At the initiative of Rosvodresurs, a round table was held in the Federation Council on the search and implementation of innovative financing mechanisms for the Russian water sector under the leadership of Elena Zlenko, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management. The discussion was attended by Deputy Head of Rosvodresurs Tatiana Bokova, as well as representatives of relevant ministries and the professional community.

"Nowadays, the issues of rational use of water resources are becoming increasingly relevant. The main tasks of water use are to prevent depletion of water reserves, to maintain their high–quality ecological condition, to preserve rivers and lakes as a habitat for biological resources," Elena Zlenko noted.

At the round table, it was recalled that measures to protect water resources have been included in the national project "Ecology" since 2019, three federal projects "Improving the Volga", "Preserving Lake Baikal", "Preserving unique water bodies" are devoted to this direction at once. Also, since 2021, a "road map" for the improvement and development of the Don water management complex has been implemented.

The participants of the meeting agreed that new ways of financing for the modernization of the country's water sector should now be sought. One of such instruments is called water bonds – they can be used, for example, to cover the costs of purchasing equipment, repairing existing networks and building new structures.

"Over 90% of economic activity is related to the use of water resources, water is inextricably linked with social development and ecology. At the same time, maintaining the quality of water bodies at the proper level requires significant financial costs. World experience shows the effectiveness of the introduction of water bonds, we have to determine the procedure for such a tool to work in Russia," said Tatiana Bokova.

The discussion resulted in a resolution outlining the proposals of the participants of the round table on the use of water bonds in promising areas, recommendations on the legal definition of a new instrument and its interface with "green" financing, as well as proposed measures to introduce water bonds into circulation.

Source: mnr.gov.ru

Опубликовано: 07 July 2022