Transactions of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Apr 2019)
GREEN BELT OF FENNOSCANDIA AS A FACTOR FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BORDER AREAS
Abstract
International cooperation is a distinctive feature of socio-economic development in the Green Belt of Fennoscandia (GBF). In this context, it is proposed to develop trilateral cooperation (Russia-Norway-Finland) on the conservation of intact areas and the establishment of new protected areas; biodiversity monitoring and longitudinal observations; scientific support to the development of nature-based tourism; study of the shared history of the three countries traversed by GBF; nomination of GBF for UNESCO World Heritage listing; ensuring wide public awareness of the unique features of GBF. The policy of sane nature management in GBF at the national level should be aimed at harmonizing sectoral strategies with international documents and treaties on the Arctic and strategies for environmental safety and development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, creating an ecosystem management system for Arctic territories. It is also important to work out and adopt a program to develop and strengthen the network of protected areas in the Murmansk Region and Republic of Karelia as stepping stones for tourism development and an action plan for the nomination of the Russian-Finnish-Norwegian border area as a UNESCO site. As part of the GBF development at the international level, the Government of the Russian Federation should reach an agreement with the Kingdom of Norway and adopt a document on the methodology for quantifying the damage from grazing of Norwegian reindeers in Russian territory and a compensation mechanism, as well as work out a mechanism to simplify the entry and stay of foreign tourists. At the national level in the Russian Federation, it is advisable to assign the "ecological corridor" status to the territory along the border with Finland and Norway, to which special nature management rules will apply. At the regional management level, it is necessary to develop regulatory mechanisms to motivate the logging industry to enter into long-term lease agreements with mandatory post-logging reforestation and sylviculture. The recommendations proposed in the article will improve the efficiency of environmental management in areas at the border with Finland and Norway, thus contributing to the economic development of the territories on the basis of the existing natural and cultural potential.
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