The objective of the project was to promote the assessment of the ecological state of the border region water systems in accordance with the EU’s water policy framework directive, water biological research and authority cooperation, the opportunities of the local population to infl uence the water protection of Pyhäjärvi and to secure the recreational use of Pyhäjärvi, and to develop sustainable nature tourism and to promote the preservation of the nature values of the Natura 2000-programme target. Th e project intended to compile the existing research and monitoring material from both the biological indicators of the state of the water systems and the infl uencing environmental factors. On the basis of the material, the ecological state of Pyhäjärvi would be surveyed in various parts and the water protection measures would be designed. Additionally, a joint research programme and monitoring programme would be designed, in order to assess the development of the ecological state of Pyhäjärvi. Achievements: The project created a water protection plan for the Lake Pyhjrvi, which included details about the lake and its drainage area, environmental load of the lake and forms of the use of land. Cooperation with the authorities also helped to gain information about the Russian sites of the lake, including the use of drainage area, geology and the composition of the drainage area. The plan also included details about the quality of the lake water and its ecological state and current guidelines on water protection, adapted for the Lake Pyhjrvi. The water protection plan was composed in Finnish, English and Russian. The English version also included details about the drainage area in the Russian side, and the Russian version was further complemented with details about the Russian sites of the lake. The ecological state of the Karelian Lake Pyhjrvi was defined following the guidelines of the Framework Directive in the field of water policy. The ecological state was defined in cooperation with the Russians by, for instance, performing comparisons of taxonomies and methods in the sampling and information processing of various biological organisms, such as plant plankton, benthic animals and fish. The researches were compiled in reports and articles in scientific publications. The results were also presented in national and international events, including Petrozavodsk. The results of the project were publicised as widely as possible, including the municipalities and provinces of the target area, in order to make people participate in the monitoring of the lake. The project organised several public events presenting the state of the Lake Pyhjrvi and the latest research results, giving guidance to the residents to observe the state of the water systems and to protect the waters. The people also had the chance in the events to make questions about matters related to the lake and to share their own experiences about the state of the lake. The project published in cooperation with the Karjalan Pyhjrvi ry Association a water protection guide delivered to every household, which aimed at safeguarding and protecting the recreational possibilities of the Lake Pyhjrvi, fishing in particular, and the development of sustainable nature tourism.