Experience in implementing environmental projects of the Karelia CBC programme and prospects for its use in regions of the Russian Arctic

The article examines the experience from implementing environmental projects of Russia-EU Cross-border Cooperation Programmes 2014–2020. Using the case of the Karelia CBC Programme, the results of project activities on the Russian side were analysed and the most successful examples of green solutions and technologies applied to deal with local environmental problems were identified. The issue of further use of the experience acquired within the framework of cross-border cooperation in other regions of Russia, primarily those belonging to the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, was raised. Some of the spheres where dissemination may be the most promising include environmental education and implementation of resource-saving and energy efficient solutions. Possible obstacles to the replication of the best practices have been identified and remedial measures have been proposed, in particular to enable the implementation of water supply and treatment projects in towns of the Russian Arctic. In the next stage, the authors plan to study the case of environmental projects of the Kolarctic CBC Programme and to prepare a summarypaper on the two northern programmes in the form of a manual.