RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN KARELIA

WWF Sweden,
Baltic Fund for Nature,
Karelian Research Center of RAS
"Ancient City" Fund (Olonets)

The project is financed by Swedish International Development Agency

Coordinators:
Dr. Ola Jennersten (WWF Sweden),
Vicki Lee (WWF Sweden), 
Dr. Rustam A. Sagitov (BFN), 
Sergey Resvyi (BFN)
Inga Gurilova (Ancient City)

Project implementation: 2003-2004 (first stage), 2005-2006 (second stage)

Results of the project "Improvement of agricultural practices in Eastern Ladoga", realised in Olonets in 2000 - 2002 are both impressive and promising. The project demonstrated that agriculture and rational use of natural resourses constitute the basis for the Olonets district wellbeing. That's why main idea of the new project is to support the wide range of activities aimed at sustainable development in the district.  The specific project aim is to activate the economic interest of the local people and thereby increase their level of involvement and motivation to preserve their local natural treasures.
Within the current project main stress is made on the training of local people and dissemination of the ideas of nature conservation and sustainable way of life.
To the project wep-page ->

Main project activities and results (2003-2004):
 

Grassland management -
Improvement of existing agricultural practicies. Indicator bird species survey.

Seminars for local farmers and administrators on environmentally friendly grassland management - adaptation of Swedish experience (seminars were prepared and leaded by Niklas Bergman - Scanagri, Sweden).
- 27-28 September 3003, Olonets
- 03-04 April 2004, Olonets
 

Study tours:
- 15-20 June 2004 - Sweden
- 15-20 August 2004 - Estonia (experience of Väinameri project - joint project of WWF Sweden and Island and Coast Research Centre Arhipelaag, financed by SIDA)
30 persons participated in the seminars and study-tours - among them are employees of large farms (previous sovkhozes), individual farmers, representatives of other agricultural enterprises and Government of the Republic of Karelia.

Although there was no direct financial support of local farms during this project, the positive changes are quite obvious, especially in the state farm Iljinskoe which is the main agricultural project partner. These changes have been in a large extent determined by catalyzing effect of success story of WWF Sweden/BFN activities in Olonets district.

Positive changes in the state farm Iljinskoe:
• Milk productivity in Iljinskoe has grown from 3260 kg/cow in the year 1999 up to 4700 kg/cow in the year 2002 and 5800 kg/cow in the year 2004 (best result among Karelian farms!), i.e. by 78% during 5 years.
• Yearly increase of fodder (hay/silage) storage in Iljinskoe amounted 2 – 5 thousand tons during 2002 - 2004. As a result, after the year 2002 the farm does not need to bye forage from outside and is able to sell surplus forage.
• Iljinskoe farm recultivated more than 500 ha of old hayfields in 2003 - 2004.
• During the years 2002-2004  Karelian Government provided a considerable financial support to the Iljinskoe farm (for the first time during the last years) for field melioration and renovation of milking equipment.
• Correspondingly, the new jobs (at least 15) were created during the melioration work period.
• From financial point of view, the farm’s debit is currently several times more than credit, the salaries are steadily growing.
• Now there are 850 milk cows in Iljinskoe, and it is planned to increase this number.

Long-term monitoring of migrating and breeding birds on Olonets fields is realised by Karelian Research Centre of Russian Academy of Science (Petrosavodsk, Karelia, Russia ), scientific group leader: Dr. Vladimir B. Zimin.
The principal conclusions of the survey is that both migrating and breeding birds positively react on restoration of agricultural lands on the study area. Migrating birds prefer to stay on the fields where a drainage system is restored and bushes along the drainage ditches are cut out. During the last 4 years (after starting the field restoration made by Iljinskoe farm with a support of WWF Sweden) the number of geese on the improved fields has grown. Fields which are not restored but still exploited show the slight tendency of decreasing bird numbers. Fields not exploited during the last decade became now useless for geese and other birds of opened landscapes.

The First Milk Festival was orginised in Olonets on  the 28 August 2004. The festival was initiated by local project partners and was supported by the Government of the Republic of Karelia and district administration. 
Baltic Fund for Nature welcomes this initiative,  as we are sure that such events are very important for the  promotion of rural areas, uniting local people and attraction of attention of the wide audience to the agricultural issues.

Small-scale tourism -
Development of nature and ethnographic tours. Marketing and network development.
 

Study tours for local enterpreneurs dealing with tourism
- 23-28 August 2003  - Estonia (Väinameri project area)
- 23-29 May 2004 - Sweden

 Seminars on tourism development in the district using Swedish and Estoinian experience

- 27-28 October 2003, Olonets (seminar was prepared and leaded by Jan Wigsten - Nomadic Journeys Ltd., Sweden; Lia Rosenberg - Centre Arhipelaag, Estonia)
- 11-12 December 2004, Olonets (seminar was prepared and leaded by Jan Wigsten - Nomadic Journeys Ltd., Sweden)
16 persons interested in tourism development in the district (owners of village houses willing to accommodate tourists, nature interpreters, hotel managers and designers) took part in seminars and study tours.
 
Several families in different villages around Olonets started to accommodate tourists in their houses in 2003-2004. Two nature trails have been elaborated: to the goose fields and in the vicinities of Nurmolitsy village.
 

Traditional handicraft production -
Supporting local craftsmen. Development of market opportunities.

Seminars for local craftsmen on traditional handicrafts development in the district using Swedish and Estonian experience (seminars were prepared and leaded by Eva Anderson and Charlotte Hellsten-Husman - Stockholm County Council, Local Government of Culture, Sweden).
- 6-7 November 2003, Olonets
- 28-30 August 2004, Olonets

Study tour for Olonets craftsmen devoted to expierience of local handicrafts revival - 13-18 September 2003, Estonia (Väinameri project area)
32 local craftsmen and artisans as well as specialists from Olonets National Museum participated in seminars and study tour.
 

Environmental education -
Organisation of seminars for local school teachers.

Teachers from Olonets district were trained on seminars organised in April-May 2003 within the framework of international program NatureWatch Baltic.

Using experience from international seminars they prepared and conducted in August 2003 - December 2004 nine seminars in Olonets. Local school administrators, primary and secondary school teachers, kindergarten teachers and school librarians participated in seminars (in total 83 representatives from more than 25 educational institutions).  Excursion to the Nizhne-Svirsky Nature reserve was organised for schoolchildren who actively participated in the program.

Public awareness

Annual environmental festivals "Olonia - the Goose Capital" became traditional in Olonets.
Presentations of representatives of nature conservation and scientific organisations, perfomances of folk ensembles,  competitions for children and adults, excursions to the goose fields guided by professional ornithologists are included into the festival program.  
Traditionally agricultural fair is organised in Olonets within the framework of the festival.
In 2004 during the festival first boat races on Olonka river were organised.
- 26 of April 2003 - third festival
- 08 of May  2004 - forth festival
 

International Symposium "Management and conservation of waterfowl populations in Norhtern Eurasia" was held in Olonets in 23-28 of April 2003 and focused on the development of cooperation of scientists, conservationists and hunetrs from Russia and West European countries.
It is jointly organised by the Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Science and Goose, Swan and Duck Group of Northern Eurasia - NGO focused on waterfowl research and conservation activities in Russia and NIS. The Symposium was also supported by the project.

Publishing of Green magazine "Rostok" ("Sprout") was started in Olonets. Articles devoted to natural heritage of Olonets land written by scientists, conservationists, schoolteachers and children are presented in the magazine. 4 issues of "Rostok" were published in 2003-2004.

Last updated:
12.02.2005

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