First phase
In 2009 the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) was invited to participate in a mission to Kaliningrad Region, Russia organized by the Swedish Export Council on behalf of SIDA. The visit resulted in the design of a small project implemented by SIWI in partnership with the Nordic Dimension Foundation (a Russian Kaliningrad based NGO), Russian Academy of Science, Global Water Partnerships in Poland and Lithuania and its central office in Stockholm, the Swedish River Basin District Authority for the Northern Baltic Sea Basin, and Färgfabriken, Sweden. The project received seed financed from the SIDA Baltic Sea Unit and finished formally in October 2011.
The project demonstrated how collective action and investment in the management of the water resources assets in the Kaliningrad Oblast, the transboundary river basins Neman and Pregolya and the broader Baltic Sea region could support sustainable economic development and the supply of ecosystem services.
As a result of the project an overview of water resources and the hydraulic infrastructure assets in
the Kaliningrad Oblast was published in English and Russian languages. Publications can be downloaded here English and Russian languages.
Second phase
Based on the results of first project the second one was developed and successfully implemented by SIWI and GWP-Lithuania and GWP-Poland in 2012-2015. The title of the project is: BUILDING A FRAMEWORK FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS IN KALININGRAD, RUSSIA, LITHUANIA, AND POLAND (BALTIC SEA REGION).
The overall project objective is to:
• to build an informal and professional partnership to facilitate official dialogue, cooperation and investment on the shared river basin systems between RF Kaliningrad Oblast, Poland, Lithuania and the broader Baltic Sea Community of actors in accordance with EU and Russian regulations and relevant economic strategies with the aim of achieving green and smart growth.
Cooperating partners:
1. Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Sweden – Project leader;
2. Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, Sweden;
3. Institute of Economy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, Russian Academy of Science;
4. Global Water Partnerships of Poland and Lithuania.
In 2014 Belarus partners joined the project.
During the project three main seminars were organized by SIWI in cooperation with GWP-Lithuania and GWP-Poland, two specialised GIS seminars organized by the GWP-Lithuania and GWP-Poland, GIS maps of transboundary Neman and Pregolya river basins compiled, video film in English language
Russian language
and interactive GIS map with simple help created by GWP Lithuania, GWP-Poland, Kaliningrad and Belarus GIS experts.
GIS component in the project was financed by the Global Water Partnership.