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July 2009.
A Project Complex of the Community Development Support Program was Successfully Completed in Yeravninsky Raion in the Republic of Buryatia
Map of Eravninsky region, Republic Buryatia Album on cultural –historical and natural monuments of Eravninsky region Air ionizer installed in Sosnovo-Ozerskaya school New water-heating boiler in Sosnovo-Ozerskaya school New gas-producing boiler in Komsomolskaya school Healthy Pogromninsky source was managed with the help of schoolchildren Coordinator of Project on development of tourist structure in Eravna Gennadiy Efirkin during regional conference on tourism development The project complex, Yeravninsky Raion – a Sustainable Development Area, was carried out in Yeravninsky Raion Municipality in the Republic of Buryatia with a population of 18,400 people. It is located at a distance of 300 km from Ulan-Ude amidst Yeravninsky Lake Land, which together with Arkhleisky Lakes forms a part of the largest watershed in northern Eurasia and feeds rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean (Vitim and Lena) and the Pacific Ocean (Shilka and Amur).
The project complex consisted of three projects whose technical assistance amount totaled to $58, 164. Another $10,374 was provided as a grantee contribution, co-funding from the municipal budget and donations from local businesses.
The project From Energy-Efficiency to Savings included the modernization of equipment in boiler rooms and the installation of less energy-consuming boilers in two schools of the community. Two new boilers were installed: a KVS-0.93 water heating boiler in Middle School # 1 in Sosnovo-Ozerskoye and a combined gas-producer and boiler D-100 in Middle School # 2 in Sosnovo-Ozerskoye. The new boilers work on wood waste and, thus, hazardous emissions to the atmospheres were reduced and the issue of wood waste utilization was partially resolved in this community. Annual coal consumption dropped by 140 tons and ÑÎ2 emissions by 3,500 tons. The project created an optimal temperature mode for 823 students and staff of the schools, where indoor temperature increased from 15-16°Ñ to 18 - 20°Ñ. This effort, which made it possible to save nearly 130,000 a year, also initiated the development of a municipal energy-efficiency program and a draft ordinance “Energy Savings Reinvestment Procedure”.
Project activities also included a contest of socially significant projects that was funded using savings and raised moneys (Yeravninsky Municipality - 70, 000 rub., Lake Baikal Association – 30, 000 rub.; and Sosnovo-Ozerskoye Joint Venture – 30,000 rub.) Project proposals for the contest were submitted by the following organizations: Vocational School # 31, the local children’s library, Department for Culture of Yeravninsky Municipal Administration, Middle School # 1 in Sosnovo-Ozerskoye, and Middle School # 2 in Sosnovo-Ozerskoye. Partnerships with community members were strengthened: two project proposals were handed in by individuals and four by parents. This fact attests to increased public awareness about such issues as energy saving and improvement of children’s health. Partnerships between local organizations and the public were also broadened.
The project From Energy-Efficiency to Health Improvement involved activities reducing heat losses and introducing health-preserving techniques in Middle School # 1 in Sosnovo-Ozerskoye, where 12 old windows were replaced with new plastic units and two old doors were replaced with new ones. This made it possible to create comfortable conditions in the school. Heat loss through the enclosures of the building dropped by 12%. The new integrated health prevention and improvement program for children in this school is aimed at, primarily, reducing instances of respiratory illnesses caused by air pollution from the nearby Dabargonkhon coal strip mine. In 25 classrooms, air ionizers (Chizhevsky lamps) were installed, as well as 10 Frolov breathing devices. Health lessons were conducted regularly with the students of the school. As a result of the above measure, the risk of chronic respiratory illnesses among the children dropped by 45%.
The main objective of the project Yeravna – a Tourist Site was to form a tourist and recreation framework in Yeravninsky Raion. For the first time in this wilderness of Lake Baikal Region, the local historical, cultural and nature monuments were identified and described as a result of hikes and expeditions of local schoolchildren. For the first time in this community, a large raion-level scientific and practical conference Yeravninsky Raion Treasures, devoted to the significance of developing the tourist and recreational potential of this region was held. The 130 attendees of the conference were students from all the 18 schools of the raion, local officials and community members. Such enthusiasm and a keen interest in one’s land and its history, nature and culture, in essence, in one’s origins is one of the most important achievements of this project. Children from most of the participating schools developed and presented tour routes of sights around their settlements. These tours were rated on the basis of a questionnaire survey; and exchange programs were carried out during which groups of children from different settlements “visited” each other traveling along these tour routes.
The results of the project were summarized in a multi-color “Album of Historical, Cultural and Nature Monuments of Yeravninsky Raion” which includes detailed descriptions of the monuments with photographs and maps of eleven tourist routes of the raion. Three of them were displayed and presented at regional conferences in Ulan-Ude, where they received awards (an equestrian tour to Tuzhinki – Sharla-Tala, a site of a cave drawings, and motor tours Tuldan Gems and Zandan-Zhuu Buddhist Shrine. The practical activities of the project included cleaning the banks of Sosnovskoye Lake and Dolgoye Lake and improving the area around Pogrominsky Mineral Spring that was discovered and described by Academician Pallas in 1739.
In conclusion it may be noted that the project consortium helped increase social awareness and the participation of the municipal administration, schools and the general public in addressing the social concerns of the community. Project results were broadly covered in the local mass media (Yaruuna newspaper and BEZT News) and discussed at parents’ meetings in schools and seminars and meetings in the municipal administration.
As a result of these projects, municipal budget funds were saved through energy-efficiency activities; the children’s health was improved; and the raion’s attractiveness as a tourist site increased considerably.
