Sakhalin Watershed Council Network Initiative

About this grant

The project goal is to promote public participation in decisionmaking in order to maximize local benefits from resource exploitation. This will be done through the creation of a network of watershed councils on Sakhalin Island off Russia’s Pacific Coast. These community-based organizations will serve to address the varied interests of a watershed’s resident population, users, and visitors. They will develop and strategically distribute input on policy, economic, and restoration activities, allowing civil society to provide community knowledge to government decisionmakers. The councils will receive small annual grants to implement local projects identified as essential in addressing local economic or environmental priorities. The Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Center was established in 2007 following a three-year consultation process. The initiative involves a wide range of local, national, and international stakeholders from government, business, and civil society and aims to promote sustainable, community-based development in a context of large-scale natural resource exploitation.