OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages 22 THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages O v e r v i e w 23 OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages 24 THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages O v e r v i e w 25 OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages 26 THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages O v e r v i e w 27 OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Newell, J. 2004. The Russian Far East: A Reference Guide for Conservation and Development. McKinleyville, CA: Daniel & Daniel. 466 pages 28 THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST OVERVIEW OVERVIEW permafrost becomes swampy, however, organic matter quick- Ecology ly decomposes, releasing trapped methane and CO2 from the plant matter and soil. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas Josh Newell and Vladimir Dinets with a warming effect ten to twenty times higher than that of Researchers and scholars have written extensively on the envi- CO2. Logging, mining, and other industrial activity can also ronmental destruction that occurred under the Soviet Union. disturb this freeze-thaw cycle, either by exposing permafrost Western readers are now familiar with Russia’s environmental to direct sunlight or by melting it during construction or the blights: Chernobyl, oil and gas spills, air and water pollution. use of heavy machinery. While the focus has been on nuclear, air, and water pollution In addition to melting permafrost, logging, in particular and, somewhat less, on the wanton waste of resources caused clear-cutting (where all trees on a given plot are felled), can by ineffi cient production, scholars have largely ignored what also release large amounts of CO2 by transforming carbon- may be the most signifi cant environmental legacy from the loaded temperate and boreal forests into relatively carbon- Soviet era, and what is Russia’s greatest legacy to the planet: poor secondary forests and shrubs.22 More than 90 percent wilderness.19 of logged forests in the rfe are clear-cut, although in the The sheer ineffi ciency of the Soviet command economy, southern rfe they are usually logged selectively. Contrary to which caused horrendous destruction and pollution in acces- popular belief, reforestation does not always put carbon back sible areas, left vast areas of wilderness untouched.20 The So- into storage; managed forest plantations generally hold an viet state lacked both the technology and the capital to build estimated one-third to one-half as much carbon as an un- the infrastructure necessary to extract much of its natural disturbed forest.23 Deforestation is recognized as the second resources. Intensive development in the rfe has been limited largest emitter of CO2 after fossil fuel combustion. to urban centers, isolated pockets near strategic mineral and Ensuring that mining and logging are environmentally petroleum deposits, and areas along and near railroads. sustainable and setting aside large tracts of Russian forests Russia, more specifi cally therfe and Siberia, contains would help retain CO2 in the permafrost soil and forests, some of the most extensive wild areas remaining on the while simultaneously providing habitat corridors for animals planet: more than 20 percent of the remaining forests, migrating in response to climate changes. Russia, however, untouched wetlands, tigers and leopards, pristine beaches, seeks to capitalize on its forests by modernizing and expand- and 20 percent of the world’s freshwater in Lake Baikal alone. ing its logging industry and exporting its resources abroad. This wilderness plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change, protecting biological diversity, and generally ensur- ing ecosystem function, particularly of the polar arctic. The international community and large institutions such as the Table 1.2 World Bank have rightfully taken a keen interest in Russian Global carbon stocks in vegetation and top 1 m of soils forests not only because of their global importance to the Carbon stocks timber supply, but also because of their global environmental Area (Gigatonnes carbon, 109 tons) signifi cance (see p.32 ). Biome (106 sq. km) Vegetation Soil Total Scientists believe terrestrial ecosystems act as reservoirs Boreal forests 13.7 88 471 559 for methane gas and carbon dioxide, the atmospheric over- Tropical forests 17.6 212 216 428 abundance of which contributes to global warming. Boreal forests may hold more carbon than other land ecosystems, Tropical savannas 22.5 66 264 330 according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Temperate grasslands 12.5 9 295 304 Change (see table 1.2). Oregon State University professors Wetlands 3.5 15 225 240 Tatiana Kolchugina and Ted Vinson have estimated that Temperate forests 10.4 59 100 159 Russia’s forests may provide as much as one-seventh of the world’s land-based carbon storage.21 Deserts and The health of Russia’s northern ecosystems, therefore, semideserts 45.5 8 191 199 has obvious importance for the global climate. Permafrost, Croplands 16.0 3 128 131 or perpetually frozen ground, covers 75 percent of the vast Tundra 9.5 6 121 127 rfe. In some areas permafrost reaches several meters deep Total 151.2 466 2,011 2,477 in winter. In the dry summer months, the top few meters of permafrost thaw, supplying water and nutrients to trees and Note: Data are derived by the IPCC from the German Advisory Council Newell,vegetation. J. 2004. When Thewinter returns,Russian the top Farlayer freezesEast: again, A Referenceon Global Change Guide(WBGU), 1998. for Conservation and storing water until the next year. Scientists fear that rising Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2000. Development.temperatures will McKinleyville, melt this permafrost. Normally, CA: Daniel plants do & Daniel. 466 pages not decompose, but rather accumulate, on permafrost. When O v e r v i e w 29 OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Table 1.3 Major environmental issues and problem areas Region Issues Notable problem areas RFE Wasteful mining, logging, and fi shing methods; outdated Industrial belts along major infrastructure equipment; raw material export reliance; absence of waste lines; areas accessible by road or rail; major management and recycling; air and water pollution; fi res; river valleys; Sea of Okhotsk, coastal regions reliance on low-grade coal, inadequate energy development; along Sea of Japan and Bering Sea; regions poaching endangered species; illegality in protected areas; along the southern edge of the permafrost lack of government regulation; corruption; melting of zone. permafrost Primorsky Illegal logging (esp. along river systems) and fi shing; Northern Primorsky (logging, gold mining); poaching endangered species; dumping nuclear waste into Primorsky coast (poaching marine species, the sea; fl ooding; pesticide use; road construction pollution); Southern Primorsky (poaching, pesticides) Khabarovsk Illegal logging and fi shing; forest fi res; poaching endangered Sukpai River basin; Amur valley; Baikal-Amur species; river pollution. Mainline (BAM) railroad corridor JAO Loss of forest cover; placer gold mining; natural resource Bira, Sutara, and Pompei Rivers (logging, export to China mining) Amur Hydropower development; timber export to China, opening Bureya River; Arkharinskaya wetlands; Zeya up protected areas to resource exploitation; placer gold River basin; Amur River mining along river systems; logging Siberian pine, agricultural fi res; open-cast coal mining; overfi shing and water pollution Sakha Flooding; forest fi res; pollution from diamond and Vilyui River basin; Tuimaada Valley; Yana- gold mining; logging for local use; planned oil and gas Indigirka region; southern Sakha; Lena and development; melting permafrost Amga River basins; northern subtundra region Magadan Gold mining; illegal logging for local use; melting permafrost; Kolyma River basin (mining); Tauy and planned offshore oil development Gizhinsk Bays (fi shing) Chukotka Planned fl oating nuclear power plant; radioactive waste; Bilibino and Pevek towns; offshore Chukotka; future oil and gas development; melting of Bering Sea ice; Ichuveyem River basin all-terrain vehicles on fragile tundra Koryakia Platinum and gold mining; illegal fi shing; illegal export of Northwestern Sea of Okhotsk shelf (fi shing) brown bear bladders; sport hunting Kamchatka Logging remaining forest stands; possible gold mining; “Conifer Island” (logging, fi res); Mutnovsky uncontrolled tourism and sport hunting; poaching of brown and Sobolevo regions (energy); protected bears, king crab, and salmon; irrational energy development. areas (tourism, hunting, mining); Kamchatka River (poaching, pollution from logged areas) Sakhalin Onshore and offshore oil and gas development; wasteful Northeastern Sakhalin (oil and gas); Schmidt fi sheries practices; logging of remaining old-growth forests Peninsula (logging); pockets of forest wilderness (logging) Newell,