Published by Russian NGOs Forest Club
and Socio-Ecological Union Informational Coordination Center
N 44-45 (december 1999)
What is happening to biodiversity in Karelia
October 12-13 Seminar "Sustainable development of the Nothern European forest sector" was held in Petrozavodsk.
This workshop was aimed at strengthening cooperation between
authorities, timber companies, NGOs, financial institutions on the
regional and national level.
Many different and sometimes completely opposite views on the
forest use practices in the region were brought up during the
meeting. Biodiversity conservation in the regional forests
traditionally was one of the most controversial parts of the
discussion.
NGOs got one more confirmation of the fact that biodiversity
degradation in Karelia was not
considered by the official experts as the real problem.
Representatives of the Karelian Greens Association drew the
attention of the meeting participants
to the problem of the destruction of the oldgrowth forests
ecosystems. After two days debate
official and business experts agreed on the term "structural change
of biodiversity" instead of
"degradation" and other definitions of the nature destruction process
taking place in the region as
a result of unsustainable forest use.
It was also stressed by ecologists that the dialogue between
environment NGOs, authorities and
forest industry should be continued in order to provide more
ecologically, economically and
socially sound ways of the forest use.
Contact: Dmitriy Rybakov, Karelian Greens Association e-mail: greens@karelia.ru
Far East News
October 18-19 Conference "Public participation in the forest
conservation in Khabarovskiy kray
was held in Khabarovsk.
It was organized by the "Taiga's Rangers" with the help of Pacific
Environment Resource Center.
One of the most controversial issues for the discussion with the
local authority representatives
was the industrial use of the Upper Sukpay forests by Rimbunan Hijau.
Plus to it company keep violating national laws, regulations and
logging rules.
The last example: according to the information from the Sukpay
leskhoz (The Forest Service local
branch) the activities of Rimbunan Hijau had been stopped once in
October. Special state commission obliged the company to modify the
logging practices. The reason was that inspectors found out that
Rimbunan loggers felling the trees left them laying among the
standing ones. In several days company reported that the problem had
been solved.
SOS! Belorussian nature is in danger!
New protest campaign is underway
Belorussia is a part of the former USSR. It has been always famous
for its wild nature. The
country now is in the dictator's hands of former communist
Lukashenko. Resource extraction and
industrial development policy turned the protected areas into
clear-cuts and safari roads.
Government changed the status of the strictly protected areas to
the national parks, started
logging and providing hunts here. Forests are cut for the needs of
domestic bureaucrats and rare
animals are hunted by the rich European tourists.
SEU is planning now to start campaign to safe the Belorussian
nature. International participation
will be crucial!
Russian certification debates
International conference on the certification in forest management
was held in October in
Novgorod city, which is in the northern part of central Russia. WWF
and Novgorod Center for
certification of forest management organized the meeting. Novgorod,
one of the timber-exporting
regions of Russia, is today among the pioneers of the FSC
certification process in the country.
Forest certification is a part of the regional Concept of the Social
and Economical Development.
Meeting the ecological standards is considered by the regional
responsible bodies as an essential part of contemporary forest
management. It is brought out by new market trends towards
environment sustainability in the sector.
Timber consuming countries such as Germany and Netherlands want to
be sure that the products they buy are grown and processed in
socially and environmentally sound way, - says Alexey Yaroshenko,
Greenpeace Russia forest campaigner.
He pointed that the most attention is drawn now to the problem of
criminal logging and export
practices and to clear-cuts in the areas of protected species
inhabitation.
According to the new Russian Forest Code, certification of the
forest management should be
introduced everywhere in the country. The State Forest Service is
working out the process
guidelines now.
Although new forest management standards will hardly meet NGOs
expectations as public experts have now to stay out of this
discussion.
The Republic of Karelia, Archangelskiy oblast', Khabarovskiy kray
and other regions of Russia are
also willing to participate in certification process. The main
problem now is to agree on the
mechanisms and standards. Many international and Russian experts
participated in the conference recommend the Government to create
coordination body on the federal level to combine different
certification systems in order to stop the argument and make the
process sustainable.
Contact: Novgorod center for certification, e-mail:
yakovlev@stil.telecom.nov.ru
Next year SEU is launching The Forest Program
Joining the efforts of the activists working separately now is the
main focus of the initial
stage of the program.
General program tasks:
- to form and develop the civil movement for the forest
conservation and sustainable use;
- to create the information system to collect and distribute forest
campaign updates, success
stories in the field and other essential tools for activists and all
the concerned people;
- to enhance the cooperation between Russian, CIS and foreign NGOs
and grass-roots for the sake of the forest movement in general;
- to provide the assistance in fundraising for young forest
conservation SEU member groups and
other NGOs;
- to educate young groups and activists;
- to raise public awareness in the forest conservation and use
issues.
Contact: Vladimir Zakharov, forestnews@glasnet.ru
Stora-ENSO policy in Russia: facts and statements
Scandinavian company, which buys 16 per cent of its raw timber in
Russia, presented its view on
sustainable forest management.
Stora-ENSO is not planning to expand its logging moratorium areas.
Company will preferably buy
timber, which passed independent and volunteer certification.
Representative of Russian NGOs Forest Club Michael Karpachevskiy
addressed the most controversial point of the discussion about
ecologically and socially responsible forest management - public
participation in the decision making process.
He said that sustainability in the forest sector could not be
achieved without providing permanent consultations with public.
Otherwise companies might face many problems operating in Russia.
Stora-ENSO logging activities in Pyaozerskiy region of Karelia
where the most valuable natural
forests of European Russia are located has already lead to a conflict
between NGOs and the company.
Ecologists drew the attention of General Prosecutor to the problem
and urged the autiorities to
check the congruence of Pyaozerskiy forestry service and Karelian
forest committee activities with
national nature protection laws.
Contact: Michael Karpachevskiy, e-mail: tilia@glasnet.ru
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