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Amur Initiative Target Program
Amur Initiative Target Program
Supplying clean drinking water to Amur riverside settlements is one of the most critical issues facing Khabarovsk Krai. The continuing pollution of the key waterway of this region both from the Chinese side and by reviving Russian industrial facilities calls for a set of measures to provide communities in small settlements located along the river with safe sources of drinking water. However, local self-government lacks adequate resources for addressing this challenge in full. After the tragic events at the chemical factory in Jilin (Northern China) in 2006, all the problems in this sphere have came to the surface.
In 2007, following a request from Khabarovsk Krai Government the Fund for Sustainable Development with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Amur Initiative Target Program, which is a component of the Community Development Support Program in the Russian Federation.
A target grant contest became the key mechanism of the Amur Initiative, which involves operative monitoring and improvement of the quality of drinking water in small villages located along the banks of Amur River, whose waters are currently being catastrophically contaminated.
In the course of this Program in 2008-2010, the following was achieved in the riverside settlements as a result of projects selected on a competitive basis:
- Alternative water supply sources were introduced;
- A system of operative Amur water quality monitoring was organized;
- Effective cooperation was established among government, research institutions and NGOs on issues pertaining to water preparation and water supply to Amur riverside settlements;
- 5 of these communities (over 15,000 residents) in Khabarovsk Krai received access to stable sources of good-quality and safe drinking water, which will serve as an example for project replication in near lying settlements based on local funding.
The Program, which is funded by USAID and Khabarovsk Krai Government, is managed by the Fund for Sustainable Development in partnership with:
- Khabarovsk Krai Government through the Khabarovsk Krai Ministry of Economic Development and External Relations;
- RFE FSD Regional Center - Green House - a public philanthropic organization of Khabarovsk Krai;
- Raion self-government bodies, businesses and regional non-profit public organizations.
During Phase 1 of the target Program, FSD transferred $ 149, 860 allocated by USAID to five organizations for implementing concrete practical projects on the banks of Amur River. The average grant amount was $29, 972. Another $90,000 for this effort came from budgets of various levels and still another $50,000 was donated by local businesses (fish processing and tourist) interested in the availability of new water sources.
The Program was a success and this is confirmed by many letters of gratitude received from regional and local government agencies of Khabarovsk Krai, businesses and citizens.
Considering the strong interest displayed by communities in this Program, in 2009 the Fund for Sustainable Development began work on its second phase “Replicating the results of the targeted Program for improving drinking water quality in settlements along Amur River in Khabarovsk Krai (Amur Initiative – Phase 2)” and the third phase “Improving efficiency and integrity of rural drinking water supply systems in settlements along Amur river in Khabarovsk Krai” was started in 2010.
The following mechanisms of the Program make it possible to successfully fulfill its projects:
- Partnerships. Riverside municipalities, local businesses, NGOs and citizens are involved in the Program.
- Ongoing monitoring. The Program Administrator and donor representatives keep track of project progress on a regular basis.
- Project sustainability. Sustainability and a potential for development after the end of funding from the Amur Initiative Program had to be clearly demonstrated at the stage of project design.
- Cost-sharing. To be awarded technical assistance, the applicants had to raise at least the same amount of matching funds from other sources.
The Third Phase is aimed at further developing the important successes of the Program reached in 2007-2009. Under this phase, six concrete practical projects have been awarded funding for providing clean drinking water to 13,000 rural residents in Khabarovsk Krai who had been suffering from intestinal diseases, hepatitis A and toxicoses as a result of using dangerous water.