Published by Russian NGOs Forest Club
and Socio-Ecological Union Informational Coordination Center
N 46-47 (december 1999)
First nature reserve in 2000
Vladimir Putin, Head of Russian government signed the Decree on creation of new strict nature reserve Tigirekskiy in Altay region. It will be the first this type nature reserve in the area. Before this 30 non-strictly nature reserves and 22 nature monuments protected all regional high level biodiversity.
The square of Tigirekskiy nature reserve is 40,000 ha. It is outstanding area of Siberian and Kazakh steppes facing Altay mountainous crests. Unique boreal forests (taiga) remain untouched here preserving a lot of relict species including 14 Russian Red Book animal species and 28 rare and 28 endemic plant species.
According to the experts even now it is not enough efforts undertaken to preserve natural habitat of living beings here. New forest and steppe territories of different conservation status must be added to the present natural protection system.
Contact: Andrey Strelnikov, Siberian Interregional Center "Zapovedniki"
Siberian news
December22-23The first interregional seminar on forest monitoring and conservation was held in big Eastern Siberian city Krasnoyarsk. The workshop covered the issues of control over the insects' population harmful for the forests and Siberian forest decease network development. Krasnoyarsk Forest Protection Center announces the results of its work on creation of
the insect control network in the region.
They adopted the decision to develop in year 2000 helpful software to maintain the forest monitoring activities. This work will be carried out by the Russian Forest Protection Center and funded by Russian Forest Service. Another decision was to create a task force involving forest conservation engineers, official bodies' representatives and scientists.
Contact: Vladimir Soldatov, Krasnoyarsk Forest Protection Center,
e-mail: protect@cc.krascience.rssi.ru
Fire routine
Federal Russian Forest Service reported on the results of fire season of 1999.
Fire broke out on 960,5 thousand hectares of forests which was in 3,6 times less than in 1998. More than 20.000 thousand cubic meters of logs were spoiled and more than 80.000 hectares of young forests were burned out. According to the official information from 70 to 100 per cent of fires were caused by men. Forest service was expected to prevent most of them as they employed new specialists for this. But public is still unaware of what they do if any.
Moscow can't afford water from Novgorod forests
December, 1999. Moscow water state enterprise failed the judge against Valday National Park located in Novgorod region in Northern part of Russia. State bodies were sued by the Park because of the illegal construction and using of the dam on the biggest lake of the famous park. All the project activities should have passed state environmental impact assessment, but it was not done and dam was built to pump drinking water for Moscow. According to the experts the water of the lake is pure enough to drink it without cleaning. The regional court decision was to stop using the facility destroying the unique natural complex of the river Yavon' which sprang from the lake, and its surroundings.
Cetification in Belorussia
Forest certification process started in former Soviet republic Belorussia. Workshop dedicated to the issue was held in December in Minsk (capital city). All the stake holders took part in it, - reported Greenpeace forest campaigner. Belorussia will focus on the development of its national certification guidelines which at the same time should set in to pan-European one.
Christmas spruce poachers
Student ecological guards of Tatarstan Republic of Russia organized winter gathering of young people contributed to "The Spruce" annual action against New Year trees illegal logging. To clampdown the spruce poaching is the responsibility of state forest rangers and militia, but the lack of financing and people make all the efforts to solve the problem really useless. The participation of young activists in patrolling helped the officials to stop unapproved "nature use" in some regions.
Chestnut "conservation" in Caucasus
Sweet chestnut has been included into Red Book of Adygeya Republic (Caucasian part of Russia) since 1997, but logging of this tree is still taking place there. As it always happens in Russia such logging are represented as sanitary ones. Activists of The Independent Ecological Service of North-West Caucasus (IES) organised field trip to the place of last "sanitary" clear-cut. Logging was done in the area far from the other sweet chestnut natural habitats which was in fact this species gene pool. Almost 100 of unique trees were cut.
IES sent official letters to regional authorities: Ministry of Environment, Forest Committee and Presecutor office urging them to investigate the case providing public participation in the process. But till today no activities were undertaken by responible bodies.
Contact: IES, Dmitriy Bolotnikov,
e-mail: ies@mail.ru
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