Voice from the Wild (A Letter from the Editors) This fortieth issue of Russian Conservation News goes to press just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin released a statement on April 26, 2006, concern- ing the necessity of re-routing a planned oil pipeline beyond the watershed of Lake Baikal. Conservationists and private citizens across Russia welcomed this EDITORIAL BOARD decision, a triumph of environmental stewardship and social responsibility over Executive Editor: Margaret Williams the bottom-line interests of big business. In fact, though, the victory is the entire Assistant Editor: Melissa Mooza world's to celebrate. Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest of our planet's lakes, with twenty percent of the earth's freshwater resources, is widely regarded as one the Managing Editor: Natalya Troitskaya world's greatest natural treasures. In fact, for its outstanding natural values and for Graphics Artist: Maksim Dubinin its importance to humankind as a whole, the lake was inscribed on the United Design and Layout: Design Group A4 Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Computer Consultation: Natalie Volkova Heritage List ten years ago, in 1996. Translation: Cheryl Hojnowski and Melissa Mooza In this special issue of RCN, we examine Russia's World Natural Heritage sites - Subscriptions Manager: there are seven in addition to Lake Baikal – and the implementation of the Sarah Millspaugh UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Contributing Authors: A. Blagovidov, Heritage (Convention) in the Russian Federation. For many of the almost thirty A. Butorin, Z. Irodova, A. Kargopoltsev, Russian protected areas that are included in the country's World Natural Heritage M. Kreindlin, O. Krever, N. Maxakovsky, sites, this prestigious international status has yielded real, tangible gains. One of N. Ovsyanikov, A. Petrov, A. Rudomakha, I. Sharapov, M. Shishin, P. Schmidt, the greatest benefits that we see in inscription is that it has helped to further raise and E. Shubnitsina awareness about and to popularize the territories, both in Russia and beyond its Contributing Artists and borders. This increased attention has certainly helped generate new funding and Photographers: A. Butorin, other opportunities for the protected areas, as well increase advocacy for their Y. Demyanchuk, R. Hooper, V. Kantor, protection. B. Mayerhofer, N. Ovsyanikov, E. Ponomariova, E. Shubnitsina, I. Timukhin, A. Troitsky, S. Trepet, In the course of our work to prepare this journal, we also came to the conclusion and V. Trigubovich that many important issues related to the Convention's implementation in Acknowledgement: Maps of Russia's pro- Russia and to the Russian sites themselves remain unresolved and require careful tected areas that are featured in this issue attention. Chief among the problems we have noted is the dearth of Russian fed- were prepared using the Protected Areas GIS eral legislation that specifically and substantively addresses Russia's World Natural database of the Biodiversity Conservation Center/International Socio-Ecological Heritage sites. It is not entirely clear to many authorities, elected officials, repre- Union. For more information, please consult sentatives of the business community, and the general public what types of activi- http://oopt.info/gis/database-eng.html ties are permitted and prohibited on the territories of World Natural Heritage sites; nor are there established procedures for resolving disputes concerning these territories. Another problem that might have potential repercussions on dispute ON THE COVER resolution is the fact that the boundaries of three of Russia's World Natural Heritage sites – Virgin Komi Forests, Lake Baikal, and Volcanoes of Kamchatka – are imprecise and require clarification. Yet another shortcoming that we have identified in our study of Russia's imple- mentation of the Convention is a lack of coordinated management – both on federal- and site-specific levels. Despite the vast size of some of Russia's World Natural Heritage sites (the largest, Lake Baikal, occupies more than twice the area of Switzerland) and the complexity of their composition, none have specialized management plans or discrete staffing and budgets. If sites were to develop these important attributes, work across them would be better coordinated and more effective; and it would be easier to attract targeted funding to support activities benefiting an entire site, and not just one of its component parts. That the resolution of these and other problems have been identified by pro- tected area managers and Russian and international conversation organizations as priorities for the future, gives us at RCN hope that important steps toward the more effective management and protection of Russia's World Natural Heritage sites will be made in the near term. Given the steady encroachment on some of Russia's highly valuable natural territories by Russia's economy-driving extractive industries, this becomes an increasingly urgent task, for Russia and A mountainous landscape of the Western for the world. Caucasus. Cover drawing by I. Timukhin. Fall 2005/Winter 2006 No. 40 1 Introduction to World Natural Heritage Sites in Russia Introduction to World Natural Heritage Sites in Russia World Natural Heritage Sites in Russia By Olga Krever and Aleksey Butorin Map by M. Dubinin. he Convention concerning the provide com- TProtection of World Cultural and prehensive Natural Heritage (World Heritage support to globally outstanding monu- Heritage were created, and within two Convention, or Convention) was ments of culture and natural objects. years, the first cultural and natural sites adopted at the seventeenth session of In 1975, twenty-one states ratified the were inscribed on the World Heritage the UNESCO General Conference on Convention and today States Parties to List. The Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), November 16, 1972, and came into the Convention number 180 states. Yellowstone National Park (USA), effect on December 17, 1975. The pri- Nahanni National Park (Canada), and mary objective of the Convention is to To strengthen the effectiveness of the Simen National Park (Ethiopia) were unite the efforts of the international Convention's work, in 1976, a among the first natural sites to receive community to identify, protect, and Committee and Fund for World World Heritage status. In recent years, 2 Russian Conservation News Introduction to World Natural Heritage Sites in Russia the list has become highly representa- among which eleven are strict nature from the corresponding subjects of tive, both of the planet's diverse reserves (zapovedniks) and five are the Russian Federation sent proposals regions, and in the number of sites. As national parks. to Russia's Ministry of Natural of the beginning of the year 2006, the Resources about their inscription on list includes 160 natural, 628 cultural, Russia is indisputably rich in unique the UNESCO World Heritage List. In and 24 mixed natural-cultural sites in natural complexes, which are, very January 2006, the Putorana Plateau 137 countries around the world. importantly, undisturbed by human nomination was submitted to the Universally known natural sites such activities. According to the approxi- World Heritage Centre. as the Great Barrier Reef, Hawaiian mate estimates of scientists, Russia has Islands, the volcanoes of Kamchatka, close to twenty territories that are Work is currently being carried out to the Grand Canyon, Mount worthy of World Natural Heritage sta- present on the World Heritage List Kilimanjaro, and Lake Baikal are pro- tus. The most prospective sites were those natural sites included on the tected under the Convention. The identified as part of a joint project on Russian Federation's Tentative List. total area of World Natural Heritage boreal forests, which was implement- Work is also underway to expand sites comprises more than 13% of the ed by UNESCO and The World Russia's Tentative List of prospective territory protected in specially pro- Conservation Union (IUCN). and nominated natural complexes tected nature areas worldwide. with the addition of sites such as the In early 2005, Russia's Ministry of Green Belt of Fennoscandia, the Kuril Russia (as the former Soviet Union) Natural Resources proposed that the Islands, the Great Watershed of Valdai, signed the World Heritage Convention Putorana Plateau, Magadan Nature the Lena Pillars, the Volga Delta, and in 1988 and is now represented on the Reserve, the Commander Islands, and the Bikin River Valley. The expansion World Heritage List by fifteen cultural Daurian Steppes be included on the of Russia's Tentative List is a critical and eight natural sites. At present, the Tentative List for the Russian step toward inscribing new sites; since following sites in Russia have World Federation, which presents the territo- 2003, the World Heritage Centre has Natural Heritage status: Virgin Komi ries that Russia may decide to nomi- accepted for consideration only those Forests, Lake Baikal, Volcanoes of nate for inscription on the World nominations that state parties have Kamchatka, Golden Mountains of Heritage List in the future. The afore- previously declared on their Tentative Altai, Western Caucasus, Central mentioned sites were selected based Lists. Sikhote-Alin, Uvs Nuur Basin, and the on an analysis of their natural signifi- Natural System of Wrangel Island cance, which was carried out by scien- Olga Krever is the Head of the Division Reserve. In the