Russian Forest Update #42-43
10/15/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Forest Update #42-43
Source: Russian NGOs Forest Club and Socio-Ecological Union
Informational Coordination Center
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 15, 1999
Byline: V. Zakharov
Z. Garkun
O. Berlova, V. Kolesnikova
* Beware: it is roundup!
* "Moscow region forests are getting covered by taiga
* "Do we need nature reserves now? - Experienced specialists are not
sure we do
* Mushrooms and berries for electricity bills
* Public and forest management
* Adygeya: those who do not befit the authorities are to be fired
* Initiative of World Institute of resources for analysis of
undisturbed forests of Russia Rimbunan is stepping across Sukpay
* Experiment of certification of Model forest "Priluz'e"
* Attempt to embroil greens of Karelia with regional scientists and
forestry specialists * News of Altay Ecological bulletin
"Harmless" herbicide roundup in forestry
Abstract of the article from "Lesnaya gazeta" by I. Shutov, Chief
associate researcher of Saint-Petersburg Institute of forestry,
member of Russian Academy of Agriculture
"If you don't weed the crops you waste you time and money. Most
practical way is to use chemicals for this. Last year we treated
young forests with preparation 2,4 D, which had much to be desired
and smelled really bad. Now we have environment friendly "roundup" to
replace old one with. This herbicide is officially registered in
different countries and widely used in agriculture, forestry and even
in private gardening (as we do in Russia).
This year our Institute in Vologda in cooperation with Monsanto is
going to start field trials on 1000 hectares of spruce. We would
advice to support this effort and to help our scientists to complete
this project looking forward to the possible introduction of these
practices in other parts of Russia.
This will be our first experience of the large-scale roundup use in
Vologda region so we are planning to educate people via mass media.
They should know where, when and what for roundup is planned to use.
This project should be transparent for the local public. The results
of the project will be published widely and we will involve NGOs in
the project estimation activities.
Comment of Lev Fedorov, Unit for Chemical Safety.
Last March famous Swedish scientists Lennart Hardell and Michael
Erixon published the report where they proved that cancer of NHL type
(non-Hodgkins lymhoma) is caused by herbicides including roundup. It
seems that iron curtain between East and West is still existing, but
now it has moved from national borders to our minds, so Russian
scientists are not able to take into account the information, which
is appeared and published in the West. Why not to create the society
of Monsanto friends now, to legitimize its lobbing activities making
this in a very transparent way:
* * *
Permanent communications with forestry officials make us to ask
ourselves: if this people being professionals in their field look at
forest as at logs and nothing more? Will die without cutting? The
ideological background they have likely formed such view.
Rector of Moscow State University of forest A.Oblivin who is famous
not only in Russia but among foreign specialists in one of his
interview to Lesnaya gazeta said:
It's not true that we cut much. We log just 100 mln cubic meters a
year, which is one fifth of annual planned volume. Doing this we
condemn forests to grow old which results in big percentage of
attrition. By this I mean spreading of different insects, such as
beetles and speeds and increasing of fires and waste. This means we
help Moscow region forests to become taiga. Whatever they say such
forests don't produce more hydro oxygen, but absorb it.
Our comment:
Unfortunately, this position is what young forest specialists will
base their work on.
That is the reason why ecologists and forestry specialists speak
different language.
Nature reserves just because we like them?
Financial support of protected areas is a question that is discussed
much in Russia. Many people think that now we don't have enough
financial resources to support nature reserves, ecological
inspections, national parks and other institutions based on the
budget support. "It is not rational way of getting things better to
fund nature reserves when the economy is unstable, - said A.Fadeev,
honored forester of Chuvashiya Republic in interview to "Lesnaya
gazeta", - First we should feed our people and increase production":
Our comment:
Problem is what we need nature reserves for? We wonder how Fadeev
would answer this question.
How to pay without money. Ukraine - the solution is found
Mushrooms, berries and medical herbs collected in forest, is what the
people of Ivano-Frankovskaya region pay for the energy supplies with.
Local people exchange their non-timber products for the gas balloons
to heat their houses. ITAR-TASS Agency reports that some foreign
firms are ready to buy these forest goods. If the demand to such
products doesn't decrease local energy enterprises will pay
electricity bills as well. ("Lesnaya gazeta" 17.07.99)
Director of Adygeya nature reserve has been fired recently
Federal authorities helped Adygeya bureaucrats to fire Vladimir
Cherpakov who was protesting against the illegal construction of road
through protected areas of Caucasus.
(FU N40 - THE WORLD HERITAGE OR ANOTHER HIGHWAY)
On 15th of September he is officially out from his position of
director of Adygeya branch of Caucasus nature reserve.
Before this director of Caucasus nature reserve headquarters and its
Chief forester tried to force Cherpakov to claim his moving to the
position of associate researcher. This failed effort was followed by
order to fire him. This action sort ill with Russian labor
legislation according which Cherpakov should be warned about his
ouster two month in advance.
Ecological organizations of Caucasus are urging State Ecological
Committee and the Department of Nature Reserves to right their error
and reinstate Cherpakov in his former office.
Contact: Independent Ecological Service of North-West Caucasus,
ies@mail.ru
Global Forest Watch is coming to Russia
On the 16th of September in Moscow World Resource Institute made the
Presentation of the new GFW initiative in Russia. This initiative is
the next step of the Institute in his frontier forests research
activities.
Within this new project NGO, Universities and other groups network
will be created. It will focus on forest use (logging, mineral
extraction, etc) in different regions of the world.
In Russia GFW is planning to watch the activities of state
institutions and enterprises and make them according the Russian
legislation more transparent for public.
Within the project it's planned to inform public about the economic
use of forests and possible socio-economic and ecological
consequences and to enhance the introduction of rational nature use
and conservation of undisturbed nature complexes.
First stage of the project implementation will be the designing of
map of undisturbed forests (1:1.000.000 scale) based on satellite
images. Next stage will be the collection and processing of the
information in GIS format in cooperation with local NGOs and support
of Russian office of GFW.
Michael Karpachevskiy, BCC tilia@glasnet.ru
The road Sukpay-Nelma threatens the nature of the Central Sikhote-
Alin'
Natural complex of Sukpay that was planned as a part of new nature
reserve in the Far East will be completely destroyed by logging
activities planned by Malasia Company Rimbunan Hidjau. That is the
conclusion made by the experts of Socio-Ecological Union, Taiga
Guardian and Biodiversity Conservation Center during their expedition
to Khabarovsk region.
The construction of the road Sukpay-Nelma 4 km of which has already
been built by Malaysian loggers means the beginning of the industrial
opening of the last undisturbed forests of Khabarovsk and Primorie
regions.
It will result in decreasing of the population of large vertebrates
like Amur leopard and tiger and fragmentation of the unique entire
natural complex into many non-valuable parts.
Trees harvesting in Sukpay will destroy the traditional life style of
indigenous people who depend on the non-timber forest products and
fishing. According to the analysis made by our experts logging
business in Sukpay is getting cost ineffective if the company pays
all ecological fees and invests to the local economy. It is clear
that the only way for Rimbunan to make profit in the region is to
ignore all compensation payments.
The construction of the road mentioned above is already done without
environment assessment requiered by the law.
It is very likely now that local people in the nearest future will
face first results of the Malasyan project as they will lose their
food sources and habitat they used to live in for ages.
The report on the Russian NGOs Forest Club trip to Sukpai river,
Russian Far East, is now available in the Forest Club web-site:
http://www.ecoline.ru/forest-club/reports/sukpai-e.htm
Background
Malaysian company Rimbunan Hidjau Int. in 1997 won the right for the
long term 49 year rent of Sikhotte Alin forests on a square of 305
thousand ha with a right for annual cut of 550 thousand cubic meters
of timber.
Existing forests of upper Sukpai, which are planned to be logged by
Rimbunan had been protected in early 90-th as Verkhne-Sukpaiskii
zakaznik (refuge), and then environmental community succeed to
include prospective of strengthening it's status into governmental
decree and create Verkhne-Sukpaiskii zapovednik (nature preserve).
But, before its justification had been done by local scientists,
Khabarovskii governor Victor Ishaev managed to attract Rimbunan Hijau
corporation to develop industrial logging enterprise on the same
territory. To change ideology from preserve to logging fast,
scientists and officials decided publicly to base upon the fires.
60 % of Sukpai forests are located in any sort of protected zone by
Russian regulation. That are water protecting zones along creeks and
rivers, a set of banned species, where its prohibited to log. General
elevation is around 1300 - 1500 m, so that are most mountain type of
forests, which needs specifically careful approach in terms of
logging. Also, a big amount of these forests are located on the steep
slopes over 30 degree, which are prohibited for logging completely.
So, there are much less timber available for industrial cut, than it
was promised to Rimbunan.
Model certification in Russia
Since 1997 Model Forest "Priluzheye" in Komi Republic of Russia is
the project of WWF International. It is aimed to create the
educational basis for forestry specialists, logging enterprise
representatives and public demonstrating environment sound and
economically profitable methods of harvesting trees. It is planned to
figure out whether Priluzhie forestry practices meet FSC standards.
This part of the project will be implemented in October by FSC audit
company Smart Wood using test certification methods. This program is
funded by MasArthur Foundation.
First stage of the project was the estimation of the primary results
provided by the task force of the Smart Wood in the beginning of
September.
They revealed the level of sustainable forestry awareness in the
region talking to the representatives of the volunteer certification
working-group, leshoz specialists, workers and managers of logging
enterprises. Local population and workers turned out to be absolutely
unaware of the certification process principles and environmentally
sound forest use while the directors demonstrated their knowledge of
FCS certification methods.
* * *
Karelian newspaper "Severnyi kurier" published the article "Greens
making maneuvers" by scandal known journalist V.Kiryasov.
The main idea of the article is to prevent Karelian government from
any constructive dialogue with NGOs. Author tried to pit scientists
and NGOs slandering NGOs in the eyes of readers.
It is said in the article that ecologists are working for
transnational corporations, which are aimed to wipe out Russian
competitors.
Such attitude to the ecologists and their work is widely promoted in
Russia. Especially in Karelia and other "resource operating" regions
where those who try to conserve nature instead of aggressive industry
development are perceived to be enemies and preservationists.
News of Karelian Association N6,
Dmitriy Rybakov greens@glasnet.ru
Altay news: centers of life in danger
The problem number one in the region now is the termination of the
period of legal operation for 26 nature reserves (zakazniks). Such
type of nature reserves turned out to be most successful way of
nature protection in the region, which maintain ecological balance
and promote recreational business. They were created for ten years
each and then were prolonged by the regulations issued by local
authorities. Now there is a need to create legal basis for the
permanent operation of zakazniks that have already became centers of
life for this economically developing Siberian area.