Russia will host its first Course for Sustainability in the city of Saint Petersburg from June 7 to 11, 2010. Over 30 governmental officials are expected to participate. The main topics of discussion will be local environmental management and regional sustainable development policy.
The course is also open to senior representatives of the private sector, along with senior officials from ministries and central governmental bodies with responsibility for or influence over the introduction of various dimensions of sustainability into policy making and implementation.
Based on the success of its Course for Sustainability, the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), with financial support from the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, has decided to transfer experience acquired since 2004 to the Russian Federation, with a specific focus on Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
The REC's official partners in course implementation are Venice International University (VIU); Vodokanal, the water provider of the city of Saint Petersburg; and the Russian State Hydrometeorological University (RSHU).
Russia, the biggest country in the world in terms of area, possesses a wealth of mineral and natural resources. It has the largest area of forested land and abundant surface water and groundwater resources. However, despite impressive government-led progress during the 1990s in creating a legal and institutional framework for environmental management, Russia still has to deal with a range of inherited environmental problems. These problems are exacerbated by low levels of investment, deterioration of the national environmental management system, an absence of preventive measures, and the abusive exploitation of natural resources.
The goal of the Course for Sustainability is to introduce sustainable policies by building human capacities to address environmental and development issues. Capacity building is crucial in educating communities to recognise their social and environmental responsibilities.
The integration of sustainable development in policy making, planning and implementation remains a challenge. The courses therefore focus on analysis of the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainable development - the so-called 'three pillars'. The suggested methodologies promote a holistic approach in order to demonstrate that economic growth can go hand in hand with environmental protection and the enhancement of social objectives in the Russian Federation.
