About Us
Projects
Reports
Forest Company Information
How You Can Help
News and Press Releases
Links and Photos
Final Report: Forest Governance Issues in the RFE and Siberia (2)
Illegal Logging in Tunkinsky National Park
Report of field visits by Friends of Siberian Forests (FSF) based on field visits in 2003 and 2004
Tunkinski National Park is an area rich in cultural and natural potential. Created on May 13th 1991, the park comprises 1,168,000 hectares and contains a high proportion of relatively intact boreal forests that are currently under serious threat from commercial logging operations.
However, despite the important role the park plays for the region and the fact that the park regulations strictly prohibit commercial logging, most surrounding villages are involved in logging operations. This, together with the shortage of park staff to effectively control illegal activities, have led to the increase in incidents of commercial logging in the park. The NGO Friends of Siberian Forests (FSF) visited Tunkinski National Park three times during 2003 and 2004, in order to monitor illegal logging activities and work with local activists to lobby authorities to crack down on illegal logging.
During FSF's first visit in June 2003, GPS and videotape were used to document evidence of illegal logging in the vicinity of the village of Arshan, which is situated within the park boundaries. Local villagers showed FSF trees that had been felled several days previously.
Saw mill in Zun-Murino. Photo ©FSF
Further questioning of the local villagers revealed that the illegally harvested timber is processed on the spot and is exported to China thereafter. FSF also observed several active sawmills in the nearby village of Zun-Murino. The villagers gave us to understand that the local authorities are aware of the illicit timber production activities. Following this, the team met with Mr. Victor Chimitovich Manzaraksheev, the head of the local administration, who was defensive about the issue and referred us to a local forest ranger in Arshan. The ranger, Bagulov Nikolai Alexandrovich, seemed a lot more concerned about commercial logging. He explained that the staff of 98 rangers is not enough to cover the vast area of the park and ensure effective control of the situation. He also mentioned that the park rangers are not authorised to instigate legal proceedings against the offenders unless they are caught red-handed. Mr. Bagulov also pointed out that even in cases when legal proceedings can be and are instigated, the local authorities tend to suppress them. In the course of the initial assessment, several issues regarding the activities in the park were raised:
There are clearly issues with the transparency of logging operations. Corruption occurs at all levels including regional authorities. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed at the federal level. Secondly, there is a conflict between the failure to cancel logging operations and the management of the park. A solution may be to prohibit all types of activities that are in contradiction with the park management plan. Thirdly, local authorities do not possess the required ability to control the activities of timber producers and ensure they are acting within the law. This problem could be resolved by supplementing financial and human resources.
Illegal logging in Arshan. Photo ©FSF
In August 2003, FSF conducted investigations together with colleagues from Krasnoyarsk, Ulan-Ude, and representatives of a local society from the Tunkinsky region of the Republic of Buryiatia. They confirmed the fact that illegal activities are taking place in the park, namely in the village of Arshan and other areas. Two months previously, the first investigation had been conducted. The team reported that the situation had changed for the worse. Moreover, the team uncovered fresh evidence of illegal logging. During the second investigation the team confirmed the fact that illegal logging was taking place, not only in the vicinity of Arshan but in other areas of the park. The team also discovered several places where wood had been burned, presumably to destroy the evidence.
After talking to the local villagers it became clear to the team that the illegally harvested timber is processed on the spot and then exported to China. The people suspect local authorities of being involved in these illegal activities. During the second investigation, the team attempted to meet with the head of the local administration, Mr. Mansaraksheev, to discuss the issue again, but he refused to see us. We could not meet with the local ranger, Mr. Bagulov, as he was on holiday at that time.
The team, however, managed to visit Keren, a district centre of the Tunkinski region. They visited the park office and met with Ms. Nina Nikolaevna Krakhmal, the head ranger. She was very helpful and understanding and agreed that the illegal logging in the park should stop, but that would be impossible because the local and regional authorities are involved. Nina Krakhmal said that a year ago the head of the local administration was fired because of his involvement in the illegal logging, but his replacement turned out to be even worse and the logging has increased since then. She also said that the government of Buryiatia wants to change the status of the park from national to regional. At the moment the park is under federal jurisdiction, being part of the Ministry for Natural Resources. If it became regional, the government of Buryiatia would have full control of the park's resources.
The team also met with Zinaida Mitrofanovna Shvedova, a teacher from Zun-Murino, and Olga Petrovna Shoboeva, a local club director. They both agreed that illegal logging should be stopped in the park. To achieve that they have tried to raise awareness among the local villagers, which proved difficult because the majority of the local population are unemployed and many suffer from alcohol abuse. Moreover, the local police have not been of much help as they support illegal logging in the park. Afterwards, the team visited Bodarsky Bor (situated between Arshan and Keren) where they discovered fresh evidence of illegal logging. In July 2004 the team visited the park for the third time.
As a result of the investigations, the team collected evidence of numerous illegal activities in the park. There were suggestions made to improve the situation, which were sent to the Ministry for Natural Resources, the government of Buryiatia and the president's representative in Siberia. One of the team members, Valery Tolstikhin, a journalist from Ulan-Ude, made a radio series on the plight of forests in Tunkinsky National Park. As a result of the series, the park director Zyrenov was fired on the 12th January 2004. Nina Krakhmal was temporarily assigned the post as an interim director.
Although logging operations continue, it has decreased in 2004. We have not found any fresh evidence in Arshan which would have been the norm a year previously. However, logging operations continue in other areas of the park. Evidence of this was found on the sacred mountain Mon in the vicinity of Zun-Murino. The majority of people we talked to during our visits do not approve of illegal loggers, but some justify their activities by saying that logging provides work for the unemployed.
Once again we met with Nina Krakhmal, and Mr. Alexei Bardashov, the deputy director of park security, who said that even though the total amount of illegal logging has decreased compared to the first half of 2003, it still remains a threat to the park.
In 2003, the authorised amount of logging was 42,000m3. Authorised logging operations took place during the day, whereas unauthorised logging took place mostly during the night. The park rangers conduct night raids, sometimes together with the police, but none of those raids had been successful, presumably because the police tip off the loggers beforehand. In the past, the park rangers conducted raids themselves, arrested offenders and even instigated legal proceedings against them, but those cases never reached court or if they did the offenders were never convicted. So the situation in Buryiatia remains the same as in other regions of East Siberia (Irkustsk and Chita oblasts) and the Russian Far East.
Recommendations
Train NGO workers in methods of uncovering corruption and bringing the offenders to justice. Raise awareness locally and internationally about the plight of Siberian forests. Provide additional financial resources to build capacity to enforce control of logging operations in the park. Raise concerns among the local population about the situation in the park and intolerance towards offenders and official authorities that cover the crimes. Overseas consumers should question the legality of the products sourced in Russia and only do business with reputable suppliers, preferably FSC-certified.