Report.

5.2 Environmental programs, plans and their implementation

In 2012, for the first time after the suspension of financing of the federal target program «Ecology and natural resources of Russia (2002-2010)», including the sub-Program «Protection of Lake Baikal and Lake Baikal Natural Territory», the Federal target program «Protection of Lake Baikal and socio-economic development of Lake Baikal Natural Territory in 2012-2014» was approved by the resolution of the Russian Government № 847 on August 21, 2012 [4].

The Program states that the objective of protecting the lake, a UNESCO world heritage site, with the achievement of high economic standards as part of the sustainable development strategy is in agreement with the priority tasks of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation. The problems existing within Lake Baikal Natural Territory require an integrated solution. Such a solution would be achieved through the use of program-target method, based on the interrelationship of tasks and objectives, the complex character and unified approaches to the problem resolution.

The Program includes a set of measures for conducting environmental assessment, developing and implementing the mechanisms of state support to environmental damage mitigation activities, and for developing a system of specially protected natural territories of the federal level.

Conservation of the unique ecosystem of Lake Baikal is a state mission, therefore funding for the Program is to be provided from the federal budget and the budgets of the Russian Federation subjects.

The objective of the Program is the protection of Lake Baikal and Lake Baikal Natural Territory from the negative impact of anthropogenic, technogenic and natural factors.

The total amount of the Program funding for 2012-2020 is 58 158.5 million rubles in the prices of the respective years, including:

-  funding from the federal budget – 83.2 % (48 381.1 million rubles, including expenditures for capital assets – 33 513  million rubles; scientific research – 464.1 million rubles; other needs – 14 404 million rubles);

-  funding from consolidated budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation – 14.4 % (8 374.9 million rubles );

-  funding from non-budget sources – 2.4 % (1 402.5 million rubles).

The financing will be allocated to the three regions – Irkutsk region, Republic of Buryatia and Zabaikalsky Krai. This can help to resolve up to 80% of all the environmental problems within Lake Baikal Natural Territory.

The state commissioner-coordinator of the Program is Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. The state commissioners of the Program are Ministry of Regional Development, Federal Subsurface Management Agency, Federal Agency for Water Resources, Federal Agency for Fishing, Federal Agency for Supervision in the Sphere of Nature Management, Federal Agency for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring.

To achieve the outlined goal, the following tasks are to be realized:

-  reduction of contaminant discharges into water bodies within Lake Baikal Natural Territory;

-  reduction of waste volumes and waste-derived pollution within the territory, particularly through remediation of the lands exposed to high and extremely high pollution;

-  efficient utilization of the recreational potential of specially protected natural territories;

-  conservation and restoration of biological resources within the territory;

-  development of the state environmental monitoring within the territory;

-  development of a shore reinforcement system for Lake Baikal and other water bodies within the territory.

The Program will be implemented in two stages during 2012-2020. During the stage I (2012-2015), the highest priority tasks will be implemented. As a result of the stage I implementation, approaches for the implementation of environmental protection measures will be designed. During the stage II (2016-2020) it is planned to complete the priority projects as well as widen the scope of environmental activities within Lake Baikal Natural Territory.

To provide the legal basis for the Program implementation, the Ministry of natural resources issued the following orders in 2012:

1)                      № 296 issued on September 27, 2012 - «On the format of an agreement on granting subsidies to the subjects of the Russian Federation from the federal budget for co-funding environmental activities, as stipulated by the federal target program “Protection of Lake Baikal and socio-economic development of Lake Baikal Natural Territory during 2012-2020”. The order defined the agreement format, including the procedures and conditions of granting subsidies, rights and duties of the parties;

2) № 403 issued on November 28, 2012 – «On the approval of Regulations on the management of the federal target program «Protection of Lake Baikal and socio-economic development of Lake Baikal Natural Territory during 2012-2020» approved by the resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation № 847 issued on August 21, 2012».

The Regulations define:

- modalities of the Program management and cooperation of state commissioners;

- modalities of planning activities and budget for the Program implementation;

- mechanisms for correcting/revising the planned activities and provision of resources for the activities during the course of the Program implementation;

- procedures for ensuring public access to (openness of) the information on target indicators and parameters, results of the Program implementation monitoring, the Program activities and conditions on which executing agencies take part in them, as well as on tenders/competitions held and their criteria.

With the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of the Program implementation, on December 26, 2013 the Government of the Russian Federation adopted the Resolution №1295 «On the introduction of changes into the federal target program «Protection of Lake Baikal and socio-economic development of Lake Baikal Natural Territory during 2012-2020». The changes touched upon the program budget [4].

The program was designed to achieve such targets as up to 50% reduction of pollutant discharges into Lake Baikal and remediation of up to 80% of the polluted lands within Lake Baikal Natural Territory. Besides, it is planned to implement measures aimed at reducing the current negative impact and improving the system of environmental monitoring of Lake Baikal Natural Territory [3].

Apart from that, the Program includes a set of measures for conservation of biodiversity, minimization of natural hazards characteristic to the region, and development of ecotourism. The Program makes provisions for a set of priority measures to be funded from the federal budget, including the measures aimed at developing the specially protected natural territories and implementing nature protection measures at the site of the former Dzhidinsky plant in the Republic of Buryatia, Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill and other sites.

In 2013, 1 182.2 million rubles were allocated for the Program implementation (including 992.9 million rubles from the federal budget, 49.3 million rubles from the consolidated budget of federation subjects, and 140 million rubles from non-budget sources). The actual expenditures for the Program implementation amounted to 104%. The expenditures covered by the federal budget were 98 %, and expenditures covered by other, non-budget, sources were 144 % (140 million rubles were planned to be spent, but 201.36 million rubles were actually spent). At the cost of non-budget means, 473.6 thousand tons of waste of Dzhidinsky tungsten-molybdenum plant were processed [4].

In 2013, Lake Baikal protection activities received additional funding, besides the federal target program, of 205.70 million rubles (156.58 million rubles in 2012) from the federal budget.

The institutions of executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation located within Lake Baikal Natural Territory provided 62.582 million rubles in 2012 and 235.08 million rubles in 2013 for the following regional activities:

- Target program «Environmental safety in the Republic of Buryatia during the period till 2017» – the funding provided was 23.823 million rubles in 2012 and 33.264 million rubles in 2013;

- Long-term target program «Protection of the environment in Irkutsk region in 2011-2015» - 36.639 million rubles were allocated in 2012 and 206.623 million rubles in 2013.

In Zabaikalsky Krai, major building renewals were underway in the town of Khilok in 2012-2013. The works were funded from the federal budget, while 2.12 million rubles in 2012 and 1.463 million rubles in 2013 were allocated from the regional budget in co-funding.

The Republic of Buryatia allocated 112.3 million rubles from its budget for funding environmental activities, 56.1% of that was co-funding for the federal target program «Protection of Lake Baikal and socio-economic development of Lake Baikal Natural Territory during 2012-2020» [4].

The UNDP-GEF project «Integrated natural resource management of Lake Baikal transboundary ecosystem» is being realized in Russia and Mongolia since 2011. Based on the several decade-long bilateral cooperation between Russia and Mongolia over transboundary water resources and the economic rise of mining and tourism sectors, the support from GEF is catalyzing the development and implementation of the Strategic Action Plan for management and conservation of the transboundary ecosystem of Lake Baikal basin.

The project supports the efforts of the governments and civil society of both countries to include environment protection measures into their policies and practices with the purpose of protecting and rational use of the unique transboundary ecosystem of the Lake Baikal basin.

The main aim of the project is to facilitate integrated management of natural resources of Lake Khuvsgul and Lake Baikal for achieving ecosystem resilience and sustaining water quality within the wider context of sustainable development. Since 2012, 65 tenders were organized within the project frameworks, i.e. 65 contracts were signed for implementation of a range of activities in Russia and Mongolia.