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Rimbunan Hijau Shows Serious Intentions

Organized by:
Biodiversity Conservation Center, Moscow
Socio-Ecological Union, Moscow
Taiga Rangers, Komsomol'sk-on-Amur

Short Information

The Sukpai River is a left tributary of the Khor River, which, in turn, flows in the Ussuri River. The Sukpai Watershed is completely situated in Lazo Raion (district), Khabarovsk Krai, Russian Far East on the western macroslope of the Sikhote-Alin' Range. Forest industry development started within the watershed relatively late. Only in the beginning of the 1970s, the same name logging settlement has been built in the mouth of the Sukpai River, and the forest logging enterprise has been established. Until recently, logging has been performed only in the lower part of the basin. The most part of the Sukpai watershed is still untouched by forest industry.

In 1994, researchers from the Institute for Water and Ecological Problems (Khabarovsk) justified the necessity of the creation of the Verkhne-Sukpaiskiy Zapovednik (Upper Sukpai Strict Nature Reserve), which included the upper and medium part of the Sukpai Watershed. The Verkhne-Sukpaiskiy Zapovednik was included in the list of state nature zapovedniks and national parks recommended for creation in the Russian Federation during the period of 1994-2005 as approved by the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation as of April 23, 1994 No.572-r. It was also enlisted in the Special Program for Support of State Nature Reserves up to the year 2000 approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian federation as of October 10, 1995, No.1032. This zapovednik was proposed to be included in this list by the Regional Commettee for Environment Protection after agreed with the Regional Administration. All materials were prepared by Khabarovsk Wildlife Conservation Union. However, in December 1997, the same patch of forest, which was planned under zapovednik, has been proposed for international tender for logging rights. The tender has been won by the Malaysian Rimbunan Hijau International Company, which is well-known by its barbarian logging in tropical forests. This decision created a dangerous precedent when any naturally valuable area officially proposed for creation of nature reserve can be economically developed.

Partially, the arguments for this decision were as if this area had lost its natural values because of heavy burns and logging of past years. Preliminary operative analysis of the Sukpai Watershed made in early 1999 by Biodiversity Conservation Center together with ScanEx Research and Development Center by remote sensing materials (satellite images) did not support information about any essential recent disturbances (wildfires and logging) at the area of the planning zapovednik.

Current Activities of Rimbunan Hijau

Rimbunan Hijau has started its operations in the Sukpai only this year. Almost all local people, which we contacted, thought that Ruimbuana Hijau had serious plans for work in the Sukpai. The company already invested serious money (according different estimates, from 15 to 25 million US dollars) in equipment, infrastructure etc.

The Oborskaya Railway, which had not function for previous three years, has been repaired. According to local sources, Rimbunan Hijau invested up to $1,000,000 in its reparation. However, at the moment, only two trains went from Sukpai to the station of Kruglikovo. Each train consists of 8 cars and is capable of carrying out 500 t load. It is not possible to deliver greater weight at one pass because of mountain topography. Despite successful delivery by train, most of harvested timber is now transported by trucks to the settlement of Malaya Sidima, where timber is stored and shipped further by the same railroad, which, probably, is in better conditions westward of Sidima.

Rimbunan Hijau also bought former facilities (timber stores, loading place etc.) of the former forestry enterprise in Sukpai. It also has its own reserve of fuel and lubricants and independent electric power station. There is a permanent representative of Rimbuan Hijau in the settlement, although, as we were told in the Sukpai leskhoz (local office of the Russian Federal Forest Service), all serious problems are solved in the Company's Khabarovsk Office. The company is now buying new equipment: powerful buldosers and pairs of Timberjacks (harvester + forwarder). One of our respondents saw at least four already bought pairs. We also heard about 60 pairs bought by Rimbunan Hijau for Khabarovsk Krai (the company has logging operations not only in the Sukpai) but also about 40 pairs, which the company was going to buy only for the Sukpai area.

At the moment of the visit, the company did not started development of the area under longterm lease. However, the company got 7 additional plots for logging in kvartal (usual forest unit in Russia) No.536 of Verkhesukpaiskoe lesnichestvo and now performs logging and constructs a road there. At the same time, according to information from the leskhoz, Rimbunan Hijau is planning serious logging (150,000 cu.m) at the longterm leased area already this year. People in the leskhoz told that they are overloaded with allocation of the required amount of logging plots for Rimbunan Hijau. Next year the company is planning to reach harvesting level of 300,000 cu.m per year.

Presently, at the leased territory, Rimbunan Hijau mainly constructs the Sukpai-Nelma road for transporting logged timber to Nel'ma - a small port on the Pacific coast within the limits of Khabarovsk Krai. The construction of this road has a long story. The road should at least once cross the territory of Primorskiy Krai through the basin of the Samarga River. Simultaneously, according to information we learned, the road from Nel'ma is being constructed by local harvesting company to other side of the Samarga river basin. It is known that earlier Primorskiy Krai authorities and the local Udege indigenous people community in Samarga were against plans of construction of a road crossing the Samarga Watershed. However, as we were told in the Leskhoz, Rimbunan Hijau tried to "solve" this problem. The increased activity of the company forced us to think that the company has already "solved" this problem or hopes to solve it positively in the nearest future. There is information that Rimbunan Hijau also has plans for development of still untouched forests in the Samarga Watershed (Primorskiy Krai).

Part of the Sukpai-Nelma hauling road until the Nizhnjaja (Lower) Bolenku River has been built earlier by the local logging enterprize along the right (northern) bank of the Sukpai River. This road is still in good condition. Its branch along the Vostochny (Eastern) Tsafaktai river crosses the Sukpai River via a reinforced bridge and goes along its left (southern) bank up to the Bolenku River - the left tributary of the Sukpai River - and further southward, along the Bolenky. However, after the bridge, passable is only small part of the road. Three other bridges over the Bolenku are in poor condition so that only off-road vehicles can go further. Local people say that a continuation of this road is projected along the Sukpai River's left bank and further, almost up to the mouth of the Tagemu River - the biggest left tributary of the Sukpai River. Rimbunan Hijau has plans for use of this road. Thus, it submitted documents to the local Commettee for Environment Protection to approve the project of construction (reconstruction) of a part of this road along the Bolenku River. Some people in the Leskhoz think that it is this route that Rimbunan Hijau will use for construction of the road to Nelma.

However, as we found, the road to Nel'ma is being constructed by the company along the right (northern) bank of the Sukpai River. This road crosses the Lower Bolenku River at a distance of 200 m from the place where the existing road from Sukpai sharply turns north-northwestward along the Lower Bolenku River to present logging plots of Rimbunan Hijau in kvartal 536 (Sukpaiskoe Lesnichestvo) in the Sukpai-Kabuli watershed. The road, four kilometers of which are already constructed, crosses the bridge over the Lower Bolenku River and goes west-southwestwards. According to road constructors, this road will go to Primorskiy Krai. At the moment, more than 20 km of this road have been traced in site. The sightseeng line is cut through up to the Udegeiskaja River - the right tributary of the Sukpai - not far from the Sukpai Weather Station, on the opposite side of the Tagemu's mouth. This point is at the distance only of 10 km from the Sukpai-Samarga watershed - the shortest way to the other end of the road in the headwaters of the Nel'ma River.

The construction of this road will dissect the Northern Sikhote-Alin (and areas where large mammals, like Amur tiger, live), by cutting off Botchinskiy Zapovednik, planning Anyuiskiy National Park and surrounding forest basins from the Bikin Watershed. This will make unavoidable logging development of the Samarga Watershed and will create continuous development along the road. Forest logging will be accompanied by increased frequency of human-caused fires and change of the Sukpai River hydrology. The construction of the road will further decrease populations of many animals, especially due uncontrolled hunting and fishing.

Traditional Nature Use Pattern in the Sukpai Watreshed and Plans of Rimbunan Hijau

The Sukpai Valley is the area relatively long and intensively used by local people for hunting, fishing, collecting berries, mushrooms and other non-timber forest products. The Sukpai's headwaters (now leased to Rimbunan Hijau) are officially proclaimed as an area of traditional nature use by indigenous people - the Udege. In the vicinity of the Sukpai Watershed, there are two communities of the Udege. One is based in Gvasyugi (Khabarovsk Krai), while another lives in Agzu (Primorskiy Krai). The former has serious use rights for the Sukpai Watershed, while the latter does that for the Samarga Watershed. All area of the Sukpai Watershed is now divided in individual hunting plots distributed by Dzhango community in Gvasyugi not only among Udege but also among all other local people. It is not surprising, since Russians make most of the population in the settlement of Sukpai. There is a lot of wooden hunting and fishing cabins along the Sukpai River and its tributaries heavily used by local people. For many inhabitants of Sukpai non-timber forest products collected within the Sukpai Watershed are important livelihood. Already now, the human pressure on the watershed can be considered is significant. Logging development and road construction will dramatically increase it.

Generally, the local community has a dual attitude toward Rimbunan Hijau and its activities. Most of hunters and fishers contacted by us thought that logging planned by Rimbunan Hijau will drastically worsen the situation with their local business. At the same time, there is no assurance that the company will provide local people with essential money. Presently, some local people (both from Sukpai and adjacent settlements) already work at logging operations of the company. However, according to information from local people, they are very moderately paid, some 1200 roubles ($50) per month. This is much lower even then at Russian logging companies working in the same Sukpai Leskhoz. It is unclear how significantly operators of harvesters and forwardes will be paid, although people said that Rimbunan is not going to use local (Sukpai) people for that. In this case, we may predict growing unemployment in the settlement, since several persons working at a pair of harvester and forwarder will substitute several groups of local loggers.

Russian driver of log tracks deliviring timber to Sidima earns 750 roubles per month plus 30 roubles for each of two first trips per day (50 and 70 roubles for third and fourth trip, respectively). Nevertheless, three trips per day is the maximum that is possible to do with present roads. Presently, timber transportation is carried out by 6 KrAZ trucks.

For us remained a question whether Rimbunan Hijau made any real investments in the settlement infrastructure. Leskhoz told us that it exerts pressure on Rimbunan Hijau to force it to take an obligation of providing local people with firewood. However, Rimbunan Hijau would not like to do it yet. According to leskhoz' employees, Rimbunan Hijau helps only local and district authorities, although it was unclear what was this help. The only organization in the settlement, whose financial situation has been remarkably improved recently, is the Sukpai Leskhoz itself. Over the last several months, the leskhoz office acquired second floor, was covered with Korean pine; the office is intensively improved inside. Just recently, new office equipment (computers, printers and copier) has been installed on its working spaces.

Forest Ecosystems of the Sukpai Watershed

We undertook a short field survey of upper and medium parts of the Sukpai Watershed and collected materials for interpretation of medium and high resolution satellite images and for compilation of the vegetation map of the area. It is already clear now that we visited almost all main types of associastions at this area. More thorough description and maps will be prepared by us after processing of all field data.

Preliminary results of the survey attest that the forest cover of the area represents a relatively complex mosaic of various stages of post-fire successions (differing dependingly on various habitat types), including very late stages (several hundred years after the last wildfire) and wildfire refuges (sites, which recently have not suffered from fires). The territory is floristically poorer than in the Sukpai low waters and in the Khor Valley. Nevertheless, several species enlisted in the Red-Data Book of Russia were discoverd there. Of the greatest interest are spruce-fir forests and mixed stands along valleys of rivers and creeks. The area is of significant water conservation importance and serves as a habitat for several important hunting species for local people.

Nevertheless, it seems dubious that the local population will support the idea of creating exactly a zapovednik in the Sukpai headwaters. In our opinion, for preservation and sustainable use of this area, it will be optimal to create a zakaznik (wildlife refuge), whose regime will permit traditional use of non-timber forest products by local population but will simultaneously prohibit or restrict any logging and mining development and road construction within the area.

From the standpoint of forestry, two facts discovered by us during the survey drew our attention. First, according to our preliminary data, forest planning documents regularly underestimate the declivity of slopes, on which tree grow. Second, real growing wood stock at most part of the leased area is, according to preliminary estimates, significantly less than it was declared. All these facts make us think that Rimbunan Hijau will be able to reach the planned logging volumes (500,000 cu. m per year) at the leased area only if it will seriously violate environmental requirements - primarily concerning requirements for water conservation, preservation of forest on slopes greater than 30 degrees and of habitats of red-listed species. We think that these moments should draw special attention of environment protection authorities during environment impact assessments of projects of forest management at the leased area.

Short Conclusions

Logging development of the Sukpai headwaters by Rimbunan Hijau will destroy present forest ecosystems of the watershed, also resulting in wider occurrence of fires, soil erosion and change in hydrological regime of the river. All this will cause collapse of the existing system of either non-timber or timber forest products use by local population, which is the remarkable livelihood for many local people. The other predictable adverse consequence of logging will be stronger flooding in the Khor low waters, which already troubles people there.

Logging development of the Sukpai Watershed will require significant expenses from Rimbunan Hijau. According to our estimates, the quality of timber at the leased area is low. One of the only ways to increase the efficiency of company's business would be an absolute minimizing expenses on meeting environmental requirements and investments to local infrastructure and economy. The information we have about Rimbunan Hijau activities in tropical forests witnesses that such a behaviour is rather typical for this conpany. (For example, "Forest Bulletin", N 8-9.)

The other necessary condition for reaching the profitability of logging operations at the leased area is construction of the road to Nelma. This road threatens the whole ecosystem of the central Sikhote-Alin'. The direct road to the coast will decrease transportation costs and decrease possibilities of the control over company's operations by local authorities and other organizations. This road will make forests of the Samarga Watershed easily accessible for logging development. Perhaps, it coincides with plans of Rimbunan Hijau. The absence of the company's activity in the last year and regularly appearing information that it is going to leave the Sukpai confirm our opinion that the project is at the limit of its economic profitability.

Presently, there are all prerequisites in the Sukpai today for realization of the worst scenario for livelihood conditions of local people, when they, during several years, will lose the essential part of income from use of both timber and non-timber forest products of the Sukpai Watershed, without getting adequate financial or other compensation for that. Simultaneously, the Sikhote-Alin' Range will stop exist as a whole ecosystem after being dissected into several isolated areas.

Text by D.Aksenov and M.Karpachevskiy
Photo by M.Karpachevskiy and A.Ostroukhov

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