English | French | Home

FSF Report 4

FSF Report 4

Checking timber trade through customs in Naushki (border with Mongolia) and Zabaikalsk (border with China)

REGION: Buryat Republic and Chita oblast, Russian Federation

DISTRICT: Kyahta District, Buryat Republic and Zabaikalsk District, Chita oblast

DATES OF RIDES: June 26th - 28th, 2003 and January 11th - 13th, 2004

PARTICIPANTS:

Andrey Laletin (FSF)
Alexander Schepin (FSF)
Victor Yarovoy (FSF)
Nikolai Zubov (Krasnoyarsk Environmental Institute)
Roman Fadeev (BROC)
Bente Molenaar (FM)
Jonathan Barnard (FM)
Christian Straarup (Nepenthes)

Cranes near train station in Zabaikalsk, photo ©FSF

Summary

In late June 2003, the research team traveled through Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk and Chita oblasts, and Buryat Republic. The group visited customs in the village Naushki (Kyahta district, Buryat Republic) on the border with Mongolia. Statistics on the volume of the timber are included below. The project participants lobbied customs officials, briefed journalists, and met with local people and NGOs. As a result, the team identified companies known to be engaging in the illegal timber trade.

In January 2004, the project coordinator from FSF, Andrey Laletin, and an Executive Director of a partner NGO - Krasnoyarsk Environmental Institute, Nikolai Zubov made a field trip to the customs in Zabaikalsk town (Chita oblast) on the border with China, where they observed the export of truckloads of raw logs. They also met representatives of the local administration for Zabaikalsk district, with customs, and with local people. In 2003, 95% of Siberian timber was officially exported through the two railway stations inspected in this report: Naushki and Zabaikalsk.

Purpose

The objective of these trips was to collect information on the timber trade between Russia, Mongolia and China.

Introduction

Naushki railway station is the only gateway from Russia to Mongolia by railroad. According to our previous research ("The Wild East") most timber going through Naushki customs does not stay in Mongolia, instead it passes through Mongolia to China.

Zabaikalsk railway station is the closest direct way from Siberia to China. There are many sawmills in Manchouli and other towns in the Chinese area close to Zabaikalsk. Raw logs from Siberia are processed in China, and the sawn wood is sold to Japan or used in China.

Findings

In June 19-20, 2003 project participants from 3 partner NGOs coordinating this project: Krasnoyarsk Regional Non-Governmental Ecological Movement "Friends of the Siberian Forests" (FSF), Bureau of Regional Outreach Campaigns (BROC) and Forests Monitor (FM) organized a workshop in Krasnoyarsk to teach other NGOs from Siberia in methods of forest monitoring.

After this workshop, Andrey Laletin, Alexander Schepin and Victor Yarovoy from FSF, Roman Fadeev from BROC, and Jonathan Barnard and Bente Molenaar from FM, together with Christian Staarup from the Danish NGO Nepenthes, made a field trip through Krasnoyarsk krai, Irkutsk and Chita oblasts, and Buryat republic. In this region they met with the local NGOs, Baikal Environmental Wave in Irkutsk, Buryat Regional Department on Lake Baikal in Ulan-Ude, Appeal of Arshan in the Tunkinsky district of Buryat Republic, and Dauria in Chita oblast.

In June 26th - 28th, the team visited the customs offices in the village Naushki (Kyahta district, Buryat Republic) on the border with Mongolia. The project participants arranged a number of meetings with the following people: Tatyana Klochikhina (editor) and Yeugeny Surmach (staff journalist) - representatives of the local newspaper "Leninskoye Znamya" (Lenin's Banner); Andrey Kuleshov (Chief), Alexander Krinitsyn (First Deputy Chief) and Sergey Krasikov (Deputy Chief) from Naushki customs; Irina Anisimova from phyto-sanitary control inspection. The team also met with local people in Kyahta and Naushki. The team collected material on the volume of timber trade through the customs in the first quarter of 2003 (514,854 cubic metres). We also found names of companies that were noticed as violators of legal timber trade: "Exintra" from Tomsk and "Tornado-Trade" from Krasnoyarsk. In 2003, 30% of all Siberian timber was exported through the Naushki railway station.

In January 2004, the project coordinator from FSF Andrey Laletin and an Executive Director of a partner NGO - Krasnoyarsk Environmental Institute, Nikolai Zubov, made a field trip to the customs in Zabaikalsk town in Chita oblast on the border with China. They observed many truckloads of raw logs. According to the officials, every day 300 truckloads of raw logs pass Zabaikalsk railway station and go to China. We also had meetings with representatives of the local administration in Zabaikalsk district (Vasily Tarakanovsky - Chief and Sergey Barmin - Deputy Chief), with customs (Valentin Anikjev - Chief and Oleg Ulyankin - inspector), and with local people. In 2003, 65% of all Siberian timber was exported through Zabaikalsk railway station.

Nikolai Zubov in Zabaikalsk near the main office building of Zabaikalsk Customs. Photo ©

Recommendations

  • To identify illegally logged timber and stop its export, it is necessary to coordinate activities of customs with phyto-sanitary inspections and border guards.
  • To get current statistical information on timber export, to contact Regional Customs Department in Novosibirsk.
  • To make analysis of trends in timber export (see annexes) and to publish it in the NGO Guide on monitoring of illegal logging and timber trade.

    •