CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN FOR THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST ECOREGION COMPLEX Part 1. Biodiversity and socio-economic assessment Editors: Yuri Darman, WWF Russia Far Eastern Branch Vladimir Karakin, WWF Russia Far Eastern Branch Andrew Martynenko, Far Eastern National University Laura Williams, Environmental Consultant Prepared with funding from the WWF-Netherlands Action Network Program Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Blagoveshensk, Birobidzhan 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN. Part 1. 1. INTRODUCTION 4 1.1. The Russian Far East Ecoregion Complex 4 1.2. Purpose and Methods of the Biodiversity and Socio-Economic 6 Assessment 1.3. The Ecoregion-Based Approach in the Russian Far East 8 2. THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST ECOREGION COMPLEX: 11 A BRIEF BIOLOGICAL OVERVIEW 2.1. Landscape Diversity 12 2.2. Hydrological Network 15 2.3. Climate 17 2.4. Flora 19 2.5. Fauna 23 3. BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST 29 ECOREGION COMPLEX: FOCAL SPECIES AND PROCESSES 3.1. Focal Species 30 3.2. Species of Special Concern 47 3.3 .Focal Processes and Phenomena 55 4. DETERMINING PRIORITY AREAS FOR CONSERVATION 59 4.1. Natural Zoning of the RFE Ecoregion Complex 59 4.2. Methods of Territorial Biodiversity Analysis 62 4.3. Conclusions of Territorial Analysis 69 4.4. Landscape Integrity and Representation Analysis of Priority Areas 71 5. OVERVIEW OF CURRENT PRACTICES IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 77 5.1. Legislative Basis for Biodiversity Conservation in the RFE 77 5.2. The System of Protected Areas in the RFE 81 5.3. Conventions and Agreements Related to Biodiversity Conservation 88 in the RFE 6. SOCIO-ECONOMIC INFLUENCES 90 6.1. Population 91 6.2. Economy 95 6.3. Future Economic Development 109 7. OVERRIDING THREATS AND THREAT ANALYSIS 112 7.1. Overriding Threats 112 7.2. Threat Analysis of Priority Areas 121 7.3. Conclusions of Threat Analysis 124 8. STAKEHOLDERS IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN THE RFE ECOREGION 126 8.1. Overview of Interest Groups 126 8.2. Climate for Stakeholder Cooperation 137 9. CONCLUSIONS OF THE BIODIVERSITY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT 138 9.1. Review of Priority Areas for Conservation 138 9.2. Vision for Biodiversity Conservation in the RFE 140 9.3. Achieving the Biodiversity Vision 142 9.4. What Next? 145 GLOSSARY 146 ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT 153 REFERENCES 154 ATTACHMENT 1. Members of the Ecoregional Council for Sustainable Nature 158 Management (RFE Ecoregional Council) ATTACHMENT 2. Contributors to the Biodiversity and Socio-Economic Assessment 161 ATTACHMENT 3. Protected Areas in the RFE Ecoregion Complex 168 ATTACHMENT 4. Summary of Ongoing and Completed Projects Related to Biodiversity 170 Conservation in the RFE LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Number of plants and mushrooms included in the Russian and 20 regional Red Books of rare and endangered species Table 2. Overall and comparative diversity of organisms in the RFE 24 Table 3. Minimum area requirements for focal species and related assumptions 34 Table 4. Comparison of two Ecoregion classification systems 61 Table 5. Evaluation of characteristics of biodiversity in the RFE Ecoregion 64 Table 6. Ecoregions of the RFE Ecoregion Complex 67 Table 7. Priority areas for short- and medium-term conservation of biodiversity 72 in the Russian Far East Ecoregion Complex Table 8. Integrity of priority eco-districts and major threats to biodiversity 74 Table 9. Percent of land in the RFE covered by protected areas of various types 82 Table 10. Area, population, and gross regional product of administrative 93 regions in the Russian Far East Ecoregion Complex Table 11. Output of the natural resource sector in the RFE 102 Table 12. Threats to major ecosystems in the Russian Far East Ecoregion 119 Complex and their primary sources Table 13. Impact of economic activity on forest ecosystems of the RFE 120 Table 14. Ranking of type of threat and distribution, overall biodiversity, 125 and overall priority level for priority conservation areas in the RFE Ecoregion Complex Table 15. Niches of prominent stakeholders in implementing the Conservation 135 Action Plan for the RFE Ecoregion Complex LIST OF BOXES Box 1. Principles of Ecoregion-based conservation 9 Box 2. Biodiversity of the RFE in brief 11 Box 3. Viable populations of mammals in the RFE Ecoregion Complex 25 Box 4. Amur Tiger Conservation Strategy 35 Box 5. Far Eastern Leopard Conservation Strategy 41 Box 6. Oriental White Stork Conservation Strategy 44 Box 7. Primary laws and legislative mechanisms in the Russian Federation 77 governing biodiversity conservation in the RFE Box 8. International environmental conventions and agreements in the RFE 89 Box 9. The regional system of nature use prior to and during economic reforms 101 Box 10. Types of threats to biodiversity 121 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of Russian Far East Ecoregion Complex 5 Figure 2. Landscapes 13 Figure 3. Relief 13 Figure 4. Climate 18 Figure 5. Vegetation 18 Figure 6. Scheme of Fauna Types Distribution in the RFE 26 Figure 7. The density of Amur tiger tracks on count units in Khabarovsky and Primorsky 33 Provinces on data of simultaneous survey (February 10 -12, 1986). Figure 8. Amur Tiger Econet: Proposed system of Nature Protected Areas in Khabarovsky 36 and Primorsky Provinces Figure 9. Distribution of Far Eastern Leopard in different habitat types in Southwestern 39 Primorsky Province Figure 10. Oriental White Stork distribution in freshwater ecosystems of Amur river 43 Figure 11. Historical distribution of wild Panax ginseng 46 Figure 12. Ecoregion zonning in the Russian Far East Ecoregion Complex 60 Figure 13. Level of Biodiversity Components 63 Figure 14. Level of biological distinctiveness 65 Figure 15. Types of biodiversity 65 Figure 16. Biodiversity conservation priorities in the Russian Far East Ecoregion Complex 70 Figure 17. Proposed System of Nature Protected Areas in the Russian Far Eastern Complex 84 Figure 18. Population Density in the Russian Far East Ecoregion 94 Figure 19. Economic map 98 Figure 20. Scope of Economic Development 110 1. INTRODUCTION The largely unaltered forest and fresh- natural flooding regimes, fluctuate with- water ecosystems in the southern Russian out interference from humans. The Amur Far East play an important role in con- tiger (Panthera tigris), the largest cat in serving the Earth's biodiversity. The level the world and one of the World Wide Fund of diversity and endemism of species for Nature's (WWF) three targeted species assemblages in the southern RFE are unri- of megafauna, finds refuge here along valled in temperate forests anywhere in with other globally threatened species like the world. The region still harbors large the Far Eastern leopard (Panthera par- areas of intact habitats where environmen- dus orientalis), Oriental white stork tal processes, such as predator-prey rela- (Ciconia boyciana), and red-crowned tions, seasonal migrations, and large-scale crane (Grus japonensis). 1.1. THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST ECOREGION COMPLEX WWF has ascertained the global impor- based strategy and Conservation Action tance of one freshwater, one marine, and Plan (CAP). This new unit - the Russian Far two terrestrial Ecoregions in the Russian East Ecoregion Complex (referred to as Far East as part of the Global 200. The RFE Ecoregion in this report), which con- Global 200 is a set of Ecoregions identified sists of floral and faunal communities with as globally outstanding for biodiversity, like traits and biogeographical origins, is comprising a representative portfolio of the the basis for setting priorities for biodiver- Earth's biodiversity (Dinerstein and Olson sity conservation in the region. 1998). The WWF Russia Far Eastern Branch (WWF-RFE) combined overlap- The Russian Far East Ecoregion ping parts of these global Ecoregions in Complex covers a total area of 1.35 million order to carry out biological and socio-eco- km2, or one percent of the Earth's land sur- nomic assessments and develop a broad- face (Figure 1). While the RFE Ecoregion 4 Figure 1. LOCATION OF RUSSIAN FAR EAST ECOREGION COMPLEX Map of the Global 200 CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN. PARTCONSERVATION 1 5 1. INTRODUCTION encompasses all four administrative and Heilongjian provinces of northeastern provinces of the Russian Federation China and the North Hamgyong Province (Amurskaya, Evreiskaya, Khabarovsky, of North Korea will be targeted for specific and Primorsky provinces), the bulk of con- programs aimed at conserving migratory servation efforts will be focused on its species and transboundary habitats along southern portion, where both levels of bio- the Amur River, as well as for leopard con- diversity and threats are greatest. The Jilin servation in the Cherny (Black) Mountains. 1.2. PURPOSE AND METHODS OF THE BIODIVERSITY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT WWF has been active in the RFE regional level. The main output of that proj- Ecoregion since 1994, when it began fund- ect is the Conservation Action Plan (CAP) ing anti-poaching brigades and environ- consisting of two parts: the Biodiversity mental awareness programs to help save the and Socio-Economic Assessment (Part 1) Amur tiger. More recent projects on pro- and the NGO Joint Action Plan (Part 2). moting sustainable forestry through certifi- cation by the Forest Stewardship Council The purpose of the Biodiversity and (FSC) and control of illegal logging are Socio-Economic Assessment is to analyze helping to conserve important habitat for the current situation in the RFE and create a the tiger and other species. In 1998, with scientific basis for determining priorities funding from