Share

Regulatory reform

book

Improving Economic Instruments for Water Resources Management in the Republic of Buryatia (Lake Baikal Basin)

A major challenge facing the Republic of Buryatia, subject of the Russian Federation, is how to balance the task of protecting Lake Baikal – a unique water object and ecological system included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage Areas – with the need for dynamic and sustainable socio-economic development of the republic.  This requires streamlining and improving water policy jointly with economic, administrative, information and other policy instruments. The recommendations in this report aim to help achieve this objective. They include the introduction of abstraction charges for irrigation water as a  natural resource; enhancement of state support to the water sector; and improvement of economic instruments for managing risks of water-related hazards (such as compulsory insurance and differentiated land tax rates in flood prone areas). A few innovative instruments are also recommended for pilot testing such as establishing limits for discharges of certain hazardous substances in a pilot area (e.g. Selenga river basin) and progressive development of market for tradable quotas for discharges of the “capped” pollutants; and introducing a charge (tax) on toxic agricultural chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) and synthetic detergents so that to create incentives for the reduction of diffuse water pollution.

Published on November 15, 2016Also available in: Russian

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword
Acronyms and abbreviations
Executive summary
Project overview and key findings of interim reports2 chapters available
Project overview and methodology: The role of policy dialogue
Challenges of managing water resources and water infrastructure in the Republic of Buryatia and Lake
Recommendations on improving the economic instruments for water management in the Republic of Buryatia7 chapters available
Streamlining goal setting and natural resources management
Improvement of instruments for sustainable use and conservation of water resources in Buryatia
Instruments for ensuring higher capitalisation of the Baikal Natural Area
Enhancement of instruments for improving the efficiency of water supply and sanitation and irrigation systems in Buryatia
Enhancing state support to the water sector in Buryatia
Instruments for better managing risks associated with water resources in Buryatia
Factors essential for implementing the recommendations
Annexes4 chapters available
Bibliography of the project
Essential research efforts required for implementation of the recommendations
Agendas of meetings of Inter-Agency Co‑ordinating Group set up to supervise implementation of the project
Glossary
Powered by OECD iLibrary