Update on PSI Regarding operationalisation of the Project Support Instrument and to enable SAO Progress Report, on the PSI, to the 7th Ministerial Meeting 2009.

Abstract

"The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council (AC) in Reykjavik (November 24, 2004) requested the Senior Arctic Officials (“SAOs”) to establish a pilot phase of the Arctic Council Project Support Instrument ("PSI"). The AC established the PSI as a financing mechanism for projects carried out as part of the cooperation in the Council. The PSI is to focus on actions against pollution in the Arctic. The SAO, in Yakutsk (April 7, 2005), decided to establish the PSI for a pilot phase with a 3-year time horizon and approved the Guidelines for the PSI, through a per capsulam decision following the SAO meeting. On May 8, 2005, the Russian Chairmanship informed the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) that the Chair had received no SAO objections to the appointment of NEFCO as the PSI Fund Manager and requested NEFCO to proceed with the practical establishment of the PSI. NEFCO sent its first invitation to the AC Members, Observers and AC Participants to pledge contributions to the AC PSI on August 31, 2005. The second call was made on March 28, 2008. Since a major portion of the PSI Projects are expected to be carried out in the Russian Federation (RF), a critical element in stakeholders' contribution to the PSI has been the willingness of Russia to contribute to the financing. NEFCO has earlier informed (SAO, Syktyvkar, April 26 -27 2006) that the PSI targeted a minimum of € 3 million in its pilot phase. At Agenda Item 13.1 above, NEFCO has provided the requested Update on the Agreement on Cooperation with the Contributors on the PSI. This segment of NEFCO report1 to the SAO Meeting of 19-20 November 2008, in Kautokeino, provides the status of operationalisation of the PSI and is especially detailed to enable an appropriate SAO response to the SALEKHARD DECLARATION from the Fifth AC Ministerial Meeting of the 26th of October, 2006 that noted "that the Arctic Council Project Support Instrument (PSI) is not yet operational, [and] decide to continue to monitor its status with a view to consider ending its mandate at the Sixth Ministerial Meeting if it has not become operational at that time, and reiterate the invitation to interested Arctic Council Member States, observers and others to pledge contributions to the PSI"." /.../