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International environmental cooperation in northwest Russia: an assessment of performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2007

Monica Tennberg
Monica Tennberg*
Affiliation:
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Box 122, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland
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Abstract

The effectiveness of international environmental cooperation is a theoretical and methodological challenge that has captured the interest of scholars and students of international relations in the recent years. This article is an evaluation of international environmental cooperation in northwest Russia by applying an approach developed in the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC) research programme of the International Human Dimension Programme (IHDP). The IDGEC approach emphasises the importance of complex diagnostics of institutional environmental arrangements in terms of performance. The approach relates to the effects of international environmental cooperation in terms of sustainability, efficiency, fairness, and robustness. The article focuses on Russian and Nordic experiences of international environmental cooperation, and the assessment of performance has been done by the participants themselves. According to the results of interviews and questionnaires, the cooperation is considered institutionally effective and robust in general. However, views about the environmental effects vary. Some problems exist that are related to sustainability and fairness, but the most critical issue is the lack of domestic environmental capacity in Russia.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , July 2007 , pp. 231 - 238
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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