15072014
The first stage of the Udora pupils environmental expedition organized in the framework of the Model River Mezen project has come to an end. Six 7-11-graders together with their leaders Alexander Morozov and Alexander Butyrev have sailed on a catamaran along the Mezen – from the Lower Puzla inflow into the Mezen to Usogorsk.
A group of representatives of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry has visited the demonstration sites of the Komi Model Forest within the framework of an international seminar organized by the Syktyvkar Forest Institute.
Last week the first practice of the stocking the “AgroUdora” cooperative fishing grounds with fish was held.
The cooperative leases five fishing grounds on the Irva, the tributary of the Mezen. The members of the Glotovo branch of the “ArgoUdora” – the residents of the village with the same name and the relating villages – are engaged in the fishing on these fishing grounds, mainly for their own needs, according to the allocated quotas. The cooperative is one of the participants of the Model River Mezen project implementation representing the community of the local residents who are above all others interested in the conservation of the fish resources. Therefore, the cooperative is dedicated to the sustainable river management development. The monitoring and maintenance of the fish stock, including the fish stocking, is one of the conditions of such management.
The first expedition of another field season of the Silver Taiga Foundation ecologists is devoted to the preparation of the Komi Model Forest demonstration routes for the educational courses, seminars, and excursions, which have been traditionally organized and conducted by the Foundation for more than ten years now.
The All-Russian “Tree planting day” campaign in the Komi Republic has been attended by the Minister for Natural Resources of Russia Sergey Donskoy and the Head of Rosleskhoz Vladimir Lebedev. In the course of their visit they got the materials on the results of the “Komi Model Forest” project implementation in Komi – an electronic presentation and a movie.
Another meeting with potential Foundation volunteers – students of the faculty of chemistry and biology of the Syktyvkar University – took place in the Silver Taiga Foundation office.
The Silver Taiga Director Yury Pautov told the future ecologists and biologists about the Foundation projects. The ecologist Nikolay Shuktomov informed them about the activities within the frameworks of these projects in which the voluntary helpers – a few volunteers who are already involved in the projects implementation – take part.
However, the main target of the meeting was an acquaintance of the Foundation employees with the potential volunteers, their interests and skills, and their motivation. They wanted to pay attention of the new volunteers wishing to join the existing ones to the fact that the Silver Taiga does not specialize on organization of mass actions (tree planting, litter removal, etc.).
Although the Foundation employees regularly participate in such annual voluntary clean-ups as “Rechnaya lenta” (River ribbon), “Mayovka”, and other similar events, professional goals and objectives of the Foundation are a bit different. The Silver Taiga Foundation projects are development projects aimed at approbation and introduction of the sustainable management of natural resources – forests, rivers, watersheds – on a designated area. Our efforts are directed at the conservation of the ecological forest values, the most precious pristine forest massifs, involvement of the local population in the management process, support of the “forest” rural settlements development, sustainable forest management training for the forest relations participants…
Accordingly, what the Foundation team expects from the volunteers is not the massiveness and one-time sounding campaigns but specific help in the implementation of these projects and other fields of activity. Our voluntary assistants take part in the field works conducted in the forest and on the river, help to organize conferences and seminars, work with the Foundation photo archive, translate English-language sources on the project topics, etc. While performing this “isolated” not always noticeable work all of them make a real contribution to the sustainable development of our region and, at the same time, obtain new knowledge and improve their professional skills.
If someone reading this information would like to take part in such work, he/she can fill out a form and send it to the following address: nshuktomov@komimodelforest.ru. After that the Silver Taiga employees will contact you to discuss the prospects for cooperation.
Valentina Semyashkina
Translated by Irina Sokolova
The first joint conference of the stakeholders representing different districts and regions, and different departments was held on March 14 within the frameworks of the “Model river Mezen” project. It was organized in the village Leshukonskoye – the center of the district with the same name adjacent to the Udorsky district and located in the middle reaches of the Mezen river where the Vashka meets the Mezen.
Interregional cooperation and recreational fishing on the Mezen was discussed at another meeting of the “Model river Mezen” project Working group held at the end of February.
Yury Pautov, “Silver Taiga” Director and member of the Working group engaged in the development of this document, informed the audience about the progress of implementation of the project initiative on creation of an interregional target program aimed at conservation and reproduction of the Atlantic salmon in the Mezen river. He introduced the audience to the main sections of the Program under development.
Announcement of the results of the district contest among the methodological developments of lesson or out-of-school activities on the topic “Tsar fish – Mezen salmon” has been held in the secondary school of the Glotovo village. The contest has been conducted by the Silver Taiga Foundation jointly with the Department of Education of the municipal district “Udorsky” within the frameworks of the “Model river Mezen” project.
The contest announced at the end of the last academic year was aimed at drawing the schoolteachers’ attention and through them the attention of their pupils and youth to the values and problems of the Mezen river. According to the organizers, the study of the peculiarities and condition of such flagship species of the Mezen ichthyofauna as the Atlantic salmon (salmon) will promote the extension of the pupils’ knowledge about the fish resources of the Mezen river basin in general and traditions of the respectful and responsible attitude to the river and its resources which play a huge role in the life of the people. It was also important to direct attention of the pupils to the current state of the species and the reasons of its degradation, as well as the conditions and possible ways for its restoration.
Six Russian environmental organizations – WWF Russia, Greenpeace Russia, Non-Profit Partnership “Transparent World”, Komi Regional Non-Profit Foundation “Silver Taiga”, Interregional Public Organization “Northern Environmental Coalition” (SPOK), and Kola Biodiversity Conservation Center – have developed and signed the document containing their unified position on low-disturbed forests.
It is referred to the large forest massifs (above 500 sq. km. and more than 10 km in width) representing the wildlife areas in the forest zone. The specialists call them low-disturbed forest areas (LDF) and highly appreciate their role in the conservation of the biodiversity, climate control, and environmental quality assurance in general. However, as a result of the commercial exploitation these last indigenous forests in Russia are disappearing at a catastrophic speed.
In the document signed by the NGOs representatives the necessity to stop the destruction of these valuable natural areas of prime importance is declared and specific recommendations on conservation of such territories are suggested.
According to the Silver Taiga Foundation Director Yury Pautov, who has taken part in the harmonization and editing of the document, an important point is that the declared Position combines different NGOs working both at the federal and regional levels. It shows to all stakeholders that this very union and mutual support are making us strong.
Besides, this unified position is a signal for the investors who hold themselves out as ecologically responsible forest users. Timber companies shall understand that if they lease the forest areas located within the low-disturbed forests massifs and announce intention to certify their forest management and products according to the FSC system they will inevitably face the problems with the environmental NGOs. It is confirmed by a recent conflict situation with LLC “Lesozavod №1” in the Komi Republic concerning the logging in the Core of the Verkne-Vashka massif of low-disturbed forest areas. All the more so, as currently non-governmental organizations are regularly monitoring exploitation of low-disturbed territories by space images.
More detailed information about the Position of the non-governmental environmental organizations of Russia on low-disturbed forest areas can be found here: http://www.wwf.ru/resources/news/article/12076.
Valentina Semyashkina
Translated by Irina Sokolova