Alexander Shadrikov: The basis of achievements is the trust and support of our residents
Today, an expert discussion of the Volga Club devoted to environmental issues took place in the Bashir Rameev Kazan IT Park.
Tatarstan Minister of Ecology Alexander Shadrikov, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Stepan Kalmykov, Chairman of the Branch of the Russian Geographical Society in Tatarstan Dmitry Shiller and other invited guests spoke about the significant achievements of the national Ecology project.
At the very beginning of the discussion, speaking about Tatarstan's achievements, the Minister of Ecology quoted the country's President Vladimir Putin. "There is a good phrase by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin: "The one who draws is lucky!" I want to say that any achievements are the result of a lot of work. Our Republic is a leader and an example in many areas and issues. Global projects are being implemented on the initiative and with the support of Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov, many of them are pilot projects for the country. We are not afraid to take on the most difficult tasks, because the well-being of people is always at the forefront. The basis of any achievements is the trust and support of our residents!"
Alexander Shadrikov said that from 2019 to 2023, 30 events totaling 17.6 billion rubles were implemented in Tatarstan within the framework of the national project "Ecology".
In general, 60.5 billion rubles have been allocated for environmental protection measures in the Republic of Tatarstan over 6 years. Possible damage in the amount of more than 65 billion rubles has been prevented. Environmental well-being has been improved for 3.5 million residents of the region. In 2023 alone, a total of more than 10 billion rubles were allocated for environmental protection, almost half of them from republican enterprises.
"This shows that our enterprises are environmentally oriented. Tatarstan is an oil and gas chemical republic. GRP has tripled in comparable figures over 30 years, while emissions into the atmosphere have decreased by 24.8%. If we talk in more detail, in Nizhnekamsk industrial complex in 2018 there were 568 complaints about the quality of atmospheric air, and at the end of last year 60 complaints were received," he noted.
The Minister stressed that the main indicator is the well-being of people. "All the national projects initiated by Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in 2018 are aimed at the well-being of our residents. In Tatarstan, within the framework of the national project "Ecology", the most complex scientific and technological projects are being implemented, problems accumulated over decades are being solved. This includes the reclamation of the Samosyrovsky landfill, the dismantling of an inactive work pipeline in the waters of the Nizhnekamsk reservoir, these are silt fields that go in combination with the reconstruction of biological treatment plants and a thermosetting workshop." Alexander Shadrikov particularly focused on the dialogue between government, business, science and society, which is clearly structured and works in Tatarstan. Such a dialogue, according to the head of the environmental protection agency, allows Tatarstan to confidently, step by step, solve the most difficult environmental tasks and problems.
Stepan Kalmykov, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Supervisory Board for Global Environmental Issues, spoke in detail about the interaction of science, government and business. He noted the high level of interaction between Tatarstan and the Russian Academy of Sciences and proposed to further strengthen the role of science in the implementation of major environmental and natural resource projects
Let us recall that on April 21, 2022, an Agreement with the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on global environmental Problems was signed in Nizhnekamsk.
Within the framework of the agreement, the development and further implementation of advanced scientific solutions in such areas as waste disposal, decarbonization, modernization of production facilities and others at the largest enterprises of the republic has been organized.
"Of course, Tatarstan is a republic of great achievements. We see this in our joint work. Together with the Ministry of Ecology of Tatarstan, the largest industrial enterprises of the Nizhnekamsk industrial complex have developed research projects in the field of environmental safety"
Dmitry Shiller, Chairman of the branch of the Russian Geographical Society in Tatarstan, spoke about joint environmental projects. He noted the importance of the ongoing work on the ecological rehabilitation of the Kazanka River, which is now being implemented by the Ministry of Ecology together with the Russian Geographical Society and scientific institutes.
"More than three thousand rivers in the region have died. The project of cleaning small rivers is necessary." The speaker stressed that Tatarstan ecologists work in close tandem with representatives of science.
"The tandem of the Ministry of Ecology and Science, officials and scientists causes a great social effect, the effect of human trust. This tandem helped to explain problems in ordinary, human language to people. The public's trust in environmentalists, which we have, is a very important achievement," he said.
The results of the opinion poll conducted in Tatarstan also speak about trust. They were announced at the club site by the head of a separate division of the ANO "Dialog Regions" in the Republic of Tatarstan Marcel Gilmeyev.
"We found out how Tatarstan residents assess the changes taking place in the republic in the field of ecology. Residents of the republic rate 4.6-4.7 out of 5 points in the areas of "improving water quality", "forest reproduction", "landfill reclamation", "reducing emissions into the atmosphere"," he said.
The survey also revealed that more than half of Tatarstan residents are aware of the changes in the field of ecology that are currently taking place and the implementation of the national project "Ecology".