Project 1. Developing Mechanisms to Change the Social Needs Structure
(as a prerequisite of redirection of growth and globalization to ecologically sustainable future)

The objective of the Project is to substantiate principles, possible instruments and main steps of a gradual redirection of growth and globalization. Ideas behind this project are as follows:

• theoretically Humanity possess all kinds of resources to survive and continue development;
• the core problem is a voluntary changing social need structure and attaining new qualitative need level as well as much more efficient mode of their meeting rather than simple reduction in consumption of the rich nations and peoples (that is impossible in a voluntary mode);
• appropriate changing need structure will successively cause changes in a social demand structure, in prices for different goods, in criteria efficiency, than, financial flows redirection/redistribution, changes of resources allocation/distribution and, finally economic growth and globalization redirecting, i.e. the main problem is finding ways of the appropriate changing need structure;
• it is impossible to implement any "brilliant" model of civilization development (e.g. "communism"…) or even some very beneficial measures while then peoples and our world/societies as a whole are remaining "wild", poor in cultural respects, non-aware of the complex human being’s psychobiofisical nature and their genuine needs, irresponsible for their behavior, activities and thoughts etc., until people’s world outlook changes; in other words, to change the social need structure it is necessary to change substantially people’s world outlook;
• to change people’s world outlook it is ultimately important to integrate efforts of all religions, different related scientific disciplines, international, governmental and non-governmental institutions, to change properly activities of the education and information systems, to increase roles of science and culture; it is also necessary to develop international scientific programs on different aspects of Sustainability (with the emphasis on all kinds of human studies, ecology, new sources of energy studies), information policy (generating and disseminating) and education programs ("Education for Sustainability").

1) Collecting, arranging and analysis of information on ("open") studies in different areas related to sustainability issues;

2) Drafting strategy/program of integrating and coordinating scientific works and efforts on the issues of Sustainable development in international scale (increasing efficiency of studies);

3) Substantiation of increasing share of financial resources directed Sustainability research by the governments, international organizations and other institutions (increasing scale, importance and effect of studies);

4) Drafting international scientific programs on priority directions of studies:

• Human studies in a broadest sense: human being as a psycho-biophysical system; discovering its genuine needs in nutrition, mode of settlements and dwellings, properties of clothes and many other factors/goods; cultural, non-material need studies and ways of increasing their importance, weight; religion, esoteric and culture studies. (Studies on consumption side: What should be the sustainable consumption mode ? and How to create demand for activities aimed on transition to sustainable development?)
• Political economy, economics, ecological economics, information policy and education studies:
• valuing natural capital including assimilative (carrying) capacity greening taxation systems, green GDP;
• ecological needs and demand development;
• ecological goods and services market development;
• advertising of ecological and other non-material values (ecological ones may have both: material and non-material components), comprehensive information policy and education programs as a mode to form an adequate need and demand structure and consumption model.

• Studies at supply side: how to meet current and genuine needs in a most efficient way:
• energy production studies;
• transportation and communication/information technologies;
• recycling materials studies;
• ecological and environmental studies; etc.

• to integrate and to organize efforts internationally in an efficient way;
• to provide interdisciplinary approach involving all agents which can contribute to the problem solution (from religion leaders and scientists of all related disciplines to business people and famous persons;
• to elaborate an information strategy (how to provide people with information on sustainable development, ecological and non-material values etc. etc.;
• to attract to the discussed activity leaders of all religions, international and state (public) officials, mass media heads and owners and journalists, famous and popular people, the business elite because of their extreme power to influence people’s world outlook.

First stage (phase) will be drafting concept and strategic documents (minimum 200-300 th. $ for Russian part),

Second phase will be development of program document (1-2 mln. $).
 
 

Project 2. Building Sustainability at a Regional Level (the case of Saratov Province)

1. Project objective is to identify the most economically efficient, socially acceptable and environmentally sound directions of the regional development and to prepare and initiate a set of investment projects in the above mentioned break-through directions.
2. Project tasks.

1. To develop (on the basis of the international experience) a set of indicators of sustainability at a regional level.
2. To assess the actual level of sustainability/ unsustainability.
3. To estimate (value of) assets and resources of the region that may contribute to the process of building sustainability (including natural, human and man made capitals).
4. To develop proposals on the most efficient ways of using the assets.
5. To identify the main factors of unsustainability at the regional level.
6. To substantiate measures (to be undertaken in order) to mitigate an effect of the unsustainability factors.
7. To develop a regional strategy of transition to sustainable development.
8. To elaborate mechanisms for the Strategy implementation.
9. To choose series of investment projects in the break-through areas with the preference to the projects that may benefit for the producers and investors of the donor country.

• Set of the sustainability indicators at a regional level,
• Assessment of the actual level of sustainability/ unsustainability,
• Values of assets of the region that should be used in the process of building sustainability (including natural, human and man made capitals),
• Identification of the main factors of unsustainability in the region, first of all environmental and economic problems.

2. The second stage is a development of the regional Strategy of transition to Sustainable Development and to define more precisely the REAP.


Information on different possible economic activities development should be collected and analyzed. The most efficient and environmentally sound directions should be selected. Concrete project proposals are to be considered and analyzed. Some new project proposals may be generated and developed.

Projects especially aimed to reduce an environmental pressure will be selected in order to concretize the environment protection measures.

Measures such as economic and legal instruments as well as policy, institutional aspects, public participation, environmental education and other also will be considered and selected. They will be chosen in order to create mechanism of transition to sustainability containing incentives for environmentally sound economic activities.

3. The third, final, stage will be elaborating mechanisms of implementation of the Strategy including developing necessary regional legislation, normative and methodological base, institutional and policy measures. One of the most important document have to be mentioned is an amended Agreement on sharing responsibility between federal and regional authorities.

4. Expected benefits.

1. Transferring advanced experience in the field of environmental planning and building sustainability at a regional level.
2. Setting a series of clear indicators of sustainability at a regional level.
3. Valuation of assets and natural resources of the region that may contribute to the process of building sustainability.
4. Development proposals on the most efficient ways of using natural resources and other assets.
5. Identification of the main direction of attaining the sustainability indicators.
6. Developing the most efficient immediate measures and projects.
7. Developing the regional Strategy of transition to Sustainable Development.
8. Initiating a series of the most efficient investment project.
9. Informing the potentially interested producers, investors and other organizations on the most efficient investment projects.

Project objective is to substantiate reforming taxation and budget systems in order to create conditions for internalization of externalities, for proper changing efficiency criteria in the favor of nature saving, ecologically safe production and economy restructuring.

There should be a support from one of the Duma committees as well as from the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of natural resources for this project.

The project includes the following points:

1. Initial generalized economic assessment of the Russian natural resources;
1. Approval of the methodology of natural resource economic valuation;
2. Elaboration of the plan of economic valuation of natural resources/objects
3. Detailed economic valuation of every object and resource (It’s a huge work and no grant will be able to cover all the costs, however, it is possible to cover valuation of some outstanding objects as pilot/demonstration projects; these projects will show that such a valuation would contribute to the state budget and, probably further money will be given from budget);
4. Directions of perfecting existing system of natural resource taxation, prospect purposes and program of the taxation system reform, main necessary steps and main obstacles.

The whole project:- 0,8 - 1,2 mln $ for two years (depending on selected objects of valuation).
 
 

Project 4. Development of the Integrated System for Environmental and Economic Accounting in Russia (the case of Yaroslavl Province).

The objective is to form conditions for providing the necessary information required by the public and decision-makers to assess the consequences of the abuse, over-use and under-investment in the Nation’s natural capital; as well as a set of accounts by which democratic societies conserve natural resources and resolve conflicts of interest for the greater good.

The model employed will be the United Nation’s System of Environment and Economic Accounting, (SEEA).

The first part of the Project is the design and feasibility assessment of SEEA for a Russian region. The output is a report and a SEEA implementation workshop among Russian Partners.

The second part of the Project is an on-going consultation on the implementation phase. Proposed here are a series of Canada-Russia workshops, reviews of progress, and direct help in solving methodological and technical problems, such as GIS for ecosystem mapping. Canada’s experience in environment and natural resource accounting is readily transferable to Russian conditions, in part because of the similarity of the ecosystems, climate, and the vast remoteness of Northern Regions shared by both countries. Indeed, there is a potential of the Russian experience and expertise being transferred to Canada, i.e., Russian surveillance technology and mapping from satellite imagery.

Yaroslalv Region is one the most prominent regions in terms of SEEA development and the necessary assistance and facilities for the project would be provided. The Central Statistical Office and Ministry of natural resources have also shown interest in context of the 1993 revisions of the UN System of National Accounts, (SNA) which include SEEA as a satellite component. The Ministry of Economics has similarly expressed support as a potential "user" for the purpose of assessing, at a macro-level, the environmental impacts of economic activity and resource exploitation. These three central agencies are the focus of the Project’s Partnerships and Clients with respect to the Design/Feasibility and the Implementation Phases. Emphasis will be placed on development at the Institute of Control Science, Russian Academy of Sciences of a Resource Centre for SEEA research and expertise.
 

Last updated: September 9, 1999