Reporting period: August 2004 - April 2005

The current project consists of five modules (see Project Proposal for details). Below key project activities undertaken during the second part of the fellowship year are outlined.

1. Data collection from literature sources
   
   In the second half of the fellowship year collecting primary data from literature sources to achieve research objectives continued. The focus of the desk studies was on information, characterizing i) five determinants of the national EI system (EI system context, EI legislation, EI methodology, EI system institutional capacity, and EI practice), ii) practice of EI promotion in the selected case regions. The Fellow used resources of libraries of the Moscow State University (Moscow), the RAS Market Economy Institute (Moscow), and environmental policy e-libraries (e.g. Ankil Publishers), online Consultant Plus legal database, and Russia in Figures statistical database.
   
   
2. Consultations with experts, interviews and questionnaires
   
   Extensive consultations with national EI experts were undertaken. In the framework of the national component of the research a survey targeting representatives of EI stakeholders were carried out. A questionnaire aimed at exploring the current state of the national EI system were distributed among the members of the EI policy community interested in the research. As an alternative to filling the questionnaire, participants are invited to give an interview. Altogether 10 people took part in the national-level survey. The data collection at the regional level (for EI promotion case studies and the needs analysis for the pilot region) involved interviews with EI experts and/or regional EI stakeholders as well as group discussions at the multi-stakeholder workshop (see below).
   
   
3. Regional case studies
   
   The experience on EI implementation at regional level in Russia was analyzed. Based on consultations with national EI experts four regions considered as 'advanced' in practical application of environmental insurance were selected for review: the Moscow Region, the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Leningrad Region, and the Bashkortostan Republic. In the course of case studies the emphasis was put on interviews with experts involved in EI promotion activities. Literature and legislation review were of secondary sources of data.
   
   
4. The regional pilot
   
   The research project includes a regional pilot aimed at developing recommendations on implementing insurance into regional environmental policy. The Vologda Region was selected to be a pilot region.
   
   The preliminary baseline analysis found out that previous initiatives on EI promotion in the region did not result in considerable achievements in the field of environmental insurance. Based on this conclusion, the following objectives for the pilot project were developed:
   1. Raise the awareness of the EI benefits among regional EI stakeholders,
   2. Undertake needs analysis to make sure that the idea to develop environmental insurance in the region is supported by the regional EI stakeholders,
   3. Discuss possible approaches to EI development in the Vologda Region (policy options¹),
   4. Develop recommendations on starting EI promotion activities in the region for the Vologda Region Department of Technological and Environmental Management of Rostehnadzor.
   
   
   The initial schedule for the regional pilot included two workshops targeting key policy stakeholders (see Project Proposal for details). In between, the Fellow was to visit the region three times to consult regional EI stakeholders. Consequently, the fellow was advised to conduct one large workshop instead of the two and invite EI experts from regions 'advanced' in the EI promotion.
   
   Large-scale administrative reforms, which have been carried out in Russia in the second part of the 2004 did not encourage public officials to participate in such activities and established unfavorable context for policy discussions. Following consultations with the Individual Mentor and the Group Mentor, the workshop was postponed to 2005.
   
   The idea to organize such an event was supported by the Vologda Region Legislative Assembly and the Vologda Region Department for Technological and Environmental Supervision of the Federal Environmental, Technological, and Nuclear Supervision Service (Rostehnadzor).
   
   The two-day multi-stakeholder workshop was held on March 3-4, 2005 at the Vologda Region Legislative Assembly. The first day was parliamentary hearings on environmental insurance, which gathered together about sixty participants from Vologda and other regional municipalities. They represented insurance companies, deputies of the regional Legislative Assembly, state competent authorities responsible for ensuring environmental security, regional Government, local governments, industrial enterprises, and research institutions. In the second day, the workshop on environmental insurance as a policy tool to ensure regional environmental security was conducted, which was attended by thirty participants. Nine EI experts from other Russian regions as well as representatives of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation presented at the hearings and the workshop.
   
   This two-day event had profound awareness-raising effect and helped reveal opinions of regional EI stakeholders on environmental insurance. Presence of EI experts from other regions who shared experience on EI promotion made discussions on possible approaches to EI development in the Vologda Region vivid and stimulating. Participants of hearings and the workshop developed recommendations on further development on environmental insurance in Russian and in the Vologda Region in particular.
   
   The Fellow visited the pilot region five times to consult decision-makers responsible for developing regional environmental policies on the current state of the regional EI system and strategy for EI promotion, as well as organize the multi-stakeholder workshop (see above). The travel schedule was modified according to changes in the calendar of the regional pilot: the fourth and fifth visited took place in March and April 2005 respectively.
   
   
5. Publications
   
   During the fellowship year the Fellow presented findings of the research in the Master Research Report. Based on this report, the following papers were produced:
   • A research paper on the current state of the EI national system in the Russian Federation (in Russian) (to be published in Environmental Economics journal in December 2005). The paper targets members of the Russian EI policy community: professionals working for various sectors but interested in the same issue: what impedes EI system development in the Russian Federation.
   • A promotional booklet on the concept of environmental insurance in the Russian Federation and its policy functions (250 copies). The booklet was disseminated at the regional multi-stakeholder workshop held on March 3-4, 2005 in Vologda and beyond. The leaflet targeted the wide audience of EI stakeholders.
   • Handouts for participants of the multi-stakeholder workshop on history of EI development in Russia, and the current state of the national EI system.
   • A policy brief on environmental insurance as a policy tool to strengthen environmental security in the Vologda Region. The paper provides arguments for EI development in the region and presents policy recommendations on EI promotion, which target the Vologda Region Department for Technological and Environmental Supervision of Rostehnadzor, one of the key actors in the regional environmental policy-making. Initially, it was planned to develop the Concept (Policy) for Development of Environmental Insurance in the Vologda Region to serve these goals. However, in the course of pilot project implementation, the Fellow reconsidered its policy advocacy strategy. It was concluded that wider participation of EI experts and participation of regional EI stakeholders is required to develop a comprehensive strategic document on EI development. Therefore, following the approval of the Individual Mentor, the Fellow decided to produce a policy brief instead of a lengthy policy study and invest more efforts into awareness raising and information dissemination activities to pave the way for actual steps on EI promotion in the region. The draft policy brief was presented at the multi-stakeholder workshop and then circulated among regional EI stakeholders as well as EI experts for comments. The final policy brief is planned to be used as a background paper for the Taskforce on Developing the Concept for Development of Environmental Insurance in the Vologda Region (see Section 6).
   
   
   
6. Project follow-up
   
   At the multi-stakeholder workshop the issue of establishing the Taskforce on Developing the Concept for Development of Environmental Insurance in the Vologda Region was raised². In late April 2005 the Department of Natural Resources of the Vologda Region Government officially approved this proposal. Three regional environmental authorities has currently negotiated the list of candidate Taskforce members and its work schedule. This strategic document will proceed the Program for Environmental Insurance Development in the Vologda Region. The Fellow plans to participate in the work of the Taskforce on Developing the Concept for Development of Environmental Insurance and contribute to producing a clear and concise document that would meet international requirements to policy paper writing on one hand, and regional context and clients' needs on the other hand.

¹ The list of policy options on EI promotion at the regional level in Russia was an outcome of the national and regional components of the research (see Master Research Report)

² Establishing this Taskforce is among the policy recommendations on EI promotion in the Vologda Region (see Draft Policy Paper).