PIU for Agricultural Waste Management in Leningrad Oblast

Project Description

As part of the efforts to protect the Baltic Sea, a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) for supporting sustainable manure management practices in animal farms in the Leningrad Region was established in September 2011 under the coordination of the Leningrad Region Administration, NDEP, Finland and NEFCO.

Animal farms in the Leningrad Region involve high risks for nutrient leakage from manure and litter. The situation is exceptionally challenging in poultry farms as at the moment none of them are able to utilize the litter in their own or neighboring fields due to lack of cultivated land. The overall objective of the project is to reduce nutrient runoff from the large-scale animal farms to the Gulf of Finland by developing sustainable manure management and thereby contribute towards the efforts of sustaining the ecological balance of the Baltic Sea.

The operations of the project (PIU staff) are financed by the NDEP. The Ministry of the Environment of Finland (FMoE) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (FMAF) is providing financing for the studies. The Agricultural Committee of the Leningrad Region provides the office premises.

The tentative time frame for the PIU is five years. The project is planned to be divided into three phases. In case the set targets are not achieved, the PIU may be terminated after each phase.

Environmental Benefits

Nutrient runoff from the poultry factories in Leningrad Oblast is a significant contributor to the pollution of the Baltic Sea. Annually the hens produce 800 000 tons of manure that contains up to 14 000 tons of nitrogen and 3 000 tons of phosphorus. Most of the manure is either stored in the vicinity of the farms and the risk for major pollution is considerable. Establishment of the PIU can (i) provide assistance to the chicken factories and to environmental authorities in effective planning and supervision of manure treatment systems, (ii) encourage individual factories and (iii) reduce the risk of external investors to move ahead with environmental investments.