the blogosphere for information about the activities of the PAs. During the event, the leaders of the national parks exchanged experiences in areas such as the development of ecological tourism, creating high-quality arrangement of museums, visitor centers and nature trails, as well as holding children's environmental camps and expeditions hosted by the national park. Positive feedback from the participants of the meeting received a proposal to establish a corporate identity for federal protected areas federal, as well as new type uniforms with signs of distinction for state inspectors on protection of the areas of nature reserves and national parks. The final resolution adopted at the meeting at the meeting expresses the need to develop a program for scientific research and environmental monitoring in nature reserves and national parks, as well as guidelines for the biotechnical measures aimed at the preservation and restoration of wildlife, and showing visitors wild animals in natural conditions. The All-Russian meeting of heads of state nature reserves is scheduled on 14-16 November 2011 in Krasnoyarsk.
Source: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

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Greenpeace on United Russia's attitude towards nature reserves
United Russia is consistently destroying the nature reserve system in Russia," claims Greenpeace Russia. At the suggestion of members of a faction of the party United Russia, the State Duma may authorize the elimination of reserves at the request of "residents" of special economic zones. A new version of the amendments to the Law on special economic zones in the Russian Federation published on the parliamentary website allows "the Russian government to transform reserves to national parks, if such a need arises for SEZ residents. Moreover, the new amendments permit building large sports facilities in national parks. This writes the newspaper Kommersant. The amendments fundamentally changing the law On Specially Protected Natural Territories, were made by H. Salikhov, delegate of the United Russia fraction. They were introduced very recently, after getting the endorsement of the government. In addition to the conversion of reserves to national parks, the draft law envisages another "innova tion" - the admissibility of destruction of rare and endangered plant species in national parks. The danger of adopting such an amendment, for example, has already been assessed by the scientific staff of the Caucasus Nature Reserve, part of the territory of the World Heritage Site Western Caucasus. They are convinced that species such as Colchis boxwood and berry yew - endemic to the Western Caucasus - are threatened. Their key areas of growth are given to the construction of tourism facilities and infrastructure. The amendment proposed by the deputy directly contradicts not only the basic norms of the Russian environmental legislation but also international law. It is known that the Russian legislation prohibits any activity that leads to a reduction in the number of rare and endangered plants, animals and other organisms, as well as activities that worsen the conditions of their habitat. The situation that arises is absurd: on the whole territory of Russia you cannot destroy rare plants, but in protected national parks you may? The Convention on Biological Diversity stipulates that member states should strive to preserve rare and endangered species, including by adopting the necessary legal instruments. The World Heritage Committee at its 35th session (19 - June 29, 2011) noted that to weaken legal protection of World Heritage Sites in Russia is unacceptable. Thus, the proposed bill is contrary to two international conventions signed by Russia. "We have every reason to believe that the next step in the destruction of the reserve system in our country involves the ministry obliged to defend it. Although the representative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Rinat Gizatulin, as he told a Kommersant reporter, denied the ministry's involvement in new bill, we see that there are many similarities with the pushing of killer amendments to the Law on protected areas prepared by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment", commented on the situation Michael Kreindlin, manager for Greenpeace's project on protected areas . In both cases, the most odious amendments to the bills came at once to the second reading, that is, did not pass the mandatory consideration of the authorities of RF subjects. In addition, the text of the amendments to the law on special economic zones is identical to the text of the amendments to the law on protected areas, the adoption of which the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is publicly lobbying. Greenpeace Russia has sent President Dmitry Medvedev and State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov an appeal proposing to reject the Draft law on amending the Federal law on Special Economic Zones in the Russian Federation and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation" (bill 549129-5). On October 10, 2011 Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Rinat Gizatulin, in an interview with the radio station Freedom, justified the construction of yet another illegal road through the territory of the Caucasus Nature Reserve - the UNESCO World Heritage Site Western 6


Caucasus, as well as areas proposed for inclusion in the Sochi National Park, declaring that "there will be no damage to the reserve." In this case, according to Tatiana Akatova, senior fellow of the reserve and candidate of biological sciences, the damage will be significant. According to her, the staff of the reserve learned of the road from environmentalists and activists and reacted negatively to the news. This is a valuable area, unique boxwood forests, many of which have already been cut down, and such large clumps as in the area have not been preserved anywhere else, says Tatiana Akatova. "Boxwood also grows in the Sochi National Park, but many areas have been destroyed in connection with the construction of facilities for the Olympics, despite protests from environmentalists. Now this construction is expanding, and our reserve is constantly under threat."
Source: Greenpeace Russia

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Solving the problem with solid household waste in Moscow region
The Moscow region authorities have decided to build sorting plants for municipal solid waste in the region; investors have already been found says the governor of Moscow region, Boris Gromov. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin declared earlier that the authorities in Moscow and Moscow region are developing a program aimed at placing inter-regional waste management systems in the Moscow region. Every year, tens of millions of tons of debris are produced in Moscow and the region. At the same time incinerators utilize only 3.5% of the waste produced in Moscow. "All these years we did not build waste incineration plants, because environmentally they are simply unacceptable. We have decided to build sorting plants and have even found investors already. In addition, whether we like it or not, we cannot refrain from creating new landfills for solid household waste," said Gromov. He pointed out that the new landfills will be located far away from Moscow. "This summer we organized aerial surveillance, which caught those who dump garbage in the woods. And the trucks that collect garbage, we have equipped with GLONASS. So we know all about the vehicles involved in garbage disposal," said the governor. He added that the regional authorities have set up a special service, which together with traffic police carries out raids, mostly on Sunday nights, when people return home from their summer cottages. "We catch and penalize those who litter. The fines are large in summer we accrue somewhere around three to four million roubles in one day only from drivers of passenger cars. And they pay is - there is no other way! But, unfortunately, there is not yet great success, no sharp improvement of the situation - even though such measures are taken," concluded the head of the region. Earlier, Gosadmtechnadzor staff reported to the administration of this agency in Moscow region that they since the beginning of the fire hazardous period have found 96 waste dumping sites in the forests of 24 municipalities in the region. In May this year agency employees found a dumping site with 40 tonnes of agrochemicals in the southeast parts of Moscow region. In addition, each summer operation "Ambush" starts in Moscow region to stop the dumping of garbage along the roads, the checking continues until October. Traffic police stop offenders, and together with inspectors on site write reports on administrative violations. For dumping garbage, offenders arefined from two to five thousand rubles, and officials - from 20 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. During eight years of this operation, about 5.864 thousands of vehicles have been detained and the fines imposed amount to more than 15 million rubles. As a result of this work, waste dumping along the roads in the amount of more than 4.597 thousand cubic meters has been prevented.
Source: RIA News

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Attitude to separate waste collection in St. Petersburg
The townspeople are ready to sort and separately dispose of their waste - this is the main conclusion of the action "Green weekend", which was recently held in St. Petersburg. On October 1 Greenpeace launched a collection point for household waste recycling in St. Petersburg. All day the townspeople brought recyclables, clothing, and hazardous waste. People with bags, trolleys, and even with suitcases on wheels, came in a continuous stream came to the collection center in Alexander Park. As part of the "Green weekend» similar actions took place in 11 cities throughout Russia - from Vladivostok to Moscow and St. Petersburg. During the day, more than 500 St. Petersburg inhabitants handed over different types o f waste. In total 1,200 kg waste paper, 250 kg glass and 100 kg of various types of plastic was collected. All recycling material collected was sent for processing. Also during the event, work meetings were held with processors of different types of waste that have confirmed their interest in recyclable materials and noted the acute shortage thereof in their industries. A special "Ecomobile" took care of the hazardous waste. The townspeople brought about 1,000 energysaving lamps, 100 electronic circuit boards, 70 kg batteries, about 30 computers and other consumer electronics. The guests of the event could not only send recyclable materials of recycling, but also receive useful information on how to properly dispose of waste in an eco-friendly way in St. Petersburg, request removal of a large number of waste paper and learn about volunteer work for Greenpeace, as well as support the organization with their donation. At the "Green weekend'e" Many things could get a second life instead of get in the trash. Reuse of used items - another way to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Potato peeler, speakers, modem, juicer, various books and many other things found a a new owner in the free market - a fair of free things, where anyone can take any object or leave something that can be useful to someone else. Also the wardrobe items, which the townspeople brought received a second life. 26 large bags of th ings were collected during the campaign - all the clothing and footwear will be transferred to urban charities and distributed to the needy and homeless. All visitors were invited to participate in exciting workshops and with their own hands create beautiful and practical things, which also serve to reduce waste: handpainted canvas bags replacing the short-lived plastic bags, and jewellery and home furnishings made of old clothes. The very youngest participants, led by Greenpeace volunteers, drew pictures on the theme of rubbish, collected themed puzzles and learned to sort waste. "While St. Petersburg officials continue to say that citizens are not able to sort the trash, hundreds of people "voted" for separate collection of waste by bringing a lot of perfectly sorted waste paper, plastic and glass to our collection point. All of this waste went to recycling rather than to municipal landfills. To solve the garbage problem in St. Petersburg, authorities need to establish a system of separate waste collection and pay more attention to the already established coloured cisterns instead of discussing yet another plan to build incinerators," says the organizer of the action "Green weekend" Maria Musatova.
Source: Greenpeace Russia

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Meeting of the Public Environmental Council of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
An enlarged meeting of the Public Environmental Council of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has been held at the Ministry. The meeting was held by Deputy Minister Rinat Gizatulin. The event was attended by Deputy Head of Rosprirodnadzor Amirkhan Amirkhanov, representatives of

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the departments of the Ministry, non-governmental environmental and scientific organizations, including representatives of WWF-Russia, the Moscow office of UNEP, Greenpeace Russia and others. One issue discussed was the implementation of the instructions of President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the interaction of executive authorities of the Russian Federation with volunteers and nonprofit organizations in the environmental field. A presentation on the subject was made by Svetlana Yurmanova, Director of the Department of State Policy and Regulation in the field of environmental protection and ecological safety at Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. She said that the voluntary and nonprofit organizations interact with the Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in the spheres of legal regulation of relations in the field of ecology, as well as monitoring compliance with environmental legislation during conduction of state environmental assessments. S. Yurmanova stressed the importance of voluntary initiatives in the field of environmental protection. The second item on the agenda was the implementation of the orders of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Yury Trutnev to eliminate illegal dumping of solid waste in the country. Amirkhan Amirkhanov reported on the interim results of Rosprirodnadzor. As of September 30, 22 240 dumps of solid waste have been revealed, of which 17 498 are considered accumulated environmental damage. 4742 were found during the last six weeks. 1241 dumps have been eliminated; this has been recorded by raiding activities. It has been noted that most of unauthorized sites for dumping of solid waste (45%) are located on the lands of settlements. Currently, Roprirodnadzor carries out raids in cooperation with the federal regional regulatory authorities, municipal authorities and non-governmental environmental organizations. In accordance with instructions from the Minister, these checks will be carried out until the problem of spontaneous formation of landfills has been resolved completely. Until the end of the year Rosprirodnadzor plans to form a complete Federal map of unauthorized solid household waste dumping sites. A. Amirkhanov emphasized that the speedy completion of this work is dependent on interaction with civil society organizations and local governments. He also noted the need to develop and introduce tax incentives to encourage action on recycling industrial and household waste. The meeting participants raised the issue of legal regulation of charities. Discussing the problem of formation of environmental funds, P. Gizatulin said that the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia is ready to prepare a series of recommendations and instructions of the subordinate agencies to regulate the activities of environmental funds. The deputy minister also said that the specific requests presented during the meeting will be considered during the preparation of proposals to the Russian Government on improving the environmental legislation. As a result of the event, it was decided to hold a meeting of the Public Environmental Council in November 2011 under the chairmanship of the Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Yuri Trutnev.
Source: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

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Appointments in the Ministry of Natural Resources
Alexey Oryol has been appointed Director of the Department of State Policy and Regulation in the field of geology and mineral resources at Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The corresponding order was signed by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Yuri Trutnev. 9


Alexey Oryol graduated from Moscow Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry in 1975 with the specialty geology and oil and gas field exploration. After graduation he worked as an engineer-geologist in VNIIGAZ, and was engaged in scientific activity. He holds a degree in geology and mineralogy. In 1987 A. Oryol was appointed chief engineer and geologist in the company "Zarubezhneft" (Damascus, Syria). In 1989 he continued his scientific work at the Institute of Geology and Fossil Fu els of the Oil Ministry and the Academy of Sciences of SSSR. From 1994 to 1999 he was deputy head of the company BHP Petroleum. In 1999, he joined the civil service in the departments of Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Fuel and Energy and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, where he worked at various times in the areas of licensing and regulatory activities. From 2002 to present time, he has held various positions in relations with public authorities at representative offices of companies using subsoil natural resources.
Source: Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

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Seminar on ESD in Voronezh
A seminar in the framework of the Russian-Swedish project on Education for Sustainable Development has been held in Voronezh, a major administrative and economic center of central Russia. The seminar was prepared and conducted by a consortium of Russian and Swedish universities. Direct participation in it took Professor L. Ryden (Baltic University), Dr A. Plepis (Lund University), Professor P.-A. Malmkvist (Lulea University of Technology), Mr. Ake Mikaelson (SEPA), Professor A.S. Shilov (RAGS), as well as project coordinators Dr. S-E. Osterlund (Lulea University of Technology) and Dr A.A. Pakina (Lomonosov Moscow State University. During three days Swedish teachers gave lectures on environmental issues of sustainable development and conducted active training sessions, discussing the use of the Swedish experience in the context of Russian realities. The participants of this training workshop were 50 representatives from the scope of the environmental management of regional and district centers in this region of Russia. At all stages of the seminar they showed a deep interest in its subject, and took an active part in the lessons. They all commended the value of the event for rooting the idea of sustainable development in Russia and for the development of relations between Russia and Sweden. The seminar took place at the Voronezh branch of the RASS with the active support of its director Professor E.S. Podvalny. Holding this seminar was supported by the Office for Ecology and Natural Resources of the Voronezh region. Its manager, Ms. N. V. Storozhenko spoke at the seminar and thanked the Swedish side for the valuable and practical contribution to the development of the ideas and practices of sustainable development in Russia. All Russian participants of the seminar noted its success and the favourable outlook for contacts between Russian and Swedish universities in the field of green development.
Source: own information

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RUSSIAN SUSTAINABILITY NewsLETTER, November 2011

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