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FSF Report 5

FSF report 5

The Main Environmental Problems of Southeastern Siberia

REGIONS: Buryat Republic (Buryatia) and Chita Oblast, Russian Federation

DATES OF RIDES: 23rd - 27th May, 8th - 11th June 2004

PARTICIPANTS:

Andrey Laletin (FSF)
Vladimir Laletin (FSF)
Andrei Suknyov (Great Baikal Trail, Ulan-Ude)
David Corson-Knowles (Forests Monitor)
Josh Newell (Forests Monitor)

Summary

During May-June, 2004 FSF and FM coordinators (Andrey Laletin and David Corson-Knowles) working with partners from Krasnoyarsk and Ulan-Ude and Josh Newell, a project consultant from Seattle (USA), made a joint investigative trip to Eastern Siberia and Northern China (See report #6 for information from China). The research team held meetings with experts and professionals from NGOs, government agencies, and the business sector.

The Buryat government, with no tradition of cooperative work with NGOs, tends towards secrecy. The main problem now for Buryatia is inappropriate legislation; it is filled with loopholes which officials and businessmen exploit. Plans to develop a new system for granting large concessions may exacerbate unsustainable logging in the region, as previous attempted reforms have. In Chita region there is a strong NGO Dauria that has forced government officials to take NGOs views into account. In both regions illegal logging is common, particularly close to roads.

Illegal loggers usually cut during the night, choosing the best trees. They take the largest portion of the tree (usually 6 metres from the stump up) and leave the rest in the forest, where it poses a grave fire risk. There are Chinese entrepreneurs, companies from Moscow, and local firms that prepare documents to 'legalise' this timber. It is difficult to prove any particular instance of corruption, but there is reason to suspect mafia involvement based on local accounts.

Purpose

The objective of this trip was to collect information on the main environmental problems of Eastern Siberia connected with forests and timber export to China.

Churned logs and earth left at a roadside felling site. Photo ©FSF

Findings

In Ulan-Ude, the team spoke with Vladimir Fyodorovich Belogolovov. He is the Siberian coordinator of the ROLL project of the Institute for Sustainable Communities. He provided a useful introduction to major issues in Baikal: logging along the shore and in the watersheds; air pollution from Irkutsk region which caused drying of pines and which is then used as an excuse for sanitary logging; the controversial oil and gas pipeline from Irkutsk region to the Pacific shore of Russia (its last route was finalized through north of Baikal). According to him, it makes no sense to build a pipeline along the BAM railway. He suggested that they should use the BAM to transport the oil.

Air pollution is another very serious problem. The pollution is probably carried on the wind from factories in Irkutsk oblast. Chemicals found in tests on the Buryatia side of the lake are not common in Buryat industry. This air pollution is killing off firs and cedars. This leads to pests, then sanitary logging or fire. Often the wet soil conditions make this timber difficult to extract, but Vladimir Belogolovov reports that loggers carry out cutting even when the timber cannot be extracted. They want to build roads to increase their access to these forests, but environmentalists have so far prevented it.

N55 degree, 59 minutes, 39.5 seconds. E92 degrees, 45 minutes, 40.6 seconds. Photo ©FSF

Vladimir Belogolovov viewed sanitary logging as an excuse for the forest service's own financial motives. In contrast, he recommended visiting the well managed forest service in Turka, which is about 170 km from Ulan-Ude. The Russian Federal Forest Service is usually blamed for not controlling illegal logging, but it is necessary to cooperate with its staff. However, the Forest Service is very poor so they plan to give concessions to timber companies. By giving out concessions, they hope that they can get the timber companies to take primary responsibility for managing the forest in concession areas. This approach is also proposed in the text of the new (Federal) Russian Forest Code.

The chief of the Buryat Forest Service, Alexander Martynov, prefers to give large long-term concessions. Regional regulations for leasing forestland are being developed in 2004 and 2005. Mr. Martynov, being a bureaucrat himself, tries to do something to stop "government mafia" i.e. organized corruption among bureaucrats.

According to Martynov, fire is the main problem for Buryatia's forests. He said that according to the official statistics only about 7 percent of the total harvest is illegally logged (from the total volume of logging in Buryatia 1.5 million cu.m., 200,000 cu.m is illegal). Martynov confirmed what the team observed: that there is a great deal of illegal logging near roads. He cited this as the major source of illegal timber in the region.

In the Buryatia Forest Service, the team also had a meeting with Valeri Chechenov, Head of Forest Control. He told us that everybody is corrupt. Bureaucrats will never provide real figures. Russia needs better legislation and better politicians. Forest rangers need to be paid enough, as the monthly salary is now about $50, making it too easy to look the other way. Chechenov noted that $50 is less than the price of one log. He does not want to work together with police and NGOs on enforcement, just for the Forest Service. The Buryatia Forest Service provided production statistics by district for 2003 (See Appendix). The following story was related in Ulan-Ude: The President of Buryatia heard that it was possible to buy timber for cash in a certain place, so he went there, observed it was true, and then he made a decree that control of the trade should be carried out on the district (raion) level. A local environmentalist explained that the decentralized system has allowed raion level mafias to become organized. The well intended decree does not seem to have had a positive effect. NGOs will try to monitor this process for compliance. However, no formal role for NGO involvement is included in the regulations.

Log stockpile near an old customs sign. Photo ©FSF

Andrey Sukyov, who has helped establish the Great Baikal Trail (GBT) accompanied the research team to Turka. He is very interested in the development of local ecotourism to provide economic alternatives to logging. In Turka we met Yuri Rzhanev, owner of a guest house situated on the shore of lake Baikal. He is a member of the local NGO. Yuri works with Tatyana Tivikova from the local Forest Service. He has ambitions to expand his guest house. Andrei said part of the GBT project is to increase trail access, but hopefully limit increased road access, which would facilitate illegal logging.

The team then met Tatyana Tivikova, Chief Forester of the Baikalsky Leskhoz (612,000 ha). Much of the area is situated near Lake Baikal, making it group 1 forest (a protected area). The annual allowable cut (AAC) for the remaining forest land is 600,000 cu.m. Baikalskaya Lesnaya Companiya is the largest logger in the leskhoz, cutting about 75,000 cu. m per year.

Asked about the logging sites along the road between Ulan-Ude and Turka, Tivikova confirmed that most of it is illegal, but it is outside of her jurisdiction. She explained that her district saw much less illegal logging because there is less road access. In the previous year, there were only four recorded cases of illegal logging in this lezkhoz, for damages of only 6,000 roubles. They have a nursery for 600,000 seedlings. Children volunteer in this nursery and learn about forest protection and restoration. This Forest Service district also has a problem with forest fire, with 90% of fires caused by people.

On the road back to Ulan-Ude, we took pictures of illegal logging. It is N55 degree, 59 minutes, 39.5 seconds. E92 degrees, 45 minutes, 40.6 seconds at Kikinsky Leskhoz. This site was right next to the road. It was a fairly big site for illegal logging and clearly in Group 1 forests.

In Chita, the team had a meeting with Inga Zinovieva - President of the regional NGO Dauria. Dauria works on a wide-variety of issues, being the largest environmental organization in Chita Oblast. In terms of forest issues, they focus on monitoring and control of forest lands specifically by shaping public opinion. They work with mass media and help journalists to identify appropriate topics. They work with appropriate governmental structures that control forest users and lobby government officials to enact legislation. Also they hold roundtables and public meetings.

Recently, the Russian government held the Baikal Economic Forum in Chita. Dauria lobbied for specific language on public consultations on matters such as the oil and gas pipeline from Eastern Siberia to the Pacific. They work on the regional level with the new national Forest Code to make the process more transparent. They helped with creation of the Alkhanay National Park and they helped prepare documents necessary for the creation of Chikoi National Park.

They are now working to map Chita city's forests and bring local leskhozes and others to task for not controlling use of these forests and for dumping trash. They have already identified 50 illegal garbage sites and they made a public issue of this. They identified the dumpers, who then had to remove their garbage. Finally, Inga told us that of 100 court trials for illegal logging only 10% resulted in convictions. There are simply no funds to do more. They are interested in future collaboration. They can be contacted in English as they have a good translator.

From Chita our team made a trip to observe and document processing facilities in Leznoi Gorodok town that is located 56 kilometres west of the city limits of Chita. The riding team first went to an export loading facility near a bridge over the railroad. The Chief of the Local Administration, Alexander Mikhailovich Orlov, accompanied us on a trip to two loading facilities and forest site which recently experienced illegal felling. He explained that Chinese entrepreneurs run these timber loading points for railway export. Truck drivers approaching the facility stopped when they saw us filming. When asked to estimate what portion of the logs in the facility was illegally harvested, the administration chief said 100% of these logs are illegal. A nearby stockpile and loading facility had a sign by the tracks which said "Customs Check Point" but this is no longer true. We marked the site with GPS and filmed a truck being loaded.

These facilities are located less than a kilometer from a Scotch pine forest (Pinus sylvestrus) where there were clear signs of recent illegal logging. High graded large trees were harvested as well as small young trees. Damage to surrounding trees from felling was also evident and the forest was extremely dry near the clearings. Branches and tree tops were left on the forest floor, increasing the risk of forest fire.

Orlov talked extensively about the mafia organized in this area. The administration chief explained that first they will try to bribe officials, and if they refuse the mafia will offer amounts in the thousands of dollars. If officials still refuse, then they will threaten him. Orlov was only recently appointed to his post, but he is already experiencing these pressure tactics. There are three villages under his administration. The military plays a significant role in the area. Orlov explained that the local military is not corrupt. They have tried to clamp down on logging, but without success because orders and papers purporting to legalize logging come down from Moscow. Businesses may be registered with Russian names, but they are run by Chinese nationals.

Discussion at an illegal logging site. Photo ©FSF

Recommendations

  • There should be an initiative to reform the current inappropriate legislation in Buryatia. Specifically, NGOs and others should take an active role in monitoring the development of timber concession plans in Buryatia
  • Government officials should work transparently and in cooperation with NGOs
  • Experience from the NGO Dauria from Chita on lobbying regional and local authorities and on the forest protection achievements should be widely distributed among Russian NGOs.
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