Urgent Action Needed in Russian Far East
2/2/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Urgent Action Needed in Russian Far East
Source: Pacific Environment and Resources Center
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: February 2, 1999
For immediate release:
Illegal goldmining rips through a strictly protected nature preserve
on the southern Kuril island of Kunashir, an island under the
jurisdiction of the Sakhalin region in the Russian Far East. Russian
activists are asking for your help to stop the destruction.
For more information, please contact in the U.S.:
Julie Edlund Pacific Environment and Resources Center tel: 907-222-
2732 email: jedlund@igc.apc.org
In Russia:
Irina Nevedomskaya
Kuril'skiy Nature Preserve
email: magnoliy@sakhalin.ru
The Kuril islands stand as a barrier between the Pacific Ocean and one
of the coldest seas in the world - the Sea of Okhotsk. They are
coveted for their rich biodiversity and unique natural areas. Today
in the Southern Kurils, on the island of Kunashir, the Kuril'skoye
mining company, with investment from St. Petersburg, Sakhalin, and
unknown foreign sources, illegally bulldozes its way through the
Severyanka valley, in the buffer zone of a strictly protected nature
preserve. The Severyanka River is one of the most productive rivers
on the island. Pristine forests surround its watershed and salmon
choke its main stem and tributaries. White-tailed and Steller's sea
eagles winter over in this paradise of mixed-deciduous temperate
forest.
Having only received permits for exploratory work - illegal under
Russian Federal Law governing nature preserves - the company has
already begun mining and is drafting plans to build a cyanide vat-
leach processing mill on the shores of the Okhotsk
Sea, at the mouth of the Udachny or "Lucky" River. Not so lucky in
this case. The ore pit will span 72 meters across the Udachny.
Kunashir Bay is a migratory route and/or breeding ground for all six
Pacific salmonid species, pollock, Pacific flounder, northern fur
seal, and Steller's sea lion. The pollution of the bay would harm
species health from Hokkaido to Kamchatka and further north. The bay
is also an active fishing ground for crab, rock fish, and shrimp.
For months, Caterpillars have criss-crossed fragile salmon-spawning
grounds. The Sakhalin Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography has
already estimated the damage to the two tributaries and the Severyanka
at $97.5 thousand dollars annually.
The Southern Kuril Administration is opposed to this project, as is
the local Committee on Ecology. The pressure to develop the gold
deposit comes from a few corrupt bureaucrats within the Sakhalin
regional administration who have obvious, close ties with the
investors.
The activists and concerned citizens in Sakhalin and the Southern
Kurils need your support to stop the illegal and irreversible
destruction of their pristine valley, which is so interconnected with
the marine biodiversity and uniqueness of the Northern Pacific.
What you can do:
Please fax the governor of Sakhalin region and the Director of the
Russian Federal Committee on Ecology about the importance of the
Severyanka valley to the Northern Pacific. Ask that they use their
judgement and influence to stop the destructive and illegal mining in
the Severyanka Valley today and forever.
In Sakhalin:
Governor Igor' Pavlovich Farkhutdinov
Sakhalin Oblast'
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
fax 7-504-4162-200
In Moscow:
Victor Ivanovich Danilov-Danilyan
Director, Federal Committee on Ecology
4/6 Gruzinskaya St.
Moscow, Russia 123812
tel: 7-095-254-27-66
fax: 7-095-254-68-24
Thank you in advance for your invaluable help. We will keep you
informed of any developments with this issue.