Regional Environmental Policy of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Context of National Strategic Goals

Abstract

In 2020, Russia and its regions adopted new national and regional development programmes, including in the field of environmental protection. Both strategic and tactical issues of environmental policy are addressed at the regional level. The results of previous programmes were disappointing for many reasons. Particularly, national interests are not always considered when developing regional environmental programmes. The present study analyses new environmental programmes adopted in regions of the Far Eastern Federal District and their connection to the federal environmental programme. It is hypothesised that there is a disconnect between the structure and objectives of regional programmes and federal environmental policy. The study analysed environmental safety regulations, government reports and environmental protection programmes of regions of the Far Eastern Federal District. Methods of quantitative and qualitative content analysis, comparative analysis, data visualisation, etc., were utilised. New environmental programmes of Far Eastern regions were reviewed. A conducted analysis of 153 target indicators for achieving the goals of regional programmes indicates a difference between them and the federal environmental programme. Only 50% of them take into account the federal programme guidelines. An internal content analysis of regional programmes revealed general priorities of the Far Eastern environmental policy: 44% of the indicators are related to the conservation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, 21% of the indictors relate exclusively to issues of resource industries rather than to environmental protection; for example, 14% are related to the development of mineral resources. In general, 8 out of 11 programmes take into account the territory’s resource specialisation. Accordingly, recommendations for improving the structure and content of regional programmes were proposed. The results can be used to assess regional environmental policies and create environmental programmes for other territories.