Forest Club model projects and sites

Issue 20, April 2002

When you watch or read something about Japan, you are involuntarily amazed: how such considerable amount of the people on restricted area could frame the rather prospering state. Moreover, they manage to preserve some nooks of live nature, where wild birds and animals find for themselves the places of residence. And involuntarily come to the deduction about a unusual reasonableness and ecological compatibility of the Japanese nation, that capable to make such miracles.

But only up to that moment when the articles published the advocates of the nature of all Pacific region strikes your eye. And there you find: "The Japanese market devours 95 percents of all the timber that is logged in the region… ", " 2/3 of production of sea fishery is sold in Japan … ", and so on. In other words, conserving the islands, Japan violently destroys the nature of surrounding countries. And Japanese companies behave like any others, American, European or Russian: like the occupants in conquered country.

Three decades ago Japanese logging operators - and among them famous "Rimbunan Hidjao" - came in Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. They came, certainly, for forest, which the local residents, in their judgement, used extremely unreasonably: did not hack, did not singe, but simply lived in it. Really: the communities of the natives from big fields of forests they have they utillized only tiny fields under rice fields. And how many of these fields the community of hundred men can clear away and utillize? The hunting is not developed here as there is nothing to hunt for: the largest animal on the island is wild pig, and it recently almost all has disappeared.

So that, in opinion of timber cutters, and together with them of local officials, the local residents absolutely had no need in forest. But the trouble is that people not realized that at all, and did not going to give away the forest for logging. Then the government of Malaysia has invented a step of swindler: they have begun withdraw the lands under pretext of creation of "state temporary reserves". And after some years a "reserves" were liquidate, and its lands are sold for logging.

The wood-cuttings, however, are half the trouble. The tropical forest systems are restored rather quickly. After 40 years it is possible to cut logged areas again: the forest has enough time grow up. The experience of some aboriginal communities engaged in plantation forestry has demonstrated the profitability of similar economy.

But some "inventor" has counted that there is a mean to receive profit from the same territory already after twenty years. For this purpose it is enough to create plantations of oil-palms on the area of cut down forest. Therefore after woodcutters bulldozers work in a forest. The undergrowth (underwood) that was remained after logging is destroyed, and on that place the plantation is made.

The problem is that the plantation exhausts the soil. In tropics the process of formation of soil is not like on high latitudes. There is no mass fall of the leaves in autumn, and humus is formed step-by-step from those leaves, which fall down all the year round. And at the same time the soil is exhausted very intensively by roughly growing vegetation. In conditions of natural forest the process of organic converting to soil and vice versa is balanced. And the trees on plantations grow very rare, far from each other, and produce few organics, the obviously does not suffice for balance. As a result the soil is exhausted. In addition, rare trees without underwood are not capable prevent washing out of soil in rainy seasons. It is well-known, what follows forests disappearance and erosion of soils. But nobody cares. Why care, if the top-ranging government officials in are at the same time the holders of timber companies? In general, Malaysians have realized the scenery of confluence of authorities and business.

Accordingly, it is rather uncomfortable for those who attempts to stop this disorder. The timber companies control mass media, they have an opportunity to conduct PR actions, like building of settlements for the inhabitants of those communities, that support them, as "Rimbunan Hidjao" does. The environmentalists can only organize pickets of roads, and to defend the rights of the local residents in court. But even that is rather unsafe. Therefore as zealous environmentalists at times disappear without a trace. There is, however, the green movement on the island, though there are only two organizations with rather small number of members: "Brimas" and "SAM".

But to the local environmental activists their colleagues from other countries help: "Friends of the Earth" from Indonesia, Burma, Papua New Guinea, and also Japan. Because Japanese "Friends of the Earth" (as against Russian NGOs) can rather effectively attack the company that uses natural resources, by the means of effect on the ultimate consumer of production - population. It is enough to say to Japanese, that paper on which he writes is effected from the illegally harvested wood, and he will stop purchase it at all. So that for the forestry companies, it is necessary to take it into account.

Recently some Japanese nature conservation organizations have carried out a polling of about twenty large companies, which use forest prepared in Malaysia and Indonesia. The half of interrogated has showed their readiness to refuse consumption of tropical forest, if violation of rights of local population by cuttings will be proved. Perhaps, it would be easy to do. So that it is possible to expect some reduction of cuttings of tropical forests. Certainly, it is wonderful. However, in that case, the question arises: by what Japanese industry will supplement the shortage of wood raw material. It would be desirable to believe, what not by Russian forest. It would be desirable, but it is impossible. Therefore as all same "Rimbunan Hidjao" has already come to Russian Far East. Three years ago this company had began the fellings in Primorye region.

What further will happen with Far East forests in case of new high-scaled cuttings? Those wood-cuttings will be sharply distinguish from earlier ones. Because now the basic consumer of Russian forest is China, which requires timber. There is a condition that a log for export to China should be not lesser than 24 centimeters thick. Japan will buy any forest. What not fits for building, fits for manufacture of paper, wallboard, and so on. So that loggings will be truly entire. Korean logging operators, which worked former lengthways Baikal-Amur Railroad, have shown that, leaving desert after them.

The result of that all will be tragic. First of all, for the native peoples. They, as against the natives of Borneo, very much depend on safety of environment. People of Borneo all the same farmers, and the failures in forests not so violently will affect them. The present consequences of the reduction of jungle will have an effect on them, only when the failures of water regime of the rivers, erosion of soils and so on. But the aboriginal peoples of Russian Far East are hunters. And their well-being depends of the well-being of populations of trade animals. And the animals also is completely depend on state of environment. Therefore cutting down of forests can give in the most unpredictable consequences, up to complete disappearance of northern native peoples.

Their situation now not too good anyway. The many experiments which were carried out on in the times of USSR caused nothing good. The attempts to transfer northerners from the "Stone Ages" to "the Age of communism ", like removal them in sample settlements, isolation from nomadic mode of life, rowing of facilities, have resulted in that native deer-raisers and hunters, as a matter of fact, have lost their culture. Then rearrangements, reforms, and epidemic unemployment have burst out. As a result, overall drunkenness, suicides, casualties. And only one step before the catastrophe. And each, most insignificant, push can provoke this catastrophe. Destruction of forests is much more considerable stroke. It is possible to prevent it while. The basic gear of conservation of habitat of the native peoples is building of the areas of traditional nature management, where all kinds of activity negatively influencing on environment would be prohibited. Or, at least, this negative affecting were compensated by care about the native peoples of the companies that mine natural resources. The given mechanism is fullly realised in USA, where many Indians communities tolerably exist for account of disbursements for a mining on their grounds of mineral resources. Now in our region in building of terrains of traditional nature management the Amur branch of Socio-Ecological union (ISEU) is engaged. But very much here depends on position of local and regional authorities.

Unfortunately, it seems, they now are occupied with other problems, rather than rescue of disappearing nationalities. In general, directivity of the management of all levels on a solution of social and economic problems for account of ruthless exploitation of natural resources now is neatly felt. To recollect series of the presidential decrees which have published in enough last year or two. Liquidation of a Forestry Service, and of an independent ecological service, and resolution for import of spent nuclear fuel - all those facts prove that..

So the state most advantageously realizes the "Malaysian alternative", when one there is no place for any "native peoples", and also for those who attempts to resist the state policy. Consequently, it is not reasonable to rely on authorities. However there are excellent market mechanisms in the world and they are tested and capable to urge logging operator companies to take into account the concerns of local population. Such, for example, as forest certification on the standards of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Now it is conducted all over the world, and in our region only makes first steps due to the efforts of Amur ISEU and Far East Branch of World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The essence of certification is that the plant - harvester draws its activity in correspondence with the certain regional standards, which taking into account nature protection requirements, concerns of local population and lot of other points. After that the company is inspected by the independent experts and if that's all right receives the certificate giving it the right to trade on external market. Without this certificate in the advanced countries nobody will purchase wood.

Perhaps, the certification remains the only opportunity to save our forest, and to defend peoples immediately connected to it. And if we do not use this chance, very soon Russia can turn into the great wood-cutting area of the small Japan.