ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements Administration, Olga Davidova, Dmitry Berezhkov and Nina Zaporotskaja – Lach Center, RAIPON- The project team would like to acknowledge: Kamchatka, Robert Moiseev and Elena Dulchenko, Kamchatka Branch, Pacific Institute of Geography, Olga Cherniagina and Gennady Lazarev – z IUCN: for supporting the project as part of the work by its Forest Conservation Programme, Kamchatka League of Independent Experts, Temperate and Boreal Forest Programme, World Evdokija Pronina and Galina Avev – Koryak Institute Commission on Protected Areas, Environment Law for Raising Teachers' Qualification, Irina Bogdan – Commission, Commission on Ecosystem NGO Ecodal, Khabarovsk, Natalia Danilina, NGO Management, and especially – William Jackson, "Zapovedniks", Moscow, Alexander Karpov and Don Guilmor, Andrew Deutz, Simon Rietbergen, Dmitry Afinogenov – NGO ECOM, Saint-Petersburg, Elizabeth Hopkins, Danielle Cantin, Anne-Marie Galina Kuzmina, Krasnoyarsk Regional Public Pelletier, Elizabeth Pelletier, Therese Beaudet, Xenia Foundation, Yulia Murashova – Nevsky Institute for Cherny and Andrey Semenov. Language and Culture, Saint-Petersburg, Yanzhima Vasilieva, NGO "Siberian Association of Non-Timber Forest Products Utilization", Republic of Buriatia, z Canadian International Development Agency: for providing financial support, and especially project's Marina Nezhlukto – "Stagirit" publishing house, supervisors both in Canada and Mos-cow – Diana Moscow, Merlini, Emmanuelle Tremblay, Adrian Walraven, Wayne Primeau, Guillaume Siemienski, Alberto z Local partners: Mikhail Loginov, Bystrinski District Pallasios-Hardy and Steven Basadur. Administration, Igor Kokorin, Bystrinski Nature Park, Natalia Sycheva, Bystrinski District Duma, Alexei Smetanin, Bystrinski Forest Management Unit, z Canadian partners: Ministry of Natural Resources of Quebec, the Ministry of the Environment of Ludmila Ignatenko, Vladimir Chechushkov – Quebec, the Bureau d'Audiences publiques en envi- Aleskam Native people com-munity, Elena ronnement du Quebec, the Canadian Forest Posvolskaja, Tarija Native people community, Lilia Service, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Banakanova, Dulipki Native people community, Ontario, Parks Canada and the British Columbia Taisia Solodikova, Esso Native people community, Ministry of Forests, and especialy – Andre Evgenija Andrianova, Uliana Danilova and Denis Rousseau, NRC, Ottawa, Candace Kenyon and Kirichevski – Bystrinski Information Center, Boris Theresa Killoran – BC Ministry of Forests, Tim Goveini, Novaja Zhizn Newspaper, Sophija Brigham – Center for Non-Timber Resources, Royal Kochetkova – Native artist, Vera Gurkina, herbal Roads University, BC, Dave Buck – Northern tea and syrup producer, Nina Banakanova, Forest Diversification Center, Manitoba, Charles Kamchatka Herbal Tea, Nelly and Boris Chernykh – Lusthaus, Alex Moiseev, Natalia Tishchenko and herbal tea producers, Ludmila and Nikolay Shishkin Ivan Menard – Universalia, Catherine and Gregoire – traditional birch bark weavers, Marija Denisova, Viau and their colleagues – Productions Studio Via Sakhalin, and Alexei Zhukov, Tymovsk Forest Le Monde, and also Management Unit, Sakhalin. There were over 1000 people involved in this proj- z International partners: Peter Newton and Svetlana Prosina – UNDP, Emma Wilson – Cambridge ect. We greatly appreciate the input of all these University, UK, Viacheslav Tyrlyshkin – WWF, Yves people, and ask their forgiveness if they were not Kazemi – FAO/ECE/ILO Team of specialists, mentioned in this publication. Switzerland, Lilia Smelkova – Slow Food, Italy, Christoph and Annegret Nikolai – ProSibiria E.V., Germany, Tatiana Lozanskaja, Steven Harapiak, Natalia Bukhonina – IFC, Geraldine Zosso, Switzerland. z Russian partners at federal level: Admiral Valery Dorogin – Russian State Duma, Yuri Kukuev, Amirkhan Amirkhanov, Vsevolod Stepanitsky and Natalia Shebina – Ministry of Natural Resources, Olga Kostyleva, Svetlana Pakliachenko and Anatoly Chuzhmir – Ros-snadart, Valery Roshchupkin and Natalia Pau-kova – Federal Forestry Agency, Oleg Kharin – Moscow State Forest University, Anatoly Petrov and Elena Fabizhevskaya – All-Russian Institute for Raising Qualifications of Forest Managers (VIPKLH), Ludmila Kurlovich and Andrey Filip- chuk – All-Russian Research Institute for Silviculture and Forestry Mechanisation (VNIILM), z Regional level: Mikhail Mashkovtzev, Kamchatka Governor, Oleg Tarasko – Kamchatka 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary The "Building Partnerships for Forest Conserva-tion and Management in Russia" project commenced in mid-October 2000; it was extended in January 2003 and it accomplished all 80 field activities by September 2005. During time of project design and implemen-tation there were many changes in Russian forestry. The Russian Federal Forest Service abolishment (2000), several reorganizations within Ministry of Natural Resources to which Federal Forestry Agency is subordinated (2000-2005), adoption of two con- cepts on Forestry and on Forest Industry Development (2002-2005), significant interest of political establishment in Russia to the forest sector, Meanwhile, public opinion became more visible and drafting a new Forest Code of the Russian issue at regional level, and this gives some opti- Federation (from 2003 till now) and several mism for the future. In many parts of the Russian Federal Laws introduced changes in the current Federation there are more and more NGOs utilise Forest Code of the Russian Federation. All these the concept and share ideas and instruments of and many other changes took place due to admin- pubic involvement in decision making, including for- istrative reform in Russia that touching all spheres of est sector. Model forests are among these everyday people's life. champions. At federal level, the Russian MNR has created a Public Forest Council, and this is one of As a result of the reform, forestry almost lost its major achievements of the project. Several ver- sions of the Forest Code were developed and many of them have included paragraphs on public partic- ipation in forest management decision making drafted by the project experts and partner organi- zations. Furthermore, a public participation tool kit as well as Public Participation Manager Training Programme and a manual were elaborated, and now the trainings are provided at the All- Russian Institute for Raising Qualification of Forest Managers and considered to be included into the curriculum at Moscow State Forest University. Changes of law on federal system of regulatory bodies mean changes in more than 150 federal laws including the Forest Code of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law on Nature Protected Areas. Following these changes local independence in Russian economy – legislative administration has lost tools to register delinquen- functions were delegated to the Ministry of Natural cy in PAs, and administrations of subjects of the Resources, control functions – to Rosprirodnadzor Russian Federation lost opportunity to manage (Russian control agency over natural resources), nature parks at regional level. But the project cre- state forest inventory and planning enterprises were ates a positive attitude by enhancing of protect- considered as surplus functions of the state agency ed areas management effectiveness in Russia. and proposed to be privatised or transferred into Participatory approach IUCN utilised during test- stock ventures; and the same approach used to ing of the WWF Rapid Assessment and the World the forestry research institutions. More dangerous Commission on Protected Areas methodologies and situation seems could be created by proposal to further use to assess protected areas in Russia. delegate fire control functions as well as almost Six workshops to evaluate the management all other forest authority to the subjects of the effectiveness of protected areas using WWF Rapid Russian Federation. State forest management Assessment Methodology were elaborated, and units (leskhozes) are going to be abolished as main experts agreed that the text of the methodol- well. In a few years forestry system in Russia will ogy should be better edited in Russian and the spe- be completely ruined and Russian forests will be cial data bank on biodiversity in PAs needed. Totally endangered because further destruction of state 155 Russian PAs: 68 nature reserves, 22 national forest system will cause uncontrolled fire and illegal parks, 41 federal wildlife refuges and 24 regional logging, and, hence, unprecedented damage to PA's including 21 "Gifts to the Earth" were global environment. It is not clear where nature evaluated on fully participatory manner. More protected areas system will find the place in new than 200 experts took part in the evaluation pro- governmental structure as well as environmental cess and in the discussion of the methodology. impact assessment service. WCPA Methodology was used to evaluate sev- 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY eral PAs including the World Heritage Sites. The annual event, supported by various donors (the additional activities after project's extension have Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, DOEN allowed creating a valuable data base on Russian Foundation) and participating businesses. There biota that is now available in English at the BIO- are good indications that one more initiative, DAT Internet portal. developed by the NTFP component – the Traditional Know-ledge Youth Camp – will be fol- Grassroots level component of the project brought lowed on Kamchatka and in