Project Concept – Beautiful Crimea
I.
Background and Rationale
Crimea has an important historical and cultural heritage – 9000 monuments and sites are listed (6000
archeological sites, 600 architectural/urban sites, and other monuments), and 26 communities are historic
settlements. Around 500 towns and villages in the peninsula are more than 500 years old. Towns have old
(usually central) areas with, if rehabilitated, excellent potential for business attraction. A number of
villages, due to their location and demographic/ethnic composition, have, historically, developed some
specialization (either in trade, artisanal activities or as a touristic destination point due to the presence of
one or several cultural/historical objects).
Crimea’s archeological and cultural-historical monuments play an important role in tourism attraction.
But the destruction or unsatisfactory condition of the region’s historical and cultural heritage entities
causes them to lose their touristic value. For example, only a minor part of Crimea’s touristic resource
potential is involved in the Republic’s recreational activities. The system of excursion services includes 219
sights while only 20% of 11,500 monuments of history and culture are currently used for touristic
purposes. Data from the Ministry of tourism and resorts of Crimea suggests that incomes from the resort
regions in 2010 represented close to 50% of overall incomes. In general, the region’s competitiveness
compared to pan-European zones of recreation, tourism and rehabilitation has been falling down steadily.
The cultural and historical heritage and traditions of a city, town or village are important factors to be
taken into account for its development. The role, that historical or cultural heritage plays in urban
development, has a multiple character:
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it promotes people identities, values, tradition and history;
it strengthens local economy, in particular SME sector value chains through the attraction of
tourists to cities or villages, promotion of artisanal activities and locally made products etc.,
thereby contributing to the development of a dynamic business sector
it makes the city and village more attractive not only for tourists but also for residents and for
business.
At present, old historical cities in Crimea not only lack the funding for their revitalization, but also a
comprehensive approach to renewal/revitalization, by which the technical aspects of buildings
rehabilitation are combined with economic, social, and cultural aspects, where heritage preservation
becomes an economic development factor, and a reason for sustainable public-private partnerships. The
particular issues faced by cities are:
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the presence of old infrastructure which constraints accessibility, public utilities, and service
provision
poor enforcement of regulation related to buildings, public space, traffic, parking, in historic
centers
lack of identities and development vision
lack of integrated planning, where revitalization of old centers is part of the overall city
development strategy
lack of communication and involvement of stakeholders in the area
insufficient financial resources for municipal/village intervention
insufficient development of the NGO sector acting in this field at the level of raising awareness,
mobilising local resources, training, monitoring the process, etc.
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The revitalization of old city centers is understood and seen by all Crimean stakeholders as key to the
development of the region. Not only will it impact directly on the tourism industry of the region, it will
also promote people identities and values and contribute to the emergence of new economic
opportunities for regions currently depending largely on the agricultural sector and will promote the
development of SMEs. In Crimea, small enterprises work mainly in trade and services, industry and
construction. The SMEs sector represents 33% of all jobs in Crimea, and 22.2% of all production in the
region.
The proposed project will offer a platform allowing for local government, the private sector and civil
society to be engaged in productive dialogue to support entrepreneurship in the context of a city
revitalization process. Furthermore, this project will have a positive impact on the construction sector
which has been particularly hit by the current crisis, thus contributing to the preservation of employment
and creating new jobs1 in the sector.
The proposed project is fully in line with a key priority of the European Neighborhood Policy2, i.e. support
to policies conducive to the development of micro, small and medium-sized companies and to job
creation.
The project is also in line with the priorities of the Crimean Strategy of economic and social
development for 2011-2020, in particular in relation to the creation of conditions for sustainable growth
in population incomes through the realization of employment and entrepreneurial potential. The strategy3
spells out the following key objectives, relevant to the proposed project:
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support to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurship and selfemployment;
promotion of the development of national arts and crafts of ethnic groups living in the Crimea, in
order to increase employment and self-employment.
In addition, the Strategy indicates as another strategic priority the need to “preserve entities of historical,
cultural and architectural heritage, which will preserve a traditional character of the ARC’s historical
environment, cultural and natural landscapes, ecological network sites, and promote strengthening the
region’s specific competitive advantages as a recreational complex”.
The EU/UNDP funded Project “Support to the Regional Development of Crimea”, through its work
with municipalities and districts, has, over the last 2 years, helped partners and beneficiaries identify and
act upon key regional and local development challenges. A particular challenge is that of raising the
potential of Crimean cities and villages to play a more important role in the social and economic
development of the region. In this context, the local communities identified revitalization of old city
centres with a strong cultural heritage as their main development priority for Crimea.
II.
Donor Involvement in the Area
There are several international technical assistance (ITA) initiatives working in Crimea in the related areas
of tourism and SME development
The largest ITA engagement in Crimea is the EU Crimea Tourism Diversification and Support Project,
started in 2012. It is aimed at building cooperation between state and private tourist organization, and
policy making; to improve quality and standards of management and services in tourist sectors; and to
diversify the touristic product. The project among others is supporting dialogue and policy drafting,
analysis (e.g. on tax, operation of tourist centres etc.), strategic planning in tourism for 4 cities, capacity
1
The State Department Statistics register drop in the volume of activity in the construction sector by 25 percent and 8 percent of the construction
companies have stopped operating between 2008 and 2012.
2
3
A New Response to a Changing Neighborhood - A review of European Neighborhood Policy, 25 May 2011
page 59 of the Strategy in the Priority: Creation of favourable living conditions
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building for various groups (trainings, conferences, study tours), development of 4 tourist products,
signage, branding and rebranding for museums and protected areas, and others. The project supports the
modernization and development of museums and cultural heritage landmarks. This activity so far included
the support to the Bakhchisaray Khan Palace to get on the preliminary list of UNESCO world heritage.4
The Economic Development and Employment Promotion Project, implemented by GIZ works in
selected districts of Crimea and aims at promoting SME development (improvement of business
environment, capacity building of certain SME groups), regional economic development (rural
development, cluster development), and development of tourist and resort potential of Crimea
(monitoring of the tourism complex, policy recommendations, improvement of services, new tourist
products development).5
There are also small-scale international projects implemented in Crimea, e.g. projects to support tourism
of the People in Need Foundation, various initiatives conducted within the PolishAid programmes,
Renaissance Foundation, and US Embassy.
III.
Successful Experience of UNDP in the Region
UNDP throughout Eastern and Central Europe has implemented several revitalization programmes for
cities. In 1997, Sofia municipality and UNDP launched Beautiful Sofia project, with total budget of USD
500,000, aimed at testing innovative policy tool to alleviate the social impact of the crisis. Building on the
immediate success and tangible results of Beautiful Sofia project, in 1998, a Beautiful Bulgaria project
started in 5 Bulgarian municipalities as a mechanism to provide employment during a difficult economic
transition period. It was a very modest undertaking whereby a small portion (15%) of a second tranche of
EURO 20 million from the European Union Emergency Social Assistance Programme (ESAP 2) was to be
used in employment generation. The new approach was intended to have beneficial side effects such as
re-activating a long dormant part of the unskilled and unemployed labour force; training and motivating
young people, women and minority groups and renewing monuments and old buildings which had been
suffering from years of lack of maintenance and neglect. The beneficiary cities would look better and the
psychological impact on the population would be positive.
But the Beautiful Bulgaria project proved to give an extremely powerful regional development impulse
that touched the imagination of the Bulgarian population, their sense of identity and their national pride.
Beautiful Bulgaria became a common cause which citizens all over the country easily grasped and
immediately identified with. Around the wave of consensus that Beautiful Bulgaria inspired, municipal
governments, national offices involved in the project (the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, regional
and local offices, National Employment Service, National Institute for Monuments of Culture) private
sector contractors, civil society organizations and citizens at large enthusiastically enlisted to cooperate.
UNDP helped to set up a trustworthy non-partisan, efficient and transparent organization that provided
the technical, managerial and participatory framework for this budding development initiative to grow
strong and develop to its full potential. The Beautiful Bulgaria project reached an overall budget of USD 68
million and worked in more than 100 municipalities thus proving the huge absorption capacity and
scalability of the intervention.
Replicating the successes of the Beautiful Bulgaria project, UNDP has undertaken similar initiatives in
Serbia, Romania, Armenia (Beautiful Yerevan). Beautiful Serbia was a joint EU and UNDP active labour
market programme, implemented in 2003-2005, and covered 3 cities. The Project’s strategy was aimed at
providing vocational training to long-term unemployed. These unemployed were subsequently hired by
firms contracted by the project to refurbish selected public buildings, public squares and parks. The
EU/UNDP Beautiful Romania project was implemented in 2003-2012 (revitalization component in 20034
5
http://www.ctdsp.eu/en/
www.eep.org.ua
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2009) and similarly to the Bulgarian and Serbian initiatives was aimed at generating urban employment
while initiating a process of revitalization of currently neglected and degraded historical buildings in the
centers of several Romanian cities. The project covered 12 cities. The Beautiful Yerevan is an on-going
project started in mid-2011, aimed at regenerating the urban environment in Yerevan and formulating and
implementing more efficient social policies that will contribute to improved employability of
disadvantaged groups. The project results would also enhance tourism capacities of the city.
IV.
Project Description
IV.1.
Project strategy and objectives
The Beautiful Crimea project is aimed as an Action within the European Union Neighborhood policy for
the next programing period 2014-2020 and the specific objectives of the European Union’s support set in
the proposal for Regulation for the European Neighborhood Instrument, namely:
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sustainable and inclusive development, including through private-sector development;
promotion of internal economic, social and territorial cohesion,
climate action and disaster resilience.6
The project is focused on growth, which can deliver high levels of employment, productivity and social
cohesion.
The Beautiful Crimea project will complement the activities and augment the results of the EU Crimea
Tourism Diversification and Support Project, specifically: the revitalization of important areas of the
historic parts of the selected cities will help better utilize their potential and diversification of tourism
opportunities.
Overall and specific objectives
The overall objective of this project is to strengthen the local economy and trigger private sector
development of historical cities in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea through the integration of cultural
heritage in their sustainable urban development.
This objective will be achieved by pursuing the following specific objectives:
IV.2.
To strengthen the capacity of local governments in integrated and participatory urban planning;
To contribute to the development of a dynamic small business sector through renovation of the
existing historical and cultural heritage and upgrade of the urban fabric of selected Crimean cities.
To promote participatory mechanisms in planning, financing and implementation of the city
revitalization projects.
Project Stakeholders and Beneficiaries
The key project stakeholders will be the Council of Ministers of ARC, the Parliament of ARC, the city
administration of Sevastopol as well as the councils and administrations of other selected cities and
districts of the peninsula.
Project’s direct beneficiaries will include:
- Relevant administrative structures such as strategic planning, economic, architecture and
planning departments at city or districts/rayon levels, and as a whole - local level governments
which would acquire the capability and know-know to promote and monitor revitalization urban
upgrading works and protection of historical monuments
6
Specific objectives of Union’s support, art. 2(d) - Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
establishing a European Neighbourhood Instrument – link
http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/docs/2011_prop_eu_neighbourhood_instrument_reg_en.pdf
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- SMEs and micro entrepreneurs in relevant economic sectors (e.g. construction, tourism,
traditional craft, etc.) that will be supported to improve/develop their business
- Private owners, whose buildings are situated within the selected areas for interventions
- Relevant non-governmental organizations and community organizations and local businesses (or
their associations).
Indirect beneficiaries will be: the population of the selected cities, other small businesses which will
benefit from an expanded demand for construction services and specifically from the awarding of
contracts or the project works, tourists.
IV.3.
Expected Outputs, Results and Activities
Three outputs are defined in line with the specific objectives of the Project. Activities under Output 1 will
be the first set of Project’s activities to be carried out. Activities under Output 2 (SME development) and
Output 3 (participatory mechanism for projects’ implementation) will be carried out in parallel.
Output 1: Enhanced local governments capacities for integrated and participatory urban planning
development
The expected results of Output 1 are:
- Revitalization strategies/plans drawn up in no less than 5 cities of Crimea
- The capacity of the local governments to plan revitalisation strategies in dialogue with local
stakeholders and community at large and in compliance with internationally approved
procedures, is strengthened;
- The readiness and capacity of the above local actors to co-operate among themselves and with
donors towards a common goal is enhanced.
- Urban revitalisation is streamlined as a policy tool for socio-economic development in Crimea.
The main activities under Output 1 include:
Activity 1.1: Selection of pilot cities
Under the EU/UNDP funded Project “Support to the Regional Development of Crimea”, 11 cities have
been identified for support in relation to the formulation of revitalization strategies. Road maps have been
developed for them that will enable their future planning activities on revitalization.
The list of eleven cities include: Bakchisaray (Population: 26,000 people), Evpatoria (Population: 106,000
people), Feodosiya (Population: 75,000 people), Stariy Krim (Population: 9,000 people), Simferopol
(Population: 335,000 people), Sudak (Population: 15,000 people), Yalta (Population: 78,000 people),
Simeiz (Population: 3900 people), Gurzuf (Population: 9000 people), Kerch (Population: 145,000 people),
Belogorsk (Population: 18,000) and Sevastopol (Population : 341,000).
The common characteristics of those cities are their multi-ethnic and multi-religious variety, rich history,
traditions and valuable tangible and intangible heritage, as well as existing potential for tourism
development in terms of natural and heritage resources.
A lot of similarities exist, also, with regards to the challenges that the cities need to address, specifically:
- financial constraints to invest in rehabilitation of the worn out urban infrastructure,
- insufficient capacities for integrated planning and implementing integrated revitalization
projects.
The scale of problems, though, is varying from city to city. Bigger cities have more financial
independence and available funding for investment purposes, while small cities are fully dependent on the
budgets of the districts. Capacities are different as well. The 11 cities will be invited to submit a letter of
interest for participation in the Project.
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Under this activity, an evaluation committee comprising representatives from UNDP and the Government
of Crimea will be set up which will select not less than 5 cities on the basis of predefined criteria, taking
into consideration the specific potential of each of the cities, including their readiness and commitments
to participate financially.
Activity 1.2: Building local capacities in integrated and participatory urban planning
The integrated development planning is a relatively new approach to plan the future development of
cities in Europe. This approach to planning is participatory as it involves the entire city and its citizens in
finding the best solutions to achieve good/sustainable long-term development. The city is responsible for
the total co-ordination of such planning, but it must involve other stakeholders, who can impact on and/or
benefit from development in the area.
The project will support local capacities to better understand and use this approach. It will build up a
process of genuine participation of all stakeholders. For those purposes, revitalization groups will be
formed with representatives of state and non-state organizations. These groups will provide an
opportunity for stakeholders to represent the interests of their constituencies, will provide a structure for
discussion, negotiations and joint decision making, ensure proper communication between all
stakeholders and the municipality, consequently the revitalization groups will be driving the revitalization
process of the cities.
The revitalization groups will receive trainings to get familiarized with EU policies for integrated and
participatory urban development and the relevance of the approach for this project, criteria and eligible
activities, guidelines and templates for developing integrated revitalization strategies.
Output 2: Local economic agents – SMEs and microbusiness strengthened
The project will focus on improving conditions for SME development in the selected cities. In order to
improve targeting and impact, the beneficiaries will be:
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SMEs in the construction sector, which will be contracted for construction repair works;
Associations of craftsmen and/or SMEs.
The expected results of Output 2 are:
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The generated demand for construction works supports local SME in the construction business in
times of economic and financial crisis and promotes job preservation and new jobs creation. The
market position of the project’s subcontractors is strengthened thanks to the subcontracts
awarded;
Capacities of private construction companies’ managers and technical staff are strengthened
through participation in training courses on how to deal with monuments of culture, technologies
and materials, EE improvements;
The experience of subcontractors in urban regeneration is consolidated and their capacity to
manage more complex works improved;
Local craftsmen and entrepreneurs are supported to improve their business in the selected area of
interventions.
The main activities under Output 2 include:
Activity 2.1: Provision of “Improve your construction skills” trainings
The historic buildings hold special values due to their character as material culture and often they are
protected by law, which means only minimum intervention to preserve their authenticity is permitted. The
retrofitting of historic buildings requires contractors to have the requisite skills and understanding of how
old buildings work. The fabric of historic buildings and construction materials function in a different way,
which means modern retrofitting techniques are not always suitable.
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Special training workshops will be organized for construction companies contracted for the works to be
implemented under the project. Two main topics will be focused on:
- materials, paints and construction techniques to be used for historical façade refurbishment,
- energy efficiency improvements on buildings in general and specificity related to monuments of
culture (potential for eco-restoration).
Good European practices will be used for the design of the training programmes.
Activity 2.2: Improvement of entrepreneurs’ skills
Entrepreneurs’ skills will be enhanced by participation in trainings on: management skills development,
project development and partnerships, business plan development. The project will build upon the
experience and institutions supported within the EU Crimea Tourism Diversification and Support Project
as well as existing business-centres, chamber of commerce, and NGOs working in the SME development
area. Tailored curricula will be developed and/or updated to meet changing demands and situation in the
relevant business sectors. The entrepreneurs will be trained in making the best use of revitalized
infrastructure and increased tourism potential of targeted cities.
Activity 2.3: Establishment of Local Fund for Entrepreneurship Development
The project will support the implementation of marketing strategies, developed under the EU Crimea
Tourism Diversification and Support Project in the selected cities. A special entrepreneurship
development fund will be established as a capacity building tool and micro-grants will be given to enable
local business to attract additional resources for local action.
Local craftsmen and/or relevant SMEs will be eligible to apply through their associations for organizing
high profile initiatives (at least one local event in each city), choosing from their priority list of the
marketing strategies. These initiatives can be, for example, regional exhibitions, wine degustation,
festivals, handicraft fairs, etc. and should offer, as much as possible, occupational opportunities to
unemployed people (especially long term unemployed). The events will be organized with the cofinancing of local actors and in collaboration with local/regional government.
Output 3: Participatory mechanisms
strategies/projects implementation
developed
and
activated
for
city
revitalization
The expected results of Output 3 are:
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The regeneration of important areas in the cities is expected to contribute, in the medium term, to
the stimulation of local economic activities and increased income generation for the city and local
population.
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The restoration of the valuable historic and architectural monuments, landmark objects and sites symbols of ethnic diversity will contribute to recovering the original spirit of the old cities,
restoring civic confidence and hope for better future. The impact of urban revitalisation activities
is expected to lead to a feeling of “renaissance” in the Crimean city centres, pride in the multiethnic variety and the fact that ethnic groups’ historic legacy is praised and can be seen by
thousands of visiting compatriots and foreigners.
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Capacities to attract investment and form public-private partnerships strengthened
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Strong project implementation capacities put in place at local level
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City population’s support to the Project’s goals through effective public information campaigns
The main activities under Output 3 include:
Activity 3.1: Identification/design of integrated revitalization projects in each of the selected cities
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Cities will be guided and supported to identify project areas for revitalization with higher visibility and
psychological impact on the communities. Suitable areas for urban regeneration could be, but not
necessarily limited to:
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Rehabilitation of historic and city center urban sites and locations,
Tourist routs or places of interest to the tourists,
Needed exterior renovation and contribution to the beautification of the city.
The intended interventions should be in line with city development strategies/plans or at least of proven
importance for the local community. They should complement other past and on-going initiatives and
international donor supported projects. The sites should form ensembles; separate buildings should better
be considered together with interventions in ensemble.
Within a project area, sub-projects will be selected for interventions among eligible activities such as (but
not limited to):
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Restoration of historic and cultural heritage sites;
Rehabilitation of parks and recreation areas, green spaces, children playgrounds and sport
facilities;
Regeneration of streets, public squares, market places, street and park/square furniture,
construction of bicycle lanes etc.;
Placement of tourist maps and street signs;
Rehabilitation of roads ensuring access to remote areas, historical and cultural sites;
Introduction of energy efficient measures and providing access for disabled (to public spaces and
buildings).
The selection of the project area for revitalization should be made in close cooperation /dialogue with the
local communities and in consultations with local stakeholders’ representatives from public, private and
non-government sector. However, technically, the planning and execution of urban renewal is initiated
and controlled by various specialized institutions which influence the project formulation process. There is
no tradition for public involvement in the planning process for urban renewal of cities. Consultations are
formally executed, and only when prescribed by legal regulations.
For each project area for revitalization, an action plan will be developed. It will include a list of prioritized
sub-projects, description, budget estimations, and timeframe for implementation.
Activity 3.2: Implementation of the integrated revitalization projects of the cities
The Project will provide financial support, on the basis of a cost sharing principle7, to the implementation
of a number of small-scale priority sub-projects for urban revitalization chosen from the priority list.
Necessary technical designs and documentation will be developed for each sub-project. Those areas/sites
where the sub-projects will be implemented will need approval from the Republican Committee in charge
of cultural heritage preservation. Construction companies will be hired by the Project on a competitive
basis to implement the works.
Activity 3.3: Support to local governments and local communities in fund attraction
In addition to providing direct financial support to revitalization initiatives, the Project will also develop
local capacities to attract funding from a variety of financing sources and effectively manage this funding.
A programme of training will be designed and delivered to address skill gaps relating (but not limited) to:
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the preparation of investment products/proposals
the management of investors’ relations
understanding donors’ support and its conditions
Local authorities will contribute to the project by providing indicatively up to 50% co-financing for the revitalization projects.
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the preparation of grant applications
the financial management of grants
project implementation and monitoring.
The Project will also provide on-going coaching to local stakeholders on investment proposals and donors
funding applications’ preparation.
Activity 3.4: Conducting an awareness campaign for revitalization
A public awareness strategy will be prepared and implemented with the purpose of continuously providing
to the public information about the purpose and achievements of the project. Visual and textual materials
will be produced and different channels of communication will be used to reach a larger number of the
target groups.
As part of this strategy, signs will be prominently fixed around the project sites giving details of the subprojects as well as to inform of the EU support.
The Beautiful Crimea Project will play an important demonstrative role and will have a positive
demonstrative effect on the population in view of replication and multiplication effects in the pilot cities
and throughout Crimea. Altogether, the implementation of the project is expected to generate a positive
synergy in the cities and is very likely to bring economic returns in the short and medium term, by
attracting new investments into the urban structures of the selected areas. Finally, international
assistance extended through this project to the Crimean Government on the part of the EU and the UNDP
is expected to play a positive role in attracting foreign investments, which constitutes one of the strategic
aims of the Crimean authorities.
V.
Budget Summary and Duration
The operational duration of this Action is indicatively 48 months. The indicative cost breakdown by
outputs is as follows:
Output 1: Enhanced local governments capacities for integrated urban planning
and projects development
Output 2: Local economic agents – SMEs and microbusiness strengthened
Output 3: Participatory mechanisms developed and activated for city revitalization
strategies/projects implementation
EUR 0.8 million
Total
EUR 6 million
EUR 1.2 million
EUR 4 million
Local authorities will contribute to the project by providing indicatively up to 50% co-financing for the
revitalization projects.
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