The Barents Region from Space 75°N 10°E 20°E 30°E 40°E 50°E 60°E 70°E 80°E Land cover in existing protected areas BPAN project 2013, SYKE and Transparent World. Protected areas are shown as of 8th March 2013. 70°N Forests Glaciers Alpine and lowland tundra Fresh water Open wetlands Other a y l m KARA e NORWEGIAN Z 70°N a SEA SEA y a BARENTS v Tromsø o Finnmark N Vaygach island Troms SEA Vadsø Bodø island Kolguyev 65°N Murmansk Nordland Murmansk Lapland Region Norrbotten Nar'yan Rovaniemi Nenets Mar Autonomous Väster- Luleå 65°N botten Okrug Oulu Umeå WHITE Northern SEA Ostrobotnia Kajaani Kainuu Republic Arkhangelsk of Karelia Republic of Komi © The60°N Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management © Finnish Environment institute, SYKE © ELY Centres © Lantmäteriet © Metsähallitus Arkhangelsk © Transparent World Region © Kola Biodiversity Conservation Center Petrozavodsk © The Karelian Regional Nature Conservancy Syktyvkar 60°N © WWF Arkhangelsk office © Centre of Nature Management and Environmental Monitoring © Forest Committee of the Republic of Komi © Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republicof Komi © Territorial Information Center for Natural Resources and EnvironmentProtection of the Republic of Komi 0 200 400 600 800 km 20°E 30°E 40°E 50°E 60°E 75°N 10°E 20°E 30°E 40°E 50°E 60°E 70°E 80°E Land cover in existing protected areas BPAN project 2013, SYKE and Transparent World. Protected areas are shown as of 8th March 2013. 70°N Forests Glaciers Alpine and lowland tundra Fresh water Open wetlands Other a The Barents Euro-Arctic Region (hereinafter Barents Region, or BEAR) consists forests and wetlands. The project examined the characteristics as well as the y l of the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and northwest Russia. It representativeness of the protected area network in the Barents Region. In m KARA includes 13 administrative regions in the northernmost parts of Norway this publication we wish to illustrate some of the results of the BPAN project e (Finnmark, Troms, Nordland), Sweden (Norrbotten, Västerbotten), Finland (https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/156287). NORWEGIAN Z 70°N (Lapland, Kainuu, Northern Ostrobothnia) and Northwest Russia (Murmansk a SEA Region, Republic of Karelia, Arkhangelsk Region, Republic of Komi and Nenets Satellite imagery is an important tool for monitoring northern nature and SEA y a Autonomous District), covering a total area of 1.8 million km² of which 75% is mapping areas of high conservation value. Satellite monitoring is also used to BARENTS v Tromsø o in Russia. identify human activities that threaten these unique ecosystems. Today satellite Finnmark N images are getting more and more easily available for anyone interested, often Vaygach island Troms SEA The Barents Region boasts one of the largest relatively intact forest ecosystems free of charge. Vadsø remaining on Earth. The region is rich with biodiversity. Within its territory Bodø there are several mega-corridors of large wilderness areas with old-growth For this publication we have selected only freely available Landsat 8 satellite island forests, which should be given conservation priority. Intact forest and mire images, revealing the beauty and complexity of the Barents Region as seen from Kolguyev 65°N Murmansk ecosystems are enormous carbon storages and have a significant impact on above. We have tried to select a series of images that represent the diversity of Nordland global climate through Earth’s radiation balance and carbon cycle. The unique northern natural ecosystems from Arctic tundra and seashores to boreal forests Murmansk Lapland and vulnerable natural ecosystems of the Barents Region represent natural and mires. Some of these images present the most valuable and unique nature Region heritage of global significance. Therefore, the region has special responsibility habitats in the region. We have also tried to emphasize the various threats to Norrbotten Nar'yan Rovaniemi Nenets Mar to conserve its unique nature. these fragile areas. You will see clearcuts, mines and wildfire areas, which are Autonomous so huge that they are visible from space. Väster- Luleå 65°N botten Okrug The biggest threats to biodiversity in the boreal and Arctic nature of the Barents Region are habitat loss and fragmentation, and climate change. Due to In most of the images, forests and wetlands are seen in colours you would Oulu increasing and often unsustainable use of natural resources – gas, oil, minerals, not find in Google Maps or other popular online services. We have used a Umeå WHITE forests, mires and water resources – threats to the remaining wilderness and combination of red and infrared bands, recorded by satellite sensors, to produce Northern SEA roadless areas continue to grow. images that highlight the variation in natural vegetation. Ostrobotnia Kajaani Kainuu The Barents Protected Area Network (BPAN) project was implemented between We hope that these images inspire you to learn more about our common nature Republic Arkhangelsk 2011 and 2014 with the aim to promote and support a representative network of and to protect it. of Karelia Republic of Komi protected areas for the conservation of boreal and Arctic biodiversity, especially © The60°N Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management © Finnish Environment institute, SYKE © ELY Centres © Lantmäteriet Arkhangelsk Authors: Dmitry Aksenov, Denis Dobrynin, Dmitry Koltsov, Anna Kuhmonen, and Jyri Mikkola © Metsähallitus Layout: Erika Varkonyi. Back cover photo: Frédéric Forsmark. Satellite images courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. © Transparent World Region © Kola Biodiversity Conservation Center Petrozavodsk © The Karelian Regional Nature Conservancy Syktyvkar 60°N This brochure illustrates the results of the publication: © WWF Arkhangelsk office © Centre of Nature Management and Environmental Monitoring Aksenov, D., Kuhmonen, A., Mikkola, J., and Sobolev, N. (eds.) 2015. The Characteristics and Representativeness of the Protected Area Network in the Barents Region. © Forest Committee of the Republic of Komi https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/156287 © Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republicof Komi © Territorial Information Center for Natural Resources and EnvironmentProtection of the Republic of Komi Cover image: Clearcuts, destroying valuable old-growth forest tracts in southern Komi, near the Perm Region and Kirov Region borders. 3 0 200 400 600 800 km 20°E 30°E 40°E 50°E 60°E Open pit mining in the city of Kovdor (Murmansk Region, Russia). Open green and dark magenta spots) north of the mine. Light green areas represent quarries and bare ground are very well visible in blue and purple. A mosaic of former clearcuts. Particularly large former clearcut areas are located west of the wildfire areas of different ages (bright magenta, pink, and light green spots) mining area. The only remaining natural areas here are wetlands, indicated by surrounds a large area around the mines. There are some pine forests left (dark light gray and blue spots inside the clearcut areas. 4 Kaita Mountain area in Murmansk Region, Russia. The mountains are split by deep small Tashechnoe Lake. Another dark green tract of old-growth forests (mixed canyons being home for high flora diversity and providing habitats for a number of spruce and pine) is located in the northeastern corner of the image, eastwards of rare and endangered species of plants and animals. West from the central part of the Vadozero Lake (the biggest lake in the image). The biggest part of old-growth forests image, next to the canyons, there are old-growth pine forests on rocks (the mosaic in the area was clearcut some years ago – you could see the light green spot with of dark green and dark magenta). The magenta-crimson spot north to them is a fire rectangular boundaries in the central and eastern parts of the image. The light green scar after a forest fire in 2000–2002. The dark green spot to the northeast from the color indicates reforestation over an old logging area. 5 fire scar is a tract of remaining dark coniferous old-growth forests located around The forests at their northern edge – the river valley of lower Pechora River terraces are also mainly dominated by peat bogs (bright green, light yellow) in the boundary of Nenets Autonomous District and the Komi Republic, but these wetlands are of totally different types than those in the valley (more Russia, near the town of Velikovisochnoe. The boggy Pechora River valley oligotrophic and sphagnum dominated). The sparse forests on their northern is bright magenta in this image and is very distinctive. The numerous river edge have olive and dark green colors in this image. Eastwards from the river branches and small lakes are visible. The surrounding landscapes on river there are visible wetlands with many small lakes and small “hills” (olive green 6 spots) of permafrost process origin. The famous intact forest landscape of the Dvina and Pinega Rivers’ Rectangular clearcut areas penetrate these forests from all sides, especially watershed (Arkhangelsk Region, Russia). The difference between intact from the north. Over the past decade, this intact forest landscape has been in coniferous forests (dark) and secondary deciduous forests after clearcuts the focus of acute conflict between forest companies and nature conservation (light green) is distinctive. In the western part of the forest landscape there are non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A compromise plan for a protected several wetlands (white-turquoise-blue-pink areas), probably on karst land. area is currently under negotiation. 7 The so-called Southern Intact Forest Landscape (IFL) on the border of the and light magenta within the landscape). Clearcuts penetrate the landscape Kirov Region and the Komi Republic, Russia. Most likely the landscape has from all sides. Unfortunately, valuable fir and spruce forests in the northern formed at the place of a forest fire that occurred over 100 years ago. It is now part of the landscape have already been destroyed by logging.