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Final Report: Introduction and Overview

Final Report: Introduction and Overview

Introduction

This report presents an overview of the findings of the two-year project "Building Capacity in NGOs in the Russian Far East and Siberia to monitor illegal logging operations and the timber trade", which was funded by the European Union. The aims of the project have been to strengthen the capacity of environmental NGOs in the Russian Far East and Siberia to play an active part in documenting the many forms of illegal logging and trade that are prevalent in these areas, and to use the information to lobby authorities at the district, regional, national and international levels to address illegal and unsustainable harvesting and export of Russia's forest resources.

The project has been a partnership between Forests Monitor, based in the UK, and Bureau for Regional Outreach Campaigns (BROC) in the Russian Far East and Friends of Siberian Forests in Siberia. The partners have engaged with other groups in the regions to strengthen forest monitoring skills through workshops and on-the-ground training, and to form alliances to advocate change and promote greater awareness amongst local communities and authorities about the detrimental economic, social and environmental consequences of an out-of-control industry.

The report synthesises the main findings of the project, including the field work undertaken by the Russian partners, their interactions with authorities and an analysis of trade with neighbouring countries. The report analyses the draft forest code and identifies some key recommendations for change that have been formulated by the Russian partners as a result of the work they have undertaken over the course of the past two years.

Photo ©FSF

Overview

The boreal forests of Siberia and the Russian Far East are home to a rich variety of species, and are significant for forest biodiversity. Russia has vast forest resources, but although much of the taiga is still untouched, forest quality is declining. There are many underlying causes for this loss of forest quality: logging, fires, mining, road construction, oil and gas development, and clearing for agriculture [1]. As the international demand for Russian timber increases logging is spreading into previously unlogged forest areas. In the past decade the demand for raw logs has soared. In the same period domestic processing in Russia has decreased, and the export of logs has become the main source of income for many timber enterprises. Thus, the timber industry in the Russian Far East and Siberia is currently heavily dependent on the export of raw logs.

In addition to being at the mercy of the market for raw logs, this region has suffered a severe increase in the incidence and volume of illegal logging. Illegalities can take a number of forms. In the Russian Far East and Siberia, NGOs have documented cases of logging without permits, felling of protected species, use of fake documents, bribes, felling of more than the allowable cut, and export without appropriate documents [2]. Corruption is widespread, and in many cases the very individuals and institutions charged with protecting forest resources are implicated in the illegal timber trade.

The increase in the unsustainable harvesting of timber in the Russian Far East and Siberia is a threat to the rich biodiversity of the region and areas that provide important habitat for endangered species are at risk. More importantly, the vast areas of the Siberian and Russian Far Eastern forests are home to tens of thousands of indigenous people as well as other forest-dependent communities who rely on the forest for their livelihoods. One of the most pristine areas of the Sikhote-Alin forests, the Samarga river basin, is home to the Udege people. In 1991 this area in the north east of the Primorsky region was designated as a potential traditional-use reserve. Despite the long-standing intention to reserve the Samarga basin, the Primorsky based company Terneiles was recently granted a 49-year concession to log this area and controversially has been certified by the Stewardship Council. A spokesperson of the Agzu Hunting and Fishing Association explained that the taiga is not only the base for the Udege peoples' livelihood, it is also the spiritual anchor of the community. He feels that logging the Samarga basin would mean the end of his community. As the pressure to log in the Russian Far East and Siberia increases, there will be more conflicts of a similar nature. Much of the logging in the Russian Far East (RFE) and Siberia is carried out by small-scale operators. There are, however, two large companies operating in RFE. The Malaysian multinational Rimbunan Hijau entered the area when it was granted a large concession in 1997 for a period of 48 years in Khabarovsk region. Terneiles operates in Primorsky Krai. Both small-scale operations and logging by large companies require careful monitoring for any violations of forestry and environmental laws and regulations. The awareness of the problems associated with logging in the Russian Far East and Siberia is slowly increasing. A number of NGOs and journalists are monitoring the timber flows from the Russian Far East and Siberia, and in recent years they have exposed cases of illegalities in the timber trade.

The efforts by BROC and FSF to engage with local and regional authorities and elected representatives have met with mixed results. Although some have shown a willingness to tackle the problems, others either turn a blind eye or are themselves implicated in corrupt practices and illegal activities. The Russian federal government has signalled its interest in tackling the problem by offering to host the first Ministerial Conference on Europe and North Asia Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (ENA-FLEG) in November 2005. As with similar processes in Asia and Africa, it is expected that the conference will bring governments together to agree priorities and actions for tackling illegal logging and its associated trade throughout the region. This will be an important opportunity for producer and consumer governments to take decisive and co-ordinated action to halt activities that rob Russia alone of billions of dollars of income.

However, as indicated clearly by the evidence gathered during the course of this project, if the Russian government is committed to implement policies that not only halt illegal logging but also promote economic development within environmentally and socially sustainable limits, then it has to implement and enforce coherent policies and laws that not only tackle illegal logging but also allow local communities and enterprises to develop environmentally and socially sustainable forest-based industries. These are more likely to bring lasting economic and social benefits to the people living in and near forests, rather than facilitating the concentration of power in the hands of distant corporations. The models exist for such development, and the ENA-FLEG provides a perfect opportunity for the international community to support Russia in actively promoting these models.