Russian Forest Update #40
6/1/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Russian Forest Update #40
Source: Russian NGO's Forest Club and Press-service of Center for
Coordination and Information of Socio - Ecological Union
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: June 1, 1999
SAKHALIN ATTRACTING INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION
The NGO conference "Protection and use of Sakhalin forests" was held
through May 28 to 30, organized by the Sakhalin Environmental Watch
and Greenpeace Russia.
It gathered NGOs from Sakhalin, Kamchatka, Vladivostok, Komsomolsk on
Amur and international organizations - Friends of the Earth (Japan),
Scott Polar Research Institute, MacArthur Foundation, Socio -
Ecological Union.
The conference was also attended by official and science
representatives. Besides discussion on the Sakhalin forest problems,
participants visited logging sites and forest transportation road
built within the spawning river watershed protection area. The
conference adopted a resolution on the Sakhalin forestry state,
reflecting NGO opinion on the different problems of the area. To offer
the solution conference also adopted a set of recommendations.
To receive more info, contact Alexey Yaroshenko (GP - Russia)
alexey@greenpeace.ru
Dmitry Lisitsyn (Sakhalin Environmental Watch)
watch@sakhmail.ru
FSC WORKING GROUP ESTABLISHED IN RUSSIA
On 3rd-4th June the Conference on establishing Russian FSC working
group took place in Pushkino near Moscow. The Conference was initiated
by Russian FSC initiative group and organized by Russian NGOs Forest
Club and WWF Russian Program Office. There were about 50 participants
in the Conference from different regions (particularly from Komi,
Krasnojarsk and Khabarovsk regions where regional FSC initiatives are
under progress). A number of NGOs, governmental structures and
scientific institutions were presented, as far as some labor union and
indigenous people representative.
However, the main weakness of the Conference was, once again,
practical absence of interested forest busyness representative. In
fact, the situation of the last October WWF Petrozavodsk Conference
was repeated: just two persons do represent some forest companies
(from Leningrad and from Moscow regions) plus two more persons may be
in some extend regarded as forest busyness - one guy from consulting
company and Mikhail Malkevich from Krasnojarsk forestry institute. The
rest were just well-known faces from NGO community and bureaucrats
from different near-Forest-Service structures and forestry science.
Honestly saying I was feeling myself in the same environment as in
Petrozavodsk half a year ago: the same faces, the same speeches.
However, there were a few interesting things like speeches of the
Krasnojarsk people. It looks like there is a big progress in
Krasnijarsk FSC initiative since Petrozavodsk.
As a formal result, the national-level working group for Russia has
been established. Its main functions will be the coordinating of the
regional working groups, providing information and development the
general framework
FSC national criteria as far as providing information for regional
groups.
For current coordination between meetings the Coordination Committee
has been established. From my conversations with different persons I
have clarified, it seems to me, the main reason forest companies have
so little interest to the FSC process in Russia. There is still no
clear message to them from their partners abroad. The Swedish, Finnish
and other companies importing wood from Russia (one person, for
example mentioned StoraEnso as partner) DO NOT DEMAND (or even
mention) the certified timber from their Russian contractors. This is
the main reason and this should be the main field of our activity.
Otherwise, all FSC process in Russia will result just in endless
arguing between Forest club and WWF.
Written by Dmitry Aksenov
FOREST CLUB - STORAENSO MEETING
As it had been agreed before, representatives of Russian environmental
NGOs met with the StoraEnso representative Veli-Matti Rytkonen
(Manager of Environment, Wood Import) in Sankt-Petersburg on 25th May.
There were several participants from the Russian NGOs Forest Club
(Dmitry Aksenov from BCC/SEU, Alexey Grigoriev from SEU, Alexey
Morozov and Alexey Jaroshenko from GP Russia), as far as, Marina
Doctorova from St.Petersburg Green Druzhina and Igor Babanin from
St.Petersburg Greenpeace Support Team.
This meeting had been agreed in the previous meeting in March for the
middle of May, but had been postponed a few times. The UPM-Kummene
representative was also supposed to participate in the meeting but
could not come.
The following question have been discussed:
The updated version of the Murmansk region moratorium map was
presented to StoraEnso which was not passed to them previous time.
Since March we have updated the map sufficiently based on the new
data. Some kvartal have been excluded from the moratorium but also
remarkable number of kvartals have been added. (The updated Murmansk
map will be placed soon in the Forest Club Web site.)
Later we received confirmation that Stora - Enso will continue support
of the logging oratorium also in the Murmansk region.
Problems of moratorium areas expansion, joint inspections and
certification were also discussed at the meeting.
THE WORLD HERITAGE OR ANOTHER HIGHWAY -
a tough choice for Adugeya government UNESCO is considering option of
placing the North Caucasus (North -East Black Sea region) on the World
Heritage list. The UNESCO expert commission worked there from June 7
to June 15 to evaluate the compliance of the area with the criteria of
World Heritage nomination terms. The commission chief - Martin Price
(head of the Mountain Areas and Environment Protection
program from Oxford university, GB) on the work results stated that
Northern Caucasus definitely should be on the World Heritage list.
Indeed, the proposed area is a habitat for more than six thousand
animal and plant species, many of them are endemic (unique). The
commission members themselves saw the richness of the Caucasian nature
- during the expedition into the depth of Caucasian Biosphere Nature
Reserve they observed numerous wild animals, even the bears.
The area planned for nomination includes the Sochi National Park and
the Caucasus Biosphere reserve (situated mostly in Krasnodar region
and Adugeya republic). Lagonaki Plateau - an example of very specific
landscape and unique nature system, attracted special commission
interest. Part of the plateau is a traditional nature use area for
local people - their cattle are grazing there. Before the commission
visit it was proposed to exclude this area from the nomination, but
the nature use turned to be very moderate.
Besides that, the areas of traditional nature use are included into
many World Heritage List territories.
Unfortunately, not everything is going smooth and easy - obviously the
Adugeyia authorities (republic where the Lagonaki plateau is situated)
are not excited about being part of the World Heritage.
Instead, they are pushing ahead the project of the highway that would
become the major obstacle for the area to be included into the World
Heritage. Road Lagonaky - Dagomys planned by Adugeya republic
authorities will go through the territory of Caucasian Biosphere
Nature Reserve and will damage irrepearably unique nature system
protected in Caucasian Reserve.
The road is planned over the Lagonaki plateau and Caucasian Biosphere
Reserve highland area - this means heavy use of explosives to make the
road across the mountains, not to mention "regular" construction
related works and traffic of the construction machinery.
The impact of such activities on the protected nature complex hardly
needs explanation. The SEU of North - West Caucasus, strongly
supported by local population, has been campaigning against the
project for several months.
Thousands of local people signatures were gathered protesting the
project, numerous actions were held, dozens of publications appeared
in the media.
The people outrage with the project, together with desire to protect
their nature heritage, has also a legal basis - the road construction
is illegal according to different RF laws. Local government insists on
highway construction hoping to attract traffic flow through the
republic. In officials' opinion, benefits from the traffic outweigh
the benefits of having internationally protected nature area.
Up to day the major attraction for people was unique nature of the
region. It is highly questionable if anyone will be attracted to stop
and see gas stations and fast-food services instead of wildlife.
NTFP USE IN SIBERIA
"Non - exhaustive NTFP use of the Siberian forests", gathering for the
first time organizations interested in the issue, was held in Ulan -
Ude (Buriatia). Participants came from NGOs, state entities and
business.
Three days were spent in discussing different angles of NTFP use.
The conference decided to establish "The Siberian Association on NTFP
use", the members are from at least 10 federation subjects'
representatives.
___________________________________________ Issued by:
Olga Berlova, Victoria Kolesnikova, seupress@glasnet.ru Vladimir
Zakharov forestnews@glasnet.ru Dmitry Aksenov picea@glasnet.ru
Zinaida Garkoun zng@glasnet.ru
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