Focus on Russia
ACAP will form a new Project Steering Group for the Integrated Hazardous Waste Management Strategy
"The Arctic region and the problems of sustainable development, are true priorities of Russian foreign policy," the new Russian Senior Arctic Official of the Arctic Council, Ambassador Anton V. Vasiliev said when the Arctic Contaminants Action Program Working Group (ACAP) of the Arctic Council met last week in Moscow, hosted by Rostechnadzor, the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of the Russian Federation.
A workshop on development of the Integrated Hazardous Waste Management Strategy (IHWMS), was held a day ahead of the ACAP Working Group meeting - a new cornerstone program being developed by ACAP. The Chair of ACAP, Mr. Bob Dyer, of the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington D.C., and Mr. Andrey Peshkov, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department of Rostechnadzor, led this workshop.
Mr. Peshkov gave a detailed presentation on the hazardous waste management regulations of the Russian Federation. He also described the different phases of the IHWMS and how they would be executed. Though the scope of the IHWMS is currently focused on Northern areas, lessons learned from execution of the IHWMS projects will be applicable to the entire Russian Federation.
It was unanimously decided that ACAP would now form a new Project Steering Group (PSG) specifically for the IHWMS. Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, United States, and NEFCO will participate in this new PSG. The Russian Federation will Chair, with vice chairmanship by the United States and Norway.
Of great importance to the Russian Federation is reduction of accumulated environmental damage and elimination of current environmental impacts of hazardous wastes. Priority activities are now being identified, recognizing that development of new instruments of environmental management are needed. The IHWMS of ACAP is looked at as an integral part of the Russian Federation's 15-year Plan for Sustainable Development.
The new Russian Senior Arctic Official of the Arctic Council, Ambassador Anton V. Vasiliev, who addressed the ACAP Working Group on the third day of meetings, reiterated that the Arctic region, and the problems of sustainable development, are true priorities of Russian foreign policy.