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N 12 (September 1998)
Urgent!!!! "As I already reported, the construction of the road in the Northern side of Paanajrvi has started. Also loggings inside moratorium area in the southern extension of Kostamus Nature Reserve are going on, we proved that wood from there went to Mujejarvi. " This means that two Russian leskpromhoses Paajarvi and Mujejarvi, are proved to violate the moratorium. The Finnish forest must know - any wood from these leskpromhoses may origin from og-moratorium. all buying from these lespromhoses must immediately be stopped. Enso the biggest customer of Paanajarvi. Karelian forest war continued - Paanajarvi forests at stake "Sad news from Karelia" said e-mail from Otso Ovaskainen, Finnish Nature League. And sadness, and anger caused these news. The construction of the road inside the OG-forest on the northern side of the Paanajarvi National Park has started. Below is the report of Melchert Meijer (a Dutch activist who worked with Finnish Nature League this summer) who visited the area a week ago. So far, they have constructed some 500 meters new road, and the short-term plan is to do some 10 km more. (I have the planned line of the road on map in case somebody is interested in details.) The long-term plan is to connect the road to the Ala-Kurtti road on the north. Thus, the real fight for the Paanajarvi forest starts now. Yours, Otso The letter I have sad news, because there were construction activities at the end of the road. There were no Fins there so that's probably the reason that untill now there was something like 500 meters new road. We found at that place 2 people, 1 'caravan'(russian style), 1 bulldozer, 1 truck for sandtransport, 2 cranes, 1 forest machine, 1 chainsaw (I really > wanted to put sugar in the tank, but I didn't do it after all).
The GPS coordinates are as follows: According to the GPS, the distance between the camp (former end of the road??) and the last freshly fallen tree was 500 meters. So this was really sad news for me also and a bit strange to go into the area with the knowledge that all the beauty we saw around us has become temporarily beauty now. I made a lot of pictures on the construction site, I will sent them to you from Holland. Earlier Russian NGOs Forest Club sent out several protest letteers - To Kondopoga PMP, To ENSO OY, and To the new Karelian Premier. We really need as much publicity as possible so please distribute this information ass widely aas possible, especially to the media. Thanks in advamce! General Information Over whole after-war period, Karelia was considered by the Soviet Government as one of main regions with forest raw materials resources. Huge logging volumes, which in the 60s reached 19.2 million cu m timber yearly (compared to present approximately 8 million cu m), considerably exhausted timber reserves of Karelian forests. When determining permitted volumes of logging, not just nature protection requirements were not taken into account, but even warnings of the forest production science, which traditionally believed forest a bunch of growing stumps, were ignored ( in the same 60s 'annual allowed cutting' - maximal permitted volume of logging, not considering ecological and social demands - amounted to 14.3 million cu m annually for Karelia). As a result, already by late 60-s, the forest fund of south and mid Karelia was substantially exhausted. Starting from this moment, logging volumes began to almost uninterruptedly decline, owing to exhaustion of most valuable forests. Large ancient taiga massifs remain just in the least accessible areas of Karelia - in the north-west, along the border with Finland, and in the south-east, along the border with Arkhangelsk region. In order to compensate for the forced decline of logging activity, in 1966 the Soviet Government decided to construct by means of Finnish construction firms Piaozersky lespromkhoz in north-west Karelia. In 1973, the first line of the lespromkhoz, equipped by then state-of-art logging equipment, was put into operation. Due to the 25 year activity of the lespromkhoz, main part of forests in north-west Karelia was cut down. Only the most difficult accessible part in the area of the Paanojarvi lake remained intact - about 30% of the original area of the lespromkhoz forest raw materials base. It's natural that inside the intact natural territory (which was also the least accessible for colonization many centuries ago) a lot of unique natural objects are preserved, including habitats of many plant and animal species, inscribed in the Russian and Karelian Red Books, areas of absolutely untouched by human activities forests, unique river, lake, wetlands and mountain ecosystems. In the degree of richness of natural biological diversity, the area multiply surpasses the adjacent areas of mid and north Karelia. In late 80s, group of scientists proposed to organize inside this territory a national park on the area of over 180 thousand ha. However, under the pressure, brought by representatives of timber complex, the proposed area of the park was significantly reduced, and in 1992, Paanojarvi national park was created on the area of 103 thousand ha. Vast areas of unique forests, which constitute basis of the ecological frame of the whole north-west Russia and Scandinavia, were removed from the park. Moreover, some part of the territory, located behind the barbed wire, (up to 20 km from the border with Finland), still remain a 'white spot' for specialists in the sphere of nature protection (therefore it was not included in the national park project). In 1995, Greenpeace Russian and Biodiversity Conservation Center Of Socoio-Ecologocal Union made up a map of remaining ancient Karelian forests. Map included not just these areas, which value was definitely confirmed, but also several areas, which were not thoroughly researched by experts yet and with a high degree of probability could appear valuable ancient taiga massifs. Value of the major part of the lands near Paanojarvi national park was not and is not doubted. In order to specify borders of the massif, which needs strict protection, environmental non-governmental organizations proposed to carry out necessary unbiased (i.e. fulfilled not only by employees of forest institutes and establishments) research. These proposals did not provoke positive response from the part of the Karelian government. Representatives of the Karelian Government afterwards repeatedly announced that opinion of non-governmental organizations was of no consequence for them and that logging of ancient taiga massifs would continue, while activities of the greens would be considered as effort to 'undermine Karelian economy from the side of western competitors'. In 1996, ENSO Finnish firm, one of the main timber buyers in Karelia, announced its refusal to buy timber received from valuable ancient taiga (in accordance with the map, prepared by Greenpeace Russia and Biodiversity Conservation Center of SEU); later this moratorium was joined by several large firms which buy Russian timber. Following these actions, many unique areas got a real chance to be protected. Stopped was logging in the suburbs of Paanojarvi national park. Piaozersky lespromkhoz was forced to listen to the opinion of the environmental non-governmental organizations. Regretfully, during the first half of 1998, director of lespromkhoz I.N.Fedchik not a single time attempted to bring pressure to non-governmental organizations with all kinds of menaces, appeals to the Karelian Prosecutor's Office, campaigns in the press. However ultimately he also was convinced that normal development of the territory is possible only in case that not just current financial interests are taken into account. In early June 1998, Greenpeace Russia, Biodiversity Conservation Center of SEU and Piaozersky lespromkhoz reached agreement on the inventory of forests, to be made by joint efforts in the suburbs of Paanojarvi national park in July-August 1998 for the final decision of the question of border of the area, proposed for the protection. However, in several days before the scheduled start of the work, it was known that the Karelian governmental commission was working in Piaozersky village (as one railway worker put it, 'two vans of directors from Petrozavodsk arrived'). Resulting from the commission's work, the lespromkhoz direction refused to have any further negotiations with non-governmental organizations and resumed construction of timber-carrying road inside the valuable forest massif (including the area which is undoubtedly unique and needing protection). As we learnt from several independent sources, logged timber is supposed for deliveries to Kondopoga pulp and paper mill (as it's simply impossible to sell timber, logged in most valuable forest massifs, while breaching the laws, at ecologically oriented European markets). As a result of such actions, expedition of Greenpeace Russia and Biodiversity Conservation Center of SEU made an independent, without participation of representatives from any Karelian organizations, survey of the territory and defined the border of the area, which according to the international and Russian ecological law should be put under protection. In order to resolve the conflict, linked to the necessity of withdrawal from exploitation of a rather big forest massif, non-governmental organizations propose to set up a competent independent committee, which will be able to prepare a strategy of actions in the current situation. But this variant definitely does not suit Karelian Government. Present day position of Piaozersky lespromkhoz leaves much to be desired. The material base conforms with logging technologies, which were developed in the 1960s and does not reflect even the least ecological demands, and is worn out. The quality of forest inventory works is extremely low and does not comply with the actual situation: if according to official materials, reserves of forests, which does not include areas, proposed for protection, will be enough for another 11 years of sustainable work without any problems, in reality already now there are serious problems with forest resources. Even if the lespromkhoz receives possibility to log all valuable forests on its territory, this will enable its real work for the period of at maximum 8-12 years (considering unprofitableness of the enterprise and deterioration of the logging equipment, already in 2-3 years the lespromkhoz will be able just to sell logging areas to Finnish logging enterprises, like the majority of lespromkhozs in Karelia do). And timber deliveries to Kondopoga could not guarantee stability either, as the lespromkhoz is situated on the border of the area of economically justified transportation for this enterprise. Thus, even if demands of the nature protection organizations are ignored, it's impossible to solve problems of the lespromkhoz. The only way out of this situation is starting their own processing of logged timber (this will allow to do with small volumes of logging) and creation in Piaozersky village of enterprises, not dependent on logging activities (for example, related to fishing or tourism). Manifold economy of the village (inhabited by about 5 thousand settlers) and its independence from one, actually temporary, enterprise is the only key to its stable development in future. If the management is wisely organized, the village development and protection of unique taiga massif can be combined, if it's unwise (like what we observe now) - neither this nor that is possible. Translation of the letter to Kondopoga PMP
Director of JSC 'Kondopoga' V.A.Federmesser Dear Vitali Aleksandrovich, This is to inform you that JSC *Kondopoga* is presently the main consumer of timber, received from valuable ancient forests. Following your activities, during several last years unique forest massifs were destroyed in south-east Karelia, including areas, adjacent to Vodlozersky national park, which due to the short-sightedness and greediness of officials were not included in the park. Socially irresponsible policy in raw materials of your mill already placed many forest settlements in south-east Karelia on the verge of social ecological catastrophe. In case such policy continues to exist, your mill will be among main culprits of the ongoing crisis in Karelia. The damage, incurred by your mill to the Karelian valuable ancient forests, is intensified by projected deliveries of timber from the massif, located to the north from Paanajarvi national park (kvartals 1-221 of Piaozerskoje forestry). We'd like to draw your attention to the fact that this massif is one of the most valuable, with regard to nature, massifs in Karelia and in general in north-west Russia, being one of the bases of the ecological frame in north Europe. Moreover, it's habitat of substantial number of plant and animal species, enlisted in the Red Book of Russia. Acting Russian law prohibits extermination of habitats of these species (including extermination arising out of logging activities). We'd like to inform you that your socially and ecologically irresponsible policy in raw materials raises serious concerns of the majority of non-governmental organizations for the nature protection, which are involved in protection of valuable forests in Karelia. In the event that you appear unable to refuse the policy of destruction of unique nature complexes to satisfy current economic interests, this will inevitably lead to strong confrontation between your enterprise and non-governmental environmental organizations and will considerably damage already unfavorable image of your production at the European market. It's hardly possible that this may be the key to stable and successful work of your enterprise. We urge you to stop using timber, logged on the territory of valuable taiga massif, located in north part of Piaozerskoje forestry of Piaozersky leskhoz, breaching the acting Russian environmental law and numerous international conventions, concerning the nature protection, signed by the Russia's Government. 4 August, 1998
A.Yaroshenko, The original letter to ENSO OY
President of ENSO OY Dear Mr. President! We are writing to you concerning the critical situation in Piaozersky lespromkhoz, as your company is the main buyer of its timber. One of the most valuable ancient Karelian taiga massifs is located on the lands of Piaozersky lespromkhoz. Until now the undamaged state of this massif was secured by your observance of the moratorium on buying timber, received from old-growth forests. Due to your support, substantial positive changes in the position of lespromkhoz take shape and the hope for resolving question of the valuable massif conservation appeared. In July 1998, Russian non-governmental organizations in association with the lespromkhoz representatives were supposed to carry out a detailed inventory of preserved valuable forests. Director of Piaozersky leskhoz S.L.Smirnov was informed of the work program in good time. However, owing to activities of the Karelian governmental commission, in early July Piaozersky lespromkhoz refused to have any further negotiations with non-governmental organizations and resumed construction of timber-carrying road inside the valuable forest massif. The Karelian Government take every measure to prevent Piaozersky lespromkhoz, Piaozersky leskhoz and Russian non-governmental organizations from negotiating and make the work of non-governmental organizations near Piaozersky settlement impossible. In the view of this, we inform you that now we don't have real possibilities to control the origin of timber which you buy from Piaozersky lespromkhoz, whether it is received from old-growth forests or not. We think it quite possible that the lespromkhoz will sell timber received from old-growth forests as timber, logged in other areas. Therefore after the beginning of logging inside the valuable forest massif, we'll be forced to consider any purchase of timber from Piaozersky lespromkhoz a breach of the moratorium. We also want to inform you that the road laying and proposed logging in the massif, which is located to the north from Paanajarvi national park, is a direct violation of the acting Russian environmental laws, as they cause destruction of habitats of species, enlisted in the Russia's Red Data Book. We urge you to prevent your company from using timber, received from one of the most valuable ancient taiga massifs of Karelia with harsh breach of the Russian environmental laws.
04.08.98
A.Yaroshenko,
D Aksenov,
V.Zakharov, Translation of the Open Letter
to the Chairman of the Government of Republic of Karelia Dear Sergei Leonidovich! We are writing to you concerning the disruption of nature protection work in Karelia and crisis in the Karelian timber complex, as they reached their climax. It's definite that Karelia is practically in the condition of severe social and ecological crisis, which is a natural outcome of the policy, implemented by the caretaker government, which is not interested in the sustainable development of the Republic. One of the main reasons of the crisis is exhaustion of forests raw materials resources, in the first place of economically and technologically accessible forests. Due to the critical situation, logging enterprises are on the verge of dying and are making desperate efforts to change their position by logging last remaining ancient taiga massifs, which share in the Karelian forests fund is already low - about 9% (including rivers, lakes and marches, located on their territory). We believe that such tactics cannot be tolerated: in the first place, it results in the destruction of most valuable nature territories, which are basis of ecological frame of the whole north Europe, secondly, main problems of the forest complex are not solved (outdated logging technologies, exhaustive management model, inadmissible low quality of forest inventory, lack of credible information about the condition of the forest fund, undeveloped transport infrastructure, etc.) Other main reason of the crisis is lack of independent public control over activities of officials, who pass decisions in the sphere of forest use and protection and as a result unscrupulousness of many of them. In the view of this, we are surprised by your position: we appealed to you already twice (22 May and 22 July), proposing to combine our efforts to solve several most important problems or at least to arrange a meeting and to express reasonably standpoints of both parties, but haven't received any answer. We'd like to draw your attention to the fact that conservation of ancient taiga massifs concerns more than just internal affairs of Karelia. The necessity to preserve such forests is acknowledged by leading Russian experts in the sphere of environmental protection and confirmed by several international agreements and conventions, which Russia signed. There are just few of such territories left and it's impossible to hope to solve all problems of the dying Karelian timber complex by logging them. Regretfully, the Government of Karelia does not take any real measures to protect these forests. The Government of Finland assigned considerable sums to carry out inventory works, but there were almost no real steps (with the exclusion of the repeated inventory of several areas, included in the perspective scheme of creation of specially protected nature territories in Karelia already in 1992). Thus, it's not just that the Government of Karelia does not attempt to preserve ancient taiga forests, but it also makes no effort to receive credible information on their condition and distribution. Such position can hardly enable the prosperity of Karelian logging companies: low quality of logged timber (conditioned by the fact that the better-quality forests were logged first) is supplemented by highly unfavorable 'ecological image', which also turns away potential customers. One of the Karelian 'hot spots' is Piaozersky lespromkhoz, which used to be the largest logging enterprise in Karelia and is now at the verge of bankruptcy. The lespromkhoz, which never logged the whole area of its annual allowed cutting, over the period of less than 30 years of its existence totally exhausted 2/3 of its forests raw materials base. The direction of the lespromkhoz laid their hope on the remaining third part, which is one of the largest and most valuable ancient taiga forests in Karelia. During last year nature protection non-governmental organizations tried to start a constructional dialog with the lespromkhoz direction and to join efforts to solve at least most acute social problems. Thus, achieved was an agreement to together survey the area of a valuable taiga massif and to indicate the optimal variant of borders of the protected area, as well as to prepare common strategy, taking account of interests of the local community and protection of taiga massif of the European significance. Plans of inventory works were brought to the notice of Director of Piaozersky leskhoz S.Smirnov in good time (one month prior to their beginning), and, to our knowledge, this information on the same day reached the forest committee of Karelian Republic. However, actions of the Karelian Government upset the constructional dialog between the lespromkhoz direction and nature protection non-governmental organizations (Greenpeace Russia, Biodiversity Conservation Center). Two days prior to the beginning of inventory in Piaozersky village, the governmental commission under your guidance started to work. It resulted in the refusal of Piaozersky lespromkhoz to negotiate and to participate in the inventor of the forest massif and in the resumption (from July 6) of the road construction inside the unique taiga lands. We draw you attention to the fact that beginning of logging of valuable taiga massif by Piaozersky lespromkhoz, which up until now abstained from such actions, will sharply decrease competitiveness of its production at the ecologically-oriented European markets, which will ultimately bring to the halt of the enterprise. Projected for Kondopoga P&PM orientation towards logging of spruce pulpwood cannot compensate for such consequences both due to the low cost of spruce pulpwood and due to certain dependence of Kondopoga P&PM on the ecologically oriented European market. In our turn, we'll have to inform the mass media and wide public about the fate of timber, received from valuable taiga massif. Over the period of last years, confrontation between Karelian authorities and nature protection non-governmental organizations became habitual and does not surprise anybody. The Karelian economy never benefited from this confrontation. In our opinion, destruction of valuable ancient forests in Karelia, impoverishment of forest settlements, ongoing deterioration of the environmental condition is a too high payment for satisfaction of ambitions of the officials. We request you to put an end to this confrontation and to solve question of forms of participation of nature protection non-governmental organizations in making decisions, related to the forest use and forest protection. As a first and urgently necessary step, we call upon you to create a conciliation committee out of representatives of the Karelian Government, representatives of Piaozersky lespromchoz and nature protection non-governmental organizations for dealing with critical situation in the north-west Karelia. 4 August 1998
A.Yu.Yaroshenko, forest campaign coordinator, Greenpeace Russia Is the forum our common environment in Petersburg secret? The Forum Our Common Environment organized by St-Petersburg Administration and Finnish Environment Ministry is to be held through 14 to 16 September in St. Petersburg. Its program includes plenaries, number of workshops and work groups. This is to be a very representative gathering and number of serious issues, like forests, are to be discussed. However, there are some problems for some NGOs to participate in the forum, even if they fully cover their expenses. It seems, that some "uneasy" NGO participants are not welcomed. So here is the excerpts from one of the Finnish activists letters about the forum (all the names are left out as we have not discussed previously publication with the auther. Sorry.)
"I have yesterday discussed quite much with different Finnish organizing
partners or this seminar, from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment.
I wanted to figure out if the limit for participants is because of >From Finland, there are very much participants from NGOs, but still there are many who are out because Finnish Ministry and Petersburg already decided about some maximum number of people. At the moment, this original plan has fallen and there are more than was planned. I wanted to know the official position of the Finnish Ministry for the Environment from about the participation issues. His position was, I think that Finnish organizers are responsible only for the Finnish participants - so if Russian organizers have not informed relevant groups but invited some burocrats, they say it is not a thin that they can do anything for, but they are disappointed, of course. This time Finns do not pay all the costs, and they cannot demand all possible things for that reason. He admitted that discrimination is very probable in Russia in the sense not all relevant NGOs were informed in time, but administration was informed earlier....what I know is that despite of numerous requests of the Finnish side, at least the forest working group was prepared totally without Russian NGOs' participation. So, I do not know anything about which kind of a welcome seremony you will get if you are not for some reason in the official participant list. " Well, neither do we, but we are going to Petersburg anyway. If any hotnews happen, we'll inform you! Certification process in Russia surging ahead Russian initiative group (IUCN, WWF, Socio-Ecological Union Biodiversity Conservation Center, Druzhina Movement, Greenpeace Russia) on voluntary forest certification according to FSC standards called on all interest groups to participate in Russian forestry certification system development based on FSC standards. The invitation paper stated, beyond all, the following: - the increased sensitivity of the timber market not only to the user environmental safety of the products, but also to the environmental safety of the timber production process, which stimulated different certification processes. Today Forest Stewardship Council is the leader of the process, and FSC criteria takes in account interest of the state, of the forest owners, forest industry, consumers, local communities and NGOs. While in different countries FSC certification process is going at full speed/ in Russia this process is at start. First meeting was held on May 25 in Moscow, in which organizations - invitation paper signatories participated. The process it self should go through 3 stages. The first one - discussion within the initiative group of the participation form in the process and transformation of the initiative group into national and/or regional working groups on certification according to FSC standards with the permission of FSC. The second stage working group is to develop national and regional criteria for certification and necessary procedures. The third stage is the launch of the process itself and its control." Some of the additional information on certification is published in the Forestry Bulletin.
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