Yuri L. Mazurov1*, Bart Ebbinge2, Alla A. Pakina3, Bas Pedroli4 1 Professor, Faculty of Geography, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Russia, 119991, Moscow, Leninskiye Gory, 1. Tel: (+7-495)-939-39-92; fax: (+7-495)-932-88- 36; E-mail: [email protected] * Corresponding author 2 Senior Researcher, Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre. The Netherlands, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, Tel: (+31-317)-48-64-57; fax: (+31-317)-41-90-00; E-mail: [email protected] 3 Senior Research Associate, Faculty of Geography, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State SUSTAINABILITY University. Russia, 119991, Moscow, Leninskiye Gory, 1. Tel: (+7-495)-939-39-92; fax: (+7-495)-932-88-36; E-mail: [email protected] 88 4 Associate Professor, Soil Geography and Landscape Group, Wageningen University. The Netherlands, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, Tel: (+31-317)-48-53-96; fax: (+31-317)-41-90-00; E-mail: [email protected] NATURAL HERITAGE OF TAIMYR: CHALLENGES FOR ITS CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE ABSTRACT. The article discusses the natural of the continental land masses not only heritage of Taimyr (northern Siberia) within in Eurasia, but in the world, resulting in a the perspective of the environmental singular diversity of its landscape structure. conditions of the region. The assessment of its significance is based on the results From north to south within the Taimyr of many years of Russian-Dutch ecological Peninsula (Fig. 1), there is a transition in expeditions. Issues discussed are the natural landscapes ranging from the polar responsibility for the preservation of heritage, desert in the far north (75° N) to the forest- the interests of the local indigenous peoples, tundra at the latitude of the Norilsk industrial and the role of public authorities. Based on complex. The enormous territory occupied the results of a pilot project, the feasibility of by the Peninsula – about 1,200 km from east developing ecotourism as one of the most to west and over 1,000 km from north to effective forms of sustainable use of the south - resulted in a significant variation in heritage is demonstrated. the availability of natural resources: various mineral ores and precious stones, water KEY WORDS: natural heritage, Taimyr, Arctic, resources, commercial hunting species and protected areas, indigenous people, Russian- reindeer. Except for the heavily polluted Dutch expeditions, ecotourism. zone around the axis Dudinka – Norilsk in the south, the harsh climatic conditions and INTRODUCTION remoteness of Taimyr from the developed areas of the country (no highways nor The Taimyr Peninsula is one of the largest train connections to other parts of Siberia) socio-economic regions of the Russian Arctic, contributed to the conservation of the fragile characterized by a unique combination of natural ecosystems of the Peninsula in an environmental features and almost pristine almost intact state. Through a combination state of natural systems. The uniqueness of of these factors, Taimyr today is one of the Taimyr is due, primarily, to its geographical last major etalons of pristine nature in the position: the Peninsula is the northernmost world. gi312.indd 88 25.09.2012 9:23:23 SUSTAINABILITY 89 Fig. 1. Western Taimyr Peninsula, Eastern Siberia, Russia and the expedition study area in the Pyasina Delta From this perspective, Taimyr is of particular and the Taimyr Strict Nature Reserves. In interest in identifying its role in the dynamics the global system of nature reserves, they of the global ecosystem that currently have a are characterised above all by a high level special topicality in relation to global change. of biodiversity and occurrence of habitats This interest is manifest in the growing for rare species. Precisely these reserves number of international research projects, constitute the ecological framework of one among which a cooperation of more than 20 of the 200 ecoregions of the world (Global years between Russian and Dutch ecologists 200) identified by WWF with the denotation and geographers to study high-latitude “coastal tundra of Siberia and the Taimyr ecosystems. The results of these studies, Peninsula”, which to our opinion is not a very conducted mostly in the vast region of the accurate indication. Pyasina River delta, give reason to consider the ecosystems and the natural landscapes The Pyasina River delta, among other areas of of the region as a whole to be an absolute the Peninsula, has high biodiversity value; in priority category of natural resources to be 1995, it was designated as one of the clusters preserved for the benefit of present and of the “Great Arctic” reserve (Fig. 2). The Pyasina future generations, i.e. natural heritage. site covers an area of more than one million hectares of the delta of the Pyasina River and NATURAL HERITAGE OF TAIMYR the adjacent large areas, as well as numerous islands of the coastal waters of the Kara Sea. The presence of large areas of pristine nature The cluster projected so that its boundaries on the Taimyr Peninsula is reflected in the comprise the entire range of biological and existence of the three largest Russian state ecological diversity aspects of the Arctic, nature reserves: the Great Arctic, the Putorana that need of protection. The wetlands of ggi312.inddi312.indd 8899 225.09.20125.09.2012 99:23:23:23:23 SUSTAINABILITY 90 Fig. 2. Clusters of the “Great Arctic” state nature reserve the Pyasina delta have an acknowledged The value of the Pyasina delta area has international significance: many animal and been repeatedly confirmed by the results plant species are listed in the Red Books of of scientific research, including a series of Russia and of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. The bird international expeditions from 1990–1999 fauna of the “Great Arctic” reserve includes [Ebbinge et al., 2000]. In 2002–2008, at the 124 species, 55 of which have been obserevd Pyasina site research was carried out by a to nest in its territory. The mammal fauna of series of international integrated ecological the reserve is represented by 16 species, four expeditions (Fig. 3) organized with the of them marine animals. assistance of Alterra (Wageningen University Fig. 3. A snap-shot of a working day of the expedition (a discussion of counting nests on the islands) (photo by V. Grabovsky) ggi312.inddi312.indd 9900 225.09.20125.09.2012 99:23:24:23:24 and Research Centre, The Netherlands), the right-bank side of the Pyasina delta, in Netherlands Environmental Institute addition to numerous watercourses, rivers, (Wageningen, The Netherlands), Faculty of and wetlands, there are over 260 lakes. The Geography of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State developed drainage system, significant University (Moscow, Russia), D.S. Likhachev reserves of food in the polygonal swamps and Russian Research Institute of Cultural and wetlands along the lowlands, and the lack of Natural Heritage (Moscow, Russia), Institute of disturbance create optimal conditions for the Agriculture of the Far North of SB RAS (Norilsk, existence of numerous water birds, which Russia), and the “Great Arctic” reserve (Dudinka, are one of the main objects of protection in Russia). The results of these expeditions are the reserve (Fig. 4). It is home to 16 Red-Book SUSTAINABILITY presented in several publications, including birds species, four species of nesting geese, a series of publications on the field studies Bewick’s swan, and four species of ducks. 91 [Ebbinge and Mazurov, 2005, 2006, 2007; Within the reserve, there are nesting and Raad et al., 2011]. molting areas of up to 80% of the population of brent goose (Branta bernicla), wintering The coast of the Taimyr Peninsula and the in Western Europe [Ebbinge and Mazurov, islands of adjacent waters are the summer 2006] (Fig. 5). Here, also red-breasted geese habitats of hundreds of thousands of water (Branta ruficollis) – a rare species emblemic birds from different regions of the world. for Taimyr – nest. In the last decade, there Most of them spend the winter in Europe, was a marked steady growth of this species some in South Africa, Asia and even Australia. and the expansion of its range to the north. But every year they invariably return to the At the same time, there was a decrease vast expanses of the Arctic coast of Russia in the population of brent goose (with melting up in June. almost 100,000 individuals, compared with the beginning of the 1990s), which could The delta complexes are the most favorable not but cause concern of the international habitat for water birds. For example, on community of ornithologists and ecologists Fig. 4. A typical landscape of northwestern Taimyr. Polygonal tundra (view from a helicopter; photo by P. Glazov) ggi312.inddi312.indd 9911 225.09.20125.09.2012 99:23:24:23:24 SUSTAINABILITY 92 Fig. 5. Brent goose (Branta bernicla) – the main object of study of the international environmental expeditions to the Taimyr Peninsula in 2004–2008 (Photo by F. Kottaar) [Pakina, 2006]. In particular, this fact alarmed scientists from the Netherlands: the wintering black geese in this country that breed in the “Great Arctic” are symbolic for international biodiversity. Studies conducted in the Arctic by scientists from different countries have revealed a close relationship between the state of populations of different species of birds and mammals. For example, the breeding success of many migratory birds is influenced by the condition of the population of lemmings (Fig. 6), whose population dynamics in recent years have been subject to serious disturbances. There is evidence of disruption of a three-year cycle of abundance of lemmings in the Scandinavian Arctic and the tundra of Alaska. Many scientists tend to explain this phenomenon of the nature by global warming. The Taimyr Peninsula is the Fig. 6. Lemming (Siberian lemming – Lemmus last region on the planet where the cyclical sibericus) is an important link in the trophic fluctuations in the number of lemmings until (food) chain of tundra ecosystems 1994 remained normal.