Sergey Shestakov Valery Barcan Legislative Practice and Nature Protection in Russia’s Kola Peninsula

suite of laws enacted during the 1990s has allowed Russia to begin to realize more effective nature protection. The following federal laws, which are the result of direct action by Russian lawmakers, Astate the value of a healthy environment and fix punishments for transgressions: • The law “On protection of the environment” (1991); • The base forest legislation of the Russian Federation (1993); • The law “On specially protected nature areas” (1995); • The water code of the Russian Federation (1996); and • The forest code of the Russian Federation (1997). This federal legal system has been in force since 1998. But in practice, to re- alize the intent of the new laws will demand a large and continuing effort in directions that have not been taken before. The Lapland Biosphere Reserve tite, Kirovsk, and Kovdor. provides a good example. The bio- Among them, the Severonickel sphere reserve is in the Kola Penin- smelter complex and the hydro- sula, which is adjacent to Finland in power complex at Kolenergo are re- far northeastern Russia (Figure 1; sponsible for the majority of negative Barcan 1995). Almost all of the pen- impacts on Lapland Reserve. Every insula is north of the Arctic Circle. year, the Severonickel smelter (in The Lapland Biosphere Reserve is operation since 1946) emits surrounded by large industrial enter- 200,000-300,000 tons of sulfur di- prises, including the Severonickel oxide and 3,000-4,000 thousand copper–nickel smelter complex; iron tons of nickel and copper into the ore mining complexes at Olenegorsk atmosphere. These emissions have and Kovdor; other mines at Apatite, caused catastrophic degradation in Kirovsk, and Koashva; the nuclear nearby forest ecosystems, demon- power station at Polar-Zory, 30 km strated by a decline in lichens, the south of Lapland Reserve; hydroe- death of trees, the disappearance of lectric stations on the Niva River, 30- animals, and a general decrease in 40 km south of the reserve; and mu- biological diversity. Approximately nicipal thermoelectric power stations 25,000-30,000 ha formerly covered at Monchegorsk, Olenegorsk, Apa- with forests have been transformed

92 The George Wright FORUM NORWAY SWEDEN

Gulf of Bothnia FINLAND

Murmansk

RUSSIA Barents Sea

White Sea

St. Petersburg Kola Peninsula

Figure 1. Location of Kola Peninsula. into barrens, 40,000 ha of forest are draining–flooding cycles in their now dying, and 400,000 ha more spawning grounds. show signs of degradation. Some In 1992, after a routine inspection 10,000 ha of these heavily damaged of forest conditions, Lapland Reserve forests are situated within the re- for the first time demanded compen- serve. sation for forest damage caused by Since 1934, outflows from two the Severonickel smelter. Without nearby lakes, Okhta and Pyrenga, going to trial, Severonickel agreed to have been controlled by dams, thus pay compensation for a small part of turning them into reservoirs in the the damage, partly by direct pay- hydropower chain on the Niva river, ments and partly by providing by which Imandra Lake issues into apartments for reserve employees. the White Sea. Water is accumulated But by 1995 the smelter was refusing during summer and discharged in to provide any support for the Re- winter. Annual lake level fluctuations serve. in these reservoirs reach 5.5 m, In Russia, nature reserves are whereas natural fluctuations of Kola supposed to be supported by the lakes are only 0.5 m. These extraor- federal government, but because of dinary fluctuations result in the deg- cutbacks the Lapland Reserve’s radation of coastal ecosystems, in- budget was restricted to minimal cluding the death of fishes owing to salaries only after 1995. At that time

Volume 17 ¥ Number 2 2000 93 we were forced to actively search for became evident to Severonickel that other sources of funds, and, after a it would lose the case, the smelter’s thorough analysis of the new Russian management offered to sign a com- legislation mentioned above, we promise agreement if the reserve thought we saw a way to obtain agreed to withdraw the suit. We money not only for the reserve’s agreed to the proposal and lowered mere survival, but for its proper our claims, primarily because the management and development too. new legal executive procedure had Our new federal legal system, al- only just begun to operate and im- though still far from completely plementation of compensation judg- worked out, gives us the freedom to ment would be delayed for several take the initiative. Thus we asserted years. Therefore, an agreement was the right to sue to get compensation concluded for five years: during this for the nature damage caused by in- time Severonickel pledged to pay dustrial activity near the reserve, with US$300,000 annually to support any damage judgments won going investigations of the smelter’s impact back to the reserve. on the environment. Such a step is not something to be At the same time, a suit was taken lightly. In Russia, metallurgical brought against the joint-stock com- plants and mines are often the sole pany which runs the Kolenergo hy- reason for a particular city or town’s droelectric complex for compensa- existence, and electricity-generating tion for damage to fish populations complexes are politically powerful owing to the fluctuations of the levels monopolies. Nevertheless, in 1996 of Pyrenga and Okhta lakes. This Lapland Reserve again inspected the claim surprised the Kolenergo com- territory affected by industrial emis- pany so much that it did not take the sions and, as a result, brought a suit lawsuit seriously: it did not reply to of US$6 million against the letters and took no part in the pre- Severonickel smelter for the forest liminary negotiations. Therefore, the damage. To stay within realistic fi- company come to court unprepared nancial limits, we consciously in- and lost the suit utterly and com- cluded in the suit only 15-20% of the pletely. Kolenergo tried to appeal the area actually damaged. The smelter, sentence but lost from instance to naturally, refused to pay, and so the instance. The court sentenced the reserve brought the suit to an arbi- company to an indisputable fine of tration tribunal. During the process, US$300,000. In theory, the reserve Severonickel for the first time in its could bring such a suit every year history admitted in court its guilt, because the damaging cyclic system i.e., that the smelter is causing the of water accumulation and discharge forest damage, but contested both remains in force. But instead, we ne- the dimensions and the value of the gotiated with Kolenergo and got it to damage. When, at the end of 1997, it build a 14-km low-voltage transmis-

94 The George Wright FORUM sion line and substation to provide, ages: where to get money, how to for the first time, electricity to the keep workers, how to just survive. main settlement within Lapland Re- Obviously, it would be better to be serve. (It is interesting that Kolen- able to spend this energy on resource ergo has behaved more delicately and protection, scientific research, and responsibly in international relations ecological education for the public than it has within Russia. In 1947, (Barcan 1997). These are the com- the company built the first weir on mon difficulties Russian reserves face the river Pats, which is on the fron- as we try to cope with the changes in tier with Finland and flows from the the country’s economic system. Finnish lake Inary. Kolenergo paid In the former USSR, users of Finland for forfeiting the river’s free natural resources did not even think flow—money and electric power in about compensating for nature compensation for damages to the fish losses. It is necessary that both the population in Inary. The flow on the legal system in general and tax laws Pats is regulated for Finland’s inter- in particular make it disadvantageous est, with fluctuations in water levels for industrial users of natural re- limited to 2.3 m by mutual agree- sources to damage the environment. ment.) For the present, it seems that Russian In 1998, only 18% of Lapland Re- industry is not ready for voluntary serve’s annual budget came from the changes. Perhaps our trials— federal government. The remainder portrayed as “the reserve against was obtained by the reserve’s staff on industrial enterprises”—will be first their own, including money from the steps toward changing that attitude; two judgments just described. Al- earlier, nature protection organiza- though this is a testament to the skill tions were not able to successfully and initiative of the staff, it is not a bring lawsuits against industry. We desirable state of affairs, since hope that our enterprise and example money-raising takes the lion’s share will be useful to others who have of the staff’s time. The lives of the taken up the difficult task of nature staff and the operations of the reserve protection. center on trying to get around short-

References Barcan, Valery. 1995. Research in the Lapland Biosphere Reserve. The George Wright Forum 12:2, 44-46. ———. 1997. Environmental values and ethics in the Kola Peninsula, Russia. The George Wright Forum, 14:3, 67-69. Sergey Shestakov, Lapland Biosphere Reserve, 184280 Monchegorsk, Murmansk Province, Zeleny, 8, Russia; [email protected] Valery Barcan, Lapland Biosphere Reserve, 184280 Monchegorsk, Mur- mansk Province, Zeleny, 8, Russia; [email protected]

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