Alexander Karpukhin, Vice president of ICF/EKO Russian-American environmenral consulting company, has over 19 years of experience in the field of environmental protection, with focus on uniform technology policy in the area of technical and methodical maintenance of national air pollution control. Prior joining ICF/EKO he worked for the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of the USSR and Russia, where he progressed in strategic planning in the area of natural resources management and sustainable environmental regulation, as well as in environmental control. While being a fellow of the LEAD International Program, Mr.Karpukhin developed skill in main criterions and goals of sustainable development based on several case studies in such countries as Cuba, Hungary,Thailand, Zimbabwe and Costa-Rica.

From 1995, Mr. Karpukhin manages all the ICF/EKO's projects related to Global environmental issues, including several assignments addressed ODS phaseout in Russia, GHG emission reduction as well as environmental audit

1. National Environmental Protection Strategy

1.1. Creation of the Russian National System for Environmental Control.
Mr. Karpukhin reviewed operation and potential of existing environmental monitoring systems (Goskomgidromet, Minvodkhoz and etc.), and evaluated an environmental, health and ecological safety, using a uniform approach. One of the main results of this work was a decree No. 1229, adopted by Russian Government in 1994.

1.2. Development of a Draft Federal Law 'On Atmospheric Air Protection'.
In 1994, Mr. Karpukhin prepared a first draft of the Federal Law 'On Atmospheric Air Protection', and then he collected comments and agreed the draft law with interested Russian ministries and agencies, and worked out a revised version of the draft law. The Russian government passed the law on May 04, 1999.

1.3. National Environmental-Information System. Mr.Karpukhin was directly engaged in development of the National environmental-information system of the USSR. He formulated general requirements for automatic ground-based and aerospace systems of environmental control and monitoring. 

1.4. National Strategy on Environmental Instrument Making. Mr. Karpukhin managed work on developing instructions and technical directions for design of the environmental pollution control instruments in the USSR. He worked out unified criteria and standards apllying to the environmental pollution control instruments used in the USSR and other countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Aid.

2. ODS Phaseout Projects.

Mr.Karpukhin provided critical support at all stages of the ODS-related projects in Russia, including the following:

2.1. Strategy and Proposals for ODS Phaseout in the Use of Halon, Non-insulating Foam and Solvent Sectors.
Managed work aimed at identification and selection of the most suitable alternatives to ODS use in Russia, and preparation of the investment project proposals for 20 enterprises.

2.2. Updating the Project Proposals for the Russian CFC Production Plants.
Managed local activity related with using the spreadsheet models and estimating the updated incremental cost for seven CFC producers.

2.3. Organizing a Special Funding Initiative for ODS Phaseout in Russia.
Managed local activity including preparation of the World Bank appraisal mission to the Russian ODS producers.

2.4. Identification, Preparation and Financial Evaluation of Non-insulating Foams Sub-projects for Funding in the Third Tranche of GEF.
Managed works related with technical and financial screening of enterprises under consideration, and with preparing the sub-project documentation for each enterprise selected.

2.5. ODS Regulatory Framework Development in Russia. Managed local activities including evaluation of the current ODS policy in Russia; organization of two workshops, and development recommendations regarding regulatory measures for ODS phaseout in Russia and enforcement mechanism.

3. GHG emission reduction.

Mr.Karpukhin took part as a project manager in the various projects, conducted by ICF/EKO, including the following:

3.1. Methane Emissions Reduction in Russian Coal Sector.
Alexander Karpukhin managed the EPA funded project on the coalbed methane emission reduction in Russia. He organized collection and evaluation of inventory data on underground and open coal mines, methane content of the coal, methane emissions, and aggregated cost/benefit data.

3.2.Estimates of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Oil Company.
For the Russian oil company 'SIDANCO', Alexander Karpukhin estimated emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from 8 oil producing, processing and storage facilities. GHG emissions were estimated using indirect calculation methods and data on fuel consumption (following the IPCC Guidance). In addition, the specific GHG emissions as well as the potential GHG emissions due to the electricity consumption by the company's facilities were calculated.

4. Environmental audit

Mr.Karpukhin took part as a project manager in the various projects, conducted by ICF/EKO for implementation of environmental management system (EMS)in accordance with ISO 14000 international standarts requirements:

4.1. Environmental Audit of Pulp-and-Paper Mills. The Russian State Committee on Environmental Protection contracted ICF/EKO to conduct environmental audit of the Baikalsk Pulp-and-Paper Mills (BPPM) being the largest Russia's mill and a major source of contamination of the Baikal Lake.Baikal is the oldest and deepest lake of the world, containing 20% of the world's fresh water. It has outstanding representation of species, many of which are endemic and threatened (60% of fauna and 30% of flora), includes three Biosphere Reserves and two National Parks. But now this unique ecosystem is severely damaged and is in critical condition because of deleterious regional water and agricultural and forestry management, and intensive contamination by numerous industrial facilities. ICF/EKO's team conducted environmental compliance audit based on comprehensive on-site and in-house studies which included: numerous interview of BPPM's top managers and specialists as well as of local and regional officials authorized in environmental protection issues; investigation of all technological operations and main sources of environmental impact, including wastewater treatment facilities and landfills; and evaluation of BPPM's environmental management system. A number of significant environmental issues related mainly with waste management, specifically, inadequate solid waste disposal and sewage pipes leakage, were identified.

4.2.Environmental Audit of Ore Mining and Processing Enterprise, Mirny, Sakha-Yakutia Republic, Russia. ICF/EKO conducted environmental compliance audit of the Mirny ore mining and processing enterprise, which belongs to the largest Russian diamond-mining company 'ALROSA'. The audit team investigated operation of major facilities for the extraction, transportation, storage and processing of diamond-bearing ore, as well as supportive services, including water supply and waste water treatment systems, and solid waste disposal. In addition, health and safety issues were studied. Based on the results acquired in on-site works, recommendations to improve the environmental management system and mitigate negative environmental impacts were developed. 

4.3. Environmental Audit of Oil Company. For the company 'Lukoil Overseas Services' , ICF/EKO jointly with ICF Consulting conducted environmental audits of several oil producing enterprises operating in Kazakhstan (Kumkol' oil field ) and Azerbaijan (Zyh-Govsany oil field). Following the EBRD procedures, the environmental, health and safety issues were studied and evaluated. 

4.4.Improvement of Waste Management System at the Donetsk Iron and Steel Works (Ukraine). ICF/EKO jointly with an Ukrainian environmental company 'Ukrecoaudit' conducted an environmental audit at the plant, identified the main environmental concerns and developed detailed recommendations how to improve the existing waste management system through introducing principal elements of the environmental management system based on ISO 14000. The project was funded by US AID under the program 'Eurasian-American Partnership for Environmentally Sustainable Economies, EcoLINKS'.

5. Biodiversity

Mr. Karpukhin took part as an expert in the following projects:
5.1. Biomonitoring Information System for the Russian Federation. ICF/EKO was contracted by the Centre for Preparation and Implementation of International Projects on Technical Assistance (CPPI) to create a Biomonitoring Information System for the Russian Federation. The System is dedicated to provide collection, storage, processing and efficient supply for interested parties the urgent information on the biodiversity status and conservation mechanisms. The project resulted also in development of an Internet portal at the CPPI Information-Analytical Centre of the GEF project. The contract was funded under the GEF project 'Biodiversity Conservation in the Russian Federation'.

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