twelve POPs are currently produced in Russia. However, significant quantities of POPs are present throughout the country, including PCB-containing equipment in service and stocks of PCB containing materials and wastes. Thousands of tons of obsolete and banned pesticides are being scattered across Russia under poor storage and packaging conditions. This results in their release into the environment. In addition, due to continuing use of inefficient technologies, significant emissions of dioxins/furans as unintended products have been registered in many locations. In Arctic regions, POPs are deposited at concentrations that can be higher than those found in the countries of origin. The toxic effects of POPs on the population and environment have raised serious concerns among the Federal and regional governments and the publicwith regard to the impacts on the health of the present and future generations. In particular, Arctic indigenous peoples, because of their reliance on fishing, hunting, etc., are highly prone to accumulating contaminants via the ingestion of contaminated food. Indeed, the conclusions of the AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution of the Arctic, held in June 1997, state that "current POP levels in several marine birds, fish and mammals exceed thresholds for immune, development and reproductive effects".
Rationale
The Government of the Russian Federation is committed to environmental and sustainable development and to the adoption of new international instruments to clean up the results of past, unsustainable development that affect its many regions and territories.
The following questions need answering for the development of a Russian Federation National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the Stockholm Convention on POPs
-What are the main POPs sources in Russia?
-What are the environmental and human body burdens of POPs?
-What are the essential roles of stakeholders in the reduction/elimination of POPs?
-What is the relevant current legal, institutional and technical infrastructure and what impediments need to be overcome for the implementation of the Russian Federation NIP?
-What sources of additional funding can be identified and approached?
Objectives:
This three-month projectwillenable the Russian Federation:
• to determine the methodologies suitable for the identification of POPs in use, produced or released;
• to examine and recommend approaches for assessing the environmental and health effects of POPs;
• to examine and recommend approaches for assessing institutional capacity;
• to develop procedures to organize national stakeholders for the co-ordinated development of a NIP for the Stockholm Convention;
• to raise awareness of government officials, industry and the publicof urgent POPs related issues;
• to identify all potential stakeholders in regional and local authorities and communities for the development of the NIP;
• to consider available guidance materials and select those that are suitable for Russia;
• to identify and approach co-funding sources for the development of the NIP.
10 . Project outcomes:
We expect the following outcomes:
• A clear understanding of the main POPs sources and releases in Russia;
• Methods and sources for obtaining information on POPs environmental and human body burdens;
• A better understanding of the existing legal, institutional and technical infrastructure and any barriers to NIP implementation;
• A better understanding of the identities and roles of stakeholders and interested partners in future efforts aimed at the reduction/elimination of POPs;
• Enhanced involvement of stakeholders in the PDF-B and NIP development processes;
• Integration of relevant ongoing projects with the PDF-B;
• Much improved conditions for the development of the Russian Federation NIP.
11 Project activities to achieve outcomes:
We envisage the following activities:
•The preparation of an overview of the main POPs sources and releases in Russia;
•Evaluation of procedures for determining the levels of POPs in the environment and human beings;
•Basic assessment of the existing legal, institutional and technical infrastructure relevant to POPs management and initial identification of any barriers to NIP implementation;
•Identification of major stakeholders and interested partners, including NGOs and indigenous peoples, and their roles as potential members of the PDF-B group for future development of a NIP for the Stockholm Convention;
•Identification and characterization of relevant projects in Russia as well as in other Arctic and CIS countries where co-ordination may be necessary;
•Preparation of a PDF-B proposal for NIP development for the Russian Federation.
12. Stakeholders involved in project:
The project requires the active involvement and support of a number of government ministries and agencies, industry, research and educational institutions, indigenous peoples and non-governmental organizations. A partial, but still incomplete, list is provided below:
-Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation
-Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
-Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation
-Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation
-Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation
-Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation
-Ministry of Energy
-State Service of the Russian Federation for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring
-State Chemicals Commission of the Russian Federation
-Other Ministries and Agencies of the Government of the Russian Federation
-Appropriate regional governments of the Russian Federation
-Russian Academy of Sciences
-Centre for International Projects
-Russian Joint-Stock Company "Russian Power Grid"
- Russian Nations Assembly
-RAIPON
-UNEP Chemicals
-ACAP
-AMAP
-International POPs Elimination Network. (IPEN)
-World Wide Fund for Nature
Other non-governmental organizations
PART II - INFORMATION ON BLOCK A PDF ACTIVITIES
13. Activities to be financed by the PDF:A number of issues must be initially addressed to scope this project, including:
•Identification of and delineation of roles and responsibilities of "core" stakeholders and partners in the Russian Federation itself as well as other relevant organizations including UNEP Chemicals, ACAP, AMAP, IPEN, Industry, academia, NGOs and indigenous peoples organizations;
- The overall nature and extent of POPs issues in the Russian Federation;
- Evaluation of the existing legal, institutional and technical infrastructure and initial identification of any barriers to NIP development and implementation;
- Initial scoping of the process of developing a NIP for the Stockholm Convention on POPs for the Russian Federation
A very successful All-Russia Conference on POPs bringing together representatives of the agencies and organizations mentioned above (Moscow, end-October 2002) has already taken place. Three additional meetings are planned as PDF-A activities:
• Meeting (workshop) of "core" stakeholders and interested partners, in Moscow, lasting two days and involving 30-35 participants;
• Technical expert meeting to undertake the evaluations and analyses listed above in preparation for the drafting of the PDF-B;
•Meeting of a Drafting Group, likely in Moscow, lasting fourdays involving up to 15 participants.
Following the last of these meetings the draft PDF-B proposal will be prepared for review by all the agencies/organizations that participated in the All-Russia Conference. Following such review, the draft PDF-B will be finalized by the Executing Agency.
A monitoring and evaluation framework for the PDFA will be incorporated in the internalized project document.
The GEF PDF-A grant will contribute significantly to covering the costs of:
i) transportation and accommodation for meeting participants;
ii)drafting and finalization of a PDF-B proposal;
iii)Russian/English interpretation during meetings and the translation of documents;
iv)telecommunication costs related to the meetings (see Table 1).
Table 1Cost Table - Framework Budget by activity (US $)
Activity GEF funding Other fundingTotal
Meeting of "core" stakeholders (Moscow)7,0002,0009,000
Drafting Group Meeting (Moscow)4,0001,0005,000
Preparation and finalization of PDF-B proposal9,0009,000
Simultaneous interpretation and translation 5,000 -5,000
Staff time for:
CIP-4,0004,000
Ministry of Natural Resources of RF -2,0002,000
UNEP Chemicals-6,0006,000
TOTAL 25,000 15,000 40,000
14. Expected Outputs and Completion Dates:
•Report of the "core" stakeholders and partners meeting in Moscow, February 2004;
Report of the Drafting Group meeting, Moscow, March 2004;
•PDF-B project proposal to GEF, March-April 2004.
15. Other possible contributors/donors and amounts:
All the organizations listed above have made in-kind contributions, including staff time, as
per Table 1:
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-CIP staff time covered from its regular budget;-Ministry of Natural Resources staff time covered by its budget line for international activities;
-UNEP Chemicals staff time covered from the UNEP Environment Fund.
16. Total Budget (in US $ or local currency):
We anticipate a total project cost of about US $ 500,000, with US $ 350,000 from GEF funding for the PDF-B. We are actively exploring sources of finance to complement GEF support.
PART III - INFORMATION ON THE APPLICANT INSTITUTION
17. Name:Centre for International Projects (CIP), Moscow, Russian Federation. While CIP is the formal applicant, this application is being made on behalf of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation responsible for the implementation of the Stockholm Convention on POPs in the country as well as on behalf of other government ministries and agencies as its partners / 18. Date of Establishment, Membership and Leadership:
CIP was formally established in the former USSR in 1980 with a mandate to develop and implement co-operative projects with UNEP aimed at protection of human health and the environment. Gradually, the projects portfolio of CIP covered co-operation with ILO, WHO, FAO, UNESCO, IPCS, etc. In 1992, the Government of the Russian Federation reconfirmed the mandate of CIP. In addition, the Inter-State Ecological (Environmental) Council of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) designated CIP its subsidiary body responsible for co-ordination and implementation of technical projects in the member states. UNITAR, ACAP, AMAP and other international and regional agencies and programmes become partners of CIP as well. The CIP functions as the National Focal Point for the Stockholm Convention (Decree of the MNR of Russia №583 from 18 September 2003). At present, CIP is responsible for and involved in the implementation of various POPs related projects jointly with UNEP Chemicals, ACAP and AMAP
19. Mandate/Terms of Reference:
The mandate to implement projects in human health and environmental protection and to promote sustainable development is stipulated in the CIP's terms of reference endorsed by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and by the environmental protection agency. In September 2002, CIP was nominated as the National Co-ordinating Centre (National Focal Point) for the Stockholm Convention on POPs in the Russian Federation / 20. Sources of Revenue:
Amount and sources of revenue for each year vary. The total annual cost of the projects implemented by CIP is about US $ 400,000. This comes from the Russian Federation contribution to the UNEP Environment Fund, ministries and agencies of the Russian Federation in the framework of research and development activities, Arctic Council member states, AMAP and other international organisations. Audited financial statement available upon request
21. Recent activities/programs, in particular those relevant to GEF:
CIP as the UNEP's national counterpart in the Russian Federation has been collaborating with UNEP Chemicals under the joint UNEP/Russia (CIP) project on Strengthening National Chemicals Management in Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States since mid-1997, when the first
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POPs related subregional expert meeting was organized in St. Petersburg, which opened the world wide series of regional and subregional POPs awareness raising workshops, aimed at preparing the governments of developing countries and countries with economies in transition for negotiations on a future global treaty on POPs (presently the Stockholm Convention on POPs). Under this project many other POPs related activities have been implemented and are being planned. These include capacity building and training workshops and experts meetings focusing inter alia on a model national strategy for elimination/reduction of POPs releases, environmentally sound management of PCBs and obsolete pesticides, reduction of dioxins and furans releases, development of inventories of stockpiles of obsolete pesticides, establishing PRTRs. Since 1998, CIP has been responsible for or involved in the implementation of the POPs related ACAP projects dealing with phasing-out PCB use and management of PCB-contaminated wastes; environmentally sound of management of stocks of obsolete pesticides and evaluation of dioxins and furans in the Russian Federation.The first meeting (All-Russia Conference on POPs) held in Moscow in end-October 2002 considered various existing approaches and methodologies for assessment of the POPs problem in Russia and discussed future steps in developing the project proposal on Preliminary Identification and Assessment of Requirements and Needs for Developing of a National Implementation Plan as a First Step in the Implementation by the Russian Federation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and discussed the involvement of various stakeholders and international and national partners in the process.
PART IV - INFORMATION TO BE COMPLETED BY IMPLEMENTING AGENCY:
22. Project identification number: To be decided
23. Implementing Agency contact person:
Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Director, Division of GEF Coordination, UNEP, Nairobi,
tel. (254 2) 624165, fax (254 2) 624041,
24. Project linkage to Implementing Agency program(s):
This project is complementary to UNEP's work on Chemicals, including providing the Secretariat for the Stockholm Convention on POPs. It is complementary to:
-GEF Full Project Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances;
-GEF Medium Sized Project Executed by RAIPON/AMAP on Persistent Toxic Substances, Food Security and Indigenous Peoples of the Russian North; and
-other NIPs
by focusing on POPs related problems specific to the Russian Federation, which is situated in the East European and North-East Asian Regions and includes a large part of the Arctic Environment.