Intact Forest Landscapes of Northern European The situation as of April 2004, with changes from 2000 through 2004

Murmansk

Kovdor

NaryanMar Apatity

Inta Usinsk

Kostamuksha Kem Petchora

Belomorsk

Onega Ukhta

Medvezhegorsk

Plesetsk

Petrozavodsk

Syktyvkar

Vytegra Krasnovishersk Veliky Ustjug

Belozersk Solikamsk

Novgorod Cherepovets Kudymkar

Pskov Kirov Perm

Kostroma Yaroslavl Intact forest landscapes (IFL) in Northern European Russia: Forest area Tver Ivanovo Naturally treeless area Ioshkar Ola Area of IFL lost due to fragmentation, logging and humancaused fires during the period 20002004 Nizhny Novgorod Other forest landscapes: Vladimir Forest area outside of intact forest landscapes Cheboksary Kazan Intact forest landscapes outside of Northern European Scale 1 : 4,600,000 Russia (status as of 2000) Smolensk Intact Forest Landscapes still intact). Their natural value and their poor accessibility used for a preliminary changedetection analysis. A more landscapes. In individual regions, the corresponding number for economic development make them prime candidates for detailed analysis was carried out using images of medium is: Arkhangelsk 23 percent, Komi 7 percent, Murmansk An intact forest landscape (IFL) is a large forest area that is becoming protected areas. This is particularly important to and high resolution from Landsat ETM (until 2002), 4 percent, Karelia 2 percent. Logging in intact forest land free from signs of human management or infrastructure, such consider in the southern and middle zones of the taiga, Meteor3M, Terra ASTER, IRS PAN, and IRS LISS. scapes is also taking place in regions of the Volga Federal as settlements, transportation corridors, agricultural fields where intact forest landscapes are disappearing at the most District: Perm 7 percent, Kirov 0.2 percent. No logging in or logging sites. An IFL may contain naturally treeless areas Threats to Intact Forest landscapes rapid rate. The forests within an IFL are natural ecosystems intact forest landscapes could be detected in the Vologda, such as lakes, wetlands and alpine meadows. An IFL is large that are only minimally affected by management. They are The area of intact forest landscapes has decreased during the Pskov and Novgorod regions, where the remaining intact enough to sustain viable populations of all organisms that therefore priority areas for conservation in accordance with period of study. The main cause of this loss is logging and forest landscapes consist mainly of peatlands. occur naturally in it, including large predators and species Articles 3 and 4 of the Russian Federal Act "On the associated construction of transportation infrastructure. Forest fires represent another threat. These occur in associ which are sensitive to changing conditions. It is sufficiently Protection of the Environment". The decrease has occurred in two ways: through direct ation with logging and establishment of new infrastructure. large to protect the core area and resist disturbances from transformation and through fragmentation. The latter hap In keeping with the method established by Global Forest outside (socalled edge effects), e.g. logging, colonization by Sources of Information pens when new roads cut off pieces of an intact forest land Watch Russia, these are classified as humancaused unless invasive species, poaching, etc. All areas shown as IFL on This map is based on the Atlas of Russia's Intact Forest scape from the main area. Most of the logging is in the form they occur inside of intact forest landscapes at some distance this map are at least 50,000 hectares in size and at least 10 Landscapes that was published in 2002 by a group of non from areas of human activity. kilometers wide (i.e. wide enough to fully contain a circle of clearcuts with a size of up to 50 hectares. Thinning and governmental environmental organizations cooperating in other forms of selective cutting occur with this diameter). Global Forest Watch Russia. A detailed description of the Reduction in area for individual tracts of intact forest landscapes from 2000 only rarely. through 2004 (shown as a percentage of the total initial area for each tract) The Importance of Intact Forest Landscapes research method is given in The Last Intact Forest The average annual area logged with Landscapes of Northern European Russia (Greenpeace and in intact forest landscapes during the < 0,5% The intact forest landscapes shown on this map are the last Global Forest Watch, 2000). study period was 19,700 hectares, remaining areas of wild forest landscapes in Europe. Each The map shows how the boundaries of intact forest land 0,5 1% Murmansk corresponding to an estimated vol IFL represents the accumulated result of spontaneous eco scapes have changed from the year 2000 to 2004. These region 3 1 3% logical processes that have occurred with minimal or no changes are the result of logging, road construction, and ume of 2.3 million m per year. Most Nenetsky autonomous human influence. An IFL is therefore an ecological point of associated fires, but some changes are also due to a higher of this logging occurred in the south 3 7% district reference a benchmark for understanding managed forest precision in the analysis, ern and middle zones of the taiga, landscapes and designing management schemes that pre made possible by the Contributing factors to the reduction while the logging intensity in the serve or restore significant aspects of the natural forest land appearance of new in extent of intact forest landscapes northern taiga was very low. The scape. The remaining tracts of IFL also have intrinsic value sources of information Fires in association with reduction in area was most rapid south as part of the Earth's natural endowment. Indeed, intact for infrastructure of the city of Kostamuksha 1.9 per (mainly highquality Karelia est landscapes should be regarded as areas of opportunity satellite images with cent per year, beween the rivers of Republic and responsibility, where all land use options from develop Logging 14.5% high resolution). Images of all and Pinega 1.4 per 27.5% ment to conservation are still open. They are areas in which from the satellite Terra types cent per year, and on the penin Komi Republic the best available knowledge and technology should be MODIS, showing the 58% sula 1.2 percent per year. Arkhangelsk applied to inform effective and responsible decisionmaking. situation for different In the Northwestern Federal region Intact forest landscapes are the least suitable for exploita years during early spring Fragmentation caused by logging District as a whole, 6 percent of all tion of all boreal forests (this is the very reason why they are (March or April), were and new infrastructure wood removed is from intact forest

Vologda region Perm Global Forest Watch region Novgorod c/o WRI, 10 G Street, N.E. region Washington, DC 20002 USA Pskov Kirov Ph.: +1 (202) 729 7600 region region email: [email protected] R&D Center ScanEx 22/5 L’va Tolstogo str., Moscow, Russia, 119021 Greenpeace Russia GSP4, Moscow, Russia, 127994 www.globalforestwatch.org Ph.: +7 (095) 2462593 email: [email protected] www.scanex.ru Ph.: +7 (095) 2574116 email: [email protected] www.greenpeace.ru