Cleanup of the Russian Arctic an International Effort

LONDON, UK, October 23, 2003 (ENS) - An international project to clean up pollution in the Russian Arctic is about to begin with studies of the region's 10 most contaminated hotspots, selected after two years of studies. Most of the marine pollution is the result of human activities on land, which have released persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals and radionuclides into the fragile Arctic environment.

The project, called the Arctic Marine Environment Protection Program, is being coordinated by the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS), a nongovernmental organization based in London. The results are intended to benefit the international Arctic environment, particularly the Arctic Ocean basin and its shelf seas.

ACOPS says the project is of global importance because the Arctic Ocean and its shelf seas are inhabited by many unique plant and animal species, and ther region's contributions to global biodiversity are important. It also plays a major role in global climate patterns, and influences the world weather through oceanic and atmospheric circulation.

Uncontrolled development, nuclear tests and industrial pollution have damaged the Arctic environment. Because of transboundary impacts, ACOPS says, some estimates conclude that one-third of the heavy metal pollution entering the Arctic environment comes from industrial sources in Europe and North America.

The Arctic marine environment is fragile and vulnerable to even small amounts of contaminants. (Photo courtesy Arctic Council)

ACOPS hopes that this project will be the seed for far reaching program of action supported by a strong partnership of international environmental agencies, sovereign governments and the private sector.

The project aims to develop a Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the Russian Arctic as a tool for addressing key regional environmental threats and for ensuring that future development is sustainable and beneficial for its native peoples, according to ACOPS.

ACOPS Chairman Professor Lord Julian Hunt presented strategies developed by regional and international organizations at a workshop on the development of the plan held in Reykjavik, Iceland Monday through Wednesday.

The strategic program will identify and prioritize issues and problems, he said, define their root and secondary causes, and propose interventions to address them. It is planned as a consultative process that will enable a wide range of stakeholders to participate, says Hunt. After 18 months of work, a final SAP will be submitted for adoption to the Russian government.

In August, final approval was given for the project in the Russian Federation document Support to the National Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment.

The project will be implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and co-executed by ACOPS and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation.

The Global Environment Facility, an international funding body, the Russian Federation and the governments of Canada, the European Commission, Iceland, Italy, and United States will over the next five years support the project in the amount of $31.2 million.

Denmark will participate through the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North - RAIPON. International financial institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Nordic Environment Financial Corporation have also joined the project.

A large scale donor partnership conference is to be convened later to mobilize public, private and international sectors to raise the billions of dollars that will be needed to address these pollution problems. The partnership conference will be preceded by a series of private sector roundtables to be held in the United States, Italy, and the Nordic region.

In preparation for action, studies were conducted from 1999 to 2001 that covered measures for radioactive waste and nuclear materials treatment, storage and disposal, as well as development of proposals for restoring the environment at decommissioned military bases in the Russian Arctic especially in coastal zones, ACOPS says.

Children in the Russian Arctic (Photo courtesy Arctic Council)

As part of the preliminary studies, the existing capacity for environmental management in the Arctic was identified.

In cooperation with organizations of indigenous people, the Arctic Charter was prepared to ensure protection of the habitat and traditional lifestyle of ethnic groups and communities, and their participation in matters related to development in areas they have traditionally inhabited and used.

One component of the project includes development of organizational frameworks and plans for the management of lands used by indigenous peoples, balancing environmental and economic needs. The project's orientation is "creative incorporation of indigenous experience of non-depletive nature management into the modern system for economic exploitation of the region," the project document states.

Another component will be the demonstration of environmental remediation techniques in the decommissioning of two Russian military sites.

A third investigates the use of marine algae to combat oil spills.

If successful, ACOPS says, these demonstration projects will be replicated in the Russian Federation and perhaps other parts of the Arctic region.