Some Results of the Implementation of the National Project “Ecology”

Abstract

In recent years, one of the main ways of implementing a strategic approach in the environmental sphere in Russia has been the national project “Ecology” (2018–2024). The article provides an analysis of the main idea, directions and results of its implementation. It is shown that, on the one hand, the initial plans of the project were too optimistic, not taking into account the available opportunities and limited time frames for the implementation of the declared activities. On the other hand, a number of serious miscalculations were made in the process of implementing the project, which led to the failure of a number of its important goals. An analysis of the results of the implementation of the national project “Ecology” made it possible to identify the main reasons for its failures, among which, in particular, the following were noted: the necessary basic conditions were not formed to implement the originally planned plans, taking into account long-term development; the goals and objectives provided for in the projects were not thoroughly worked out from the standpoint of the possibility of their achievement; the systemic nature of the interconnectedness of economic, environmental and technological development goals was underestimated; the Russian Government’s expectation of environmentally oriented and environmentally aware activities of domestic business did not come true; proper control and personal responsibility for the implementation of project targets were not established, etc. A number of systemic shortcomings of these projects are shown using the example of two federal projects, “Volga Recovery” and “Preservation of Lake Baikal”. Considerations have been made regarding the reasons for the deplorable situation with wastewater treatment plants. Necessary measures are noted, the implementation of which will allow avoiding the mistakes made in the future and will create the necessary prerequisites for the successful achievement of the planned results of the continuation of the project until 2030.