NEW ROAD THREATENS CAUCASIAN ZAPOVEDNIK, PUBLIC CAMPAIGN STARTED
    Socio-ecological Union of the North West Caucasus started public campaign in order to protect Caucasian Biosphere Zapovednik from rude intrusion. Road Lagonaky - Dagomys planned by Adugeya republic authorities and RF Road Service will go through its territory, which is illegal according to different RF laws and will damage irreparably unique nature system protected by zapovednik.
    The campaign includes direct action and information dissemination, majority of population in the cities of Maikop and Sochi - road endpoints, support NGOs efforts.
    On March 26 and 30 actions against the road were held within the framework of all - Europe Transport Action Day, held by ASEED.
    Lately 42 academics filed in petition to different related authorities opposing the road construction.

CONFERENCE ON THE NATURAL FORESTS AND FOREST BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN RUSSIA WAS HELD ON APRIL 3 - 5 IN MOSCOW REGION.
    Discussions showed that Russian forestry practices could not be considered environmentally sustainable and socially y responsible. The forestry structure and practices do not comply with contemporary principles of sustainable forestry. Among the main underlying causes was mentioned today's official forestry perception of the forest as a timber stock. The multipurpose forest use declared in the forest code has no real implementation mechanisms.
    The RF Forestry Service, being the largest logger in Russia, is not interested to change the situation, multiple cases of environmental and forest legislation violations show the impotence of the official forestry structure to solve the problem.
    Despite the fact that Russia still have some natural and close to natural little disturbed forest systems, their expedient extermination causes serious concern. The problem is that all existing methods of annual logging allowance estimation give chance for unsustainable forest use, which occurs frequently.
    Conference participants proposed the following measures in order to introduce sustainable forestry practices in Russia:

• To make the forestry norms and technical regulation base to comply with RF environmental legislation.
• To introduce regulations enabling Forest Code settings on forest multipurpose use and biodiversity conservation implementation.
• To stop the annual logging allowance estimation practices that do not comply with sustainable forestry and forest multipurpose use principles.
• To provide for strict compliance of the activities with water and fishery legislation.
• The neighboring logging areas terms must be set in a way that allow natural reforestation. In case natural reforestation is impossible, loggings should not be done.
• The independent commissions to control forest users and forestry structures should be set up of all parties interested.
• The minimal forest payment should be raised in order to equate or exceed the cost of forest protection, management and reforestation. The federal Forest Service should pay equally to other forest users for loggings, independently of the loggings kind.
• The Functions of control after the forest protection, use and reforestation and forest management should be separated.
• The voluntary non-governmental independent certification should be supported as it provides customer with independent information and strengthens positions of Russian forest product on environmentally responsible markets.
• The forest- related data should not be treated as limited access information, and any organization or citizen should have equal and free access to it. The information cost should not exceed the copying and work-time expenses.

• Introduce stadartized terminology concerning natural, oldgrowth, little disturbed and other valuable forests
• The legal base for natural and other valuable forest areas conservation should be developed
• The inventory works of valuable forests identifying should be held in every region
• The undisturbed for several decades bu human activities forest areas containing natural or close to natural forests should be identified and excluded from any use
• The moratorium on such area use should be observed by all parties
• The forest product customers should be provided with full information about the timber origin, and certification systems should include requirement for banning all activities that may disturb valuable forest structure

EARTH KEEPER, KEEP AWAY FROM UPPER SUKPAI
    The international Conference menbers also addressed Khabarovsk kray governor Ishayev, asking to promote the establishment of the Upper Sukpay zapovednik. Khabarovsk Kray governor is among WWF Earth Keeper prize winners, however, he allowed to lend once protected area for commercial loggings for 49 year by Malaysian company Rimbunan Hijau. The unique taiga forest of Sukpai is habitat for 17 kinds of animals, 12 kinds of plants, fungi's and lichens.
    According to RF legislation, the projects of such scale should undergo the State Environmental review.
    There is no hope for companies responsible behavior - RH has gained bad reputation for its barbaric logging in tropical forests. Not only it will destroy the unique ecosystem, it will also break the rights of indigenous people - Upper Sukpai is and area of traditional use.

THE NEXT TRN CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN RUSSIA!!!
    The Next TRN Conference will be held in Russia, Moscow region, in September of year 2000. The Main organizers are Socio-ecological Union and Biodiversity Conservation Center. The main idea is to find and promote environmentally sound multipurpose forest use practices.

THE FOREST FIRES IN 1998
    The Federal Forest Service informed that in 1998 23553 forest fires were burning on 2450997 hectares of forest areas supervised by Forestry Service.

Issued by:

• V. Zakharov forestnews@glasnet.ru
• O. Berlova press@cci.glasnet.ru
• Z. Garkun zng@glasnet.ru