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United Nations Development Programme |
On June 26, the 2001 National Human Development Report was
unveiled in Moscow. Academics and politicians, along with representatives of
international organizations, the diplomatic corps, and the mass media all gathered
for the 
presentation
in the Vrubel Hall of the Tretyakov State Art Gallery.
The ceremony was opened by the UN Resident Coordinator and the Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Frederick Lyons. In greeting those assembled, he emphasized that such reports, which have been published annually in Russia for the past seven years, serve as key social indicators. Their aim is to stimulate the human development and freedoms in society. The current report devotes special attention to the population, from young people to the elderly, and to the trends in their lives over the last years. This is no accident, since human development across the generations is the main topic of the Report. Having noted certain positive shifts that have recently taken place in society, Mr Lyons, for instance, pointed in particular to the fact that people aged 25–34 have the highest per capita income in the nation. The negative facets of people’s lives – the rise in the number of tuberculosis cases, drug addiction, and alcoholism – are also dealt with in the Report. The Report not only reveals the lives of people in Russia’s cities and towns, in Moscow and the provinces, but also shows how different regions are developing economically. The results included in the Report of surveys, according to which all generations believe that Russia should preserve its economic independence, immediately draw one’s attention. In his concluding remarks, Mr Lyons thanked the Report’s authors, colleagues, and co-sponsors from the International Labour Organization and other UN agencies, the Russian government, and the personnel of the Tretyakov State Gallery.
“The
publishing of this Report underlines the cooperation between the Russian side
and the UN”, said Nikolai Chulkov, Deputy Director of Department of International
Organizations of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation. He congratulated
the Report’s many authors on the completion of such an important and complex
work. The Russian side will actively utilize the results of the Report to develop
contacts not just with the UN, but with other organizations as well, in order
to attract new donors. Having noted with satisfaction that Russia is one of
the ninety-plus countries where Human Development Reports are published, Mr
Chulkov expressed his hope that this practise will be continued in the coming
year.
“We need such deep analytical documents so that we can see
our nation’s developmental trends”, stressed Oleg Miro-
nov,
the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation. Mr Mi-ronov noted that the research
done under the aegis of the UNDP is regularly utilized in preparing special
reports on the observance of human rights – reports that are then sent to the
President of the Russian Federation, the Government, the Federation Council,
the State Duma, the Supreme Court, and the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The authors were represented by the Report’s editor-in-chief, Professor Sergei Bobylev, from the Economics Department of Moscow State University. He reminded the audience that the first Report came out in the mid-1990s. In Russia at that time, there was a boom in new concepts and approaches regarding development, but the human factor was missing from many of these. It was against this backdrop that the Concept of Human Development gained wide acceptance. Today, it is not just analyzed. but taught in many of Russia’s higher educational institutions.“We wrote the world’s first textbook of human development, and for three years now have been using it to teach our students”, Professor Bobylev proudly reported. “We are holding special courses in the Commonwealth of Independent States as well”, he continued. “The most recent two week courses have been organized with our colleagues from Kazakhstan. I hope that the Concept of Human Development will be around in Russia for a long time to come”.
“The
example of Samara Region and other territories and republics that have made
use of our research says that our Report on the human development is now in
common use in the provinces. The present Report is greatly innovative. It is
the first in the world to be devoted to generations. Never before have there
been three chapters that are entirely the result of sociological studies; they
are printed here in such great detail for the very first time. The pioneering
nature of the work is the result of both the merits of the research, and its
rarity. It is an important springboard for further discussion: what will be
happening in society ten, fifteen, twenty years from now? Without an understanding
of the generations’ attitude toward change, it is difficult to make prognoses”.
In conclusion, Professor Bobylev emphasized that, “On the basis of the Report,
one can draw at least some conclusions about the definite stabilization of society,
and the tolerance of the generations”.
The presentation finished with the authors and other participants answering questions posed by the many members of the mass media in attendance.
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The
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the Administration
of the Khakasiya Republic organized a Regional Steering Committee meeting for
the UNDP/GEF biodiversity conservation projects in the Altai-Sayan region. Taking
part were representatives from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and five Russian regions:
Krasnoyarsk krai, Kemerovo oblast, Republics of Khakasiya, Tyva and Altai. They
met together in Abakan on 21 April in order to discuss and agree upon the joint
approach to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of this eco-region.
It is widely recognized for its globally significant biological diversity originating
from its geographic position between the steppes of western Siberia, the deserts
of China and Mongolia, and the taiga forests of central and eastern Siberia.
However, the region remains relatively unaltered and underdeveloped
and thus the living standards of the local population are rather low and economical
opportunities limited. UNDP Human Development Index for the Altai-Sayan regions
is among the lowest in Russia reflecting the low level of economic and social
development of these regions (Tyva, Altai, Khakasiya). There is a lack of a
coherent regional planning framework that is coordinated
across geopolitical boundaries.
Therefore, as Frederick Lyons, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Russian Federation mentioned in his opening statement, “the Regional Steering Committee can be considered as a tool facilitating transboundary cooperation in the Altai-Sayan region, especially taking into account that after the end of the Soviet Union, links between the neighboring countries have been destroyed and should be re-established on a new basis”. The meeting provided an opportunity for the development of such a framework, which became an example of how representatives from different countries and different society groups can get together and agree on a joint approach to regional development.
The presence of high-level representatives from Kazakhstan and Mongolia, as well as from the five regions of the Altai-Sayan eco-region within Russia confirms their interest in such cooperation.
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The preparation of the UNDP/GEF project “Demonstrating Sustainable Conservation of Biological Diversity in Four Protected Areas in Russia’s Kamchatka oblast” has raised many expectations in Kamchatka since 1998. The project is now approved and signed by the Global Environment Facility, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation and UNDP. The first phase of the project is funded by the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Canada in the amount of US$5.3 million. Co-funding to the project is provided by the Government of Russia, the Administration of the Kamchatka Oblast and a number of international environmental NGOs.
The project`s implementation started in June 2002. In the coming seven years, new approaches toward long-term biodiversity conservation, effective nature resources management and environmentally sound tourism development will be piloted in Kronotky State Biosphere Reserve, South-Kamchatsky State Sanctuary (Zakaznik), Nalychevo and Bystrinsky Nature Parks.
Further information about the project will be presented in the next issue of the UN in Russia.