Local Leaders Pledge to Sustain Valaam Island Development Success
On April 11-13, 2008 the final conference of the Valaam–Our Common Home Project implemented by the Fund for Sustainable Development under the USAID-funded Community Development Support Project was held on Valaam Island in the Sortavala Region of the Republic of Karelia. The project aimed to introduce sustainable development principles and mechanisms into local governance as a means to address social, economic and environmental problems on Valaam Island. Project highlights include: the establishment of an Environmental Education Center to educate schoolchildren on agriculture and produce seedlings to increase forest vegetation on the island; the launch of activities at the local forest station to develop eco-tourism, including the creation of clean camping sites and ecological paths; and the creation of a new Folk Crafts Center to promote tourism and small business development by providing island citizens with training in traditional arts and pottery.
At the conference, local government officials, businessmen, religious and community leaders collaborated on an action plan to further improve the island’s economic and social conditions. The local municipality also committed RUR 150,000 (US$6,000), from savings generated by an energy efficiency project implemented by the program in Sortavala, to finance future activities.
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| The new Folk Crafts Center on Valaam Island hosted an auction of traditional pottery hand-made by local children in April 2008. |
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