N 4(13)
May 2000
Published by Socio - Ecological Union
Center for Coordination and Information
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IN THE ISSUE
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NEW PRESIDENT PROMISES HARD TIMES FOR ENVIRONMENT IN RUSSIA
TADZHIK NATURE RESERVE SHOT BY THE MILITARY
WHO KILLED KARELIAN FOREST INDUSTRY
CHEMICAL WEAPONS MAY TURN CITY INTO CEMETARY
SEU ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM PROGRAM TURNS FIVE
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BAD NEWS
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NEW PRESIDENT PROMISES HARD TIMES FOR ENVIRONMENT IN RUSSIA
On May 17 Decree of the new Russian President Vladimir Putin has
eliminated existing environment protection system of the country. The
Decree eliminated Environmental protection committee and Federal
forest service, passing their functions to the different ministries,
mainly to the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Joining the functions of environmental resources use and control
over this use will lead to no good. It is almost the same as to let
the fox guard chicken house. No one denies that the environment
protection system that existed in Russia needed improvement. But the
very fact of the Decree shows the tendencies of the new Government.
And these tendencies are not inspiring. The developments show that the
governmental course is based on increased resource and environment
exploitation, mega-industry and project oriented. All this, together
with attacks on independent media (on May 11, around 500 masked
Federal Security Service people attacked and searched the building of
Media-Most group. Its NTV channel is critical of the regime) and
attempts to restrict information flow, promises hard times for
environmental movement and civil society in general in Russia.
For more information:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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TADZHIK NATURE RESERVE SHOT BY THE MILITARY
In this issue we reprint two articles from the Ecostan News, with
the appeal to stop military exercises in Tajikistan nature Reserve
Tigrovaya Balka.
DR.ALIKHON LATIFI, DEPUTY MINISTER OF NATURE PROTECTION
On 24 March, as a result of CIS (commonwealth of independent
states) military exercises, a fire erupted in Tigrovaya Balka Nature
Reserve. It burned for three days, consumed 4637 hectares, and killed
90,000 trees and many endangered animals, such as gray monitor lizards
and pheasant. In addition, boars, hares, turtles, jerboa, and lizards
fell victim. Ministry officials documented the damage and estimate the
fire destroyed 10% of the reserve with a value of 2,270,000 Tajik
rubles. We are now trying to establish the exact cause of the fire. We
will appeal to the Procurator General to initiate felony charges as
well. However, there is evidence the fire was caused by an
air-to-surface warhead accidentally exploding in the reserve, in which
case we will be unable to pursue the matter further.
YURI SKOCHILOV AND SERGEI VORSIN,
YOUTH ECOCENTER, DUSHANBE
In March, in the Karadum buffer zone of Tigrovaya Balka (one of
Central Asia's oldest, most famous nature reserves), CIS military
exercises began. Similar exercises were held in 1997 with the result
that 1000 hectares of highly biodiverse semi-tropics burned. In recent
days, three fires within the nature reserve were reported to have
resulted from the new exercises. However, the area is sealed-off now
and inaccessible to local reporters. Youth EcoCenter and the Tajik
State Forestry Concern (TajikLes) sent a letter of protest to the
government. The government responded that the reserve staff should be
prepared to provide fire fighting and similar measures during the
exercises. Concurrently, in the final days of March a group of deputy
ministers, presidential advisors, and academics gathered to discuss
Tajikistan's adherence to the Earth Charter. We beg international
stakeholders to block and refuse to acknowledge any efforts by
Tajikistan to sign, ratify, or accede to international agreements in
the face of Tajikistan's evident total disregard for those agreements
it has signed. The result of such a freeze would be to cut off the
bulk of salaries for the state bureaucrats who manage environmental
policy in Tajikistan and those UNDP, World Bank, and TACIS staff and
consultants who implement projects that they falsely claim advance
environmental reform in Tajikistan.
Let's take a stand against environmental business that has
nothing to do with environmental protection! Realistically, we won't
be able to stop these military exercises. But we can send a message to
UNDP, World Bank, and the Kremlin, the three most influential donors
in Tajikistan. These donors' real impacts on Tajikistan are less
favorable than their self-advertising reveals.
We, ten grassroots environmental NGOs in Tajikistan, beg other
parts of the Russian government, U.S. and European civil society, and
activists throughout the world to bring this issue to public
attention. The Tajikistan Ministry of Nature Protection and TajikLes
support us, but we are a tiny force compared to this era's monster
development agencies. Get the word out to those honest and honestly
environmentally concerned international organizations that still exist
in the world! Help us Save Tigrovaya Balka!!
Please fax protests to the Minister of Environment,
Usmonkul Shokirov (922-372+214271)
or Presidential Advisor Bozrikova (922-372+ 233384)
You may e-mail protests to [EMAIL PROTECTED],
and we will fax them to Tajikistan.
You can also learn more about Tigrovaya Balka by visiting:
http://www.ecostan.org/Ecostan/Ecostan205.html
http://www.ecostan.org/Ecostan/Ecostan402.html
http://www.ecostan.org/Ecostan/en701e.pdf
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FORESTS
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WHO KILLED KARELIAN FOREST INDUSTRY
Forest Club sends LETTER TO PUTIN
Russian NGO Forest Club sent the letter to President Putin
calling his attention to the situation in Karelian forest sector.
According to NGOs absolutely ineffective forest management being
nothing else but the plunder of forest resources makes the regional
economy unstable. Despite of introducing measures for forest use
enhancement heads of regional forest sector try to accuse "green
activists" of degradation of timber economy.
The article of the regional trade-union leader A. Sedov published
in "Lesnaya gazeta" (forest paper) became the last straw for
activists. Forest establishment launched a real media war against
ecologists. Green activists are described in the article as monsters
that destroyed regional economy. But if a public organization could
ruin it, what is such economy about? - Forest Club wonders. NGOs come
out in favor of withdrawal of one third of all mature forests, - says
Sedov. In reality ecological organizations suggest to provide the
protection of 9,6 per cent of mature forest of Karelia till the
guidelines of their protection and rational use are worked out.
Russia owns world biggest massive of undisturbed taiga. And this
wealth should be managed very carefully - consider ecologists. Now
those who try to prevent regional economy and ecology from degradation
are accused of undermining of Karelian forest economy including very
low export prices for round timber. But the real reason for this is a
lack of any price policy in the region and lack of control over timber
export from bodies responsible for forest protection. Russian NGOs
Forest Club agrees with A.Sedov when he says that "competent bodies"
should immediately take measures and provide an audit of the regional
forest economy. NGOs also care about this and it roused them to write
the letter to President. They think that absolutely ineffective forest
management in Karelia on the regional governmental level led to
economical, ecological and social degradation of the region. NGOs urge
federal authorities to solve the problem in the shortest possible
time. They say that there are no such specialists in Karelia that
would be competent to improve regional forest economy. At the same
time for regional government it is much more convenient to leave
current chaotic situation "as is".
According to the Forest Club most important problems of Karelian
forest management are the following: a lack of state control over
timber export; a misuse of funds assigned for forest regeneration;
violation of law while providing forest use; logging in areas that are
habitats of specially protected species; a lack of control over
so-called social timber projects; an ineffective credit and grant
management; a lack of means for local population to participate in
decision making process. To this letter Forest Club activists attached
the documents containing their own analysis of present situation in
Karelian forest complex.
For more information:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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CHEMICAL SAFETY
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CHEMICAL WEAPONS MAY TURN CITY INTO CEMETARY
The population of Kirov region, especially of city of Kotelnich
and Mirny settlements, were stirred up by the information the
received. These places are close to the old chemical weapon storage
facility, and are already experiencing this neighborhood impacts -
only in year 1999 in Mirny settlement 72 people died of cancer and
cordial diseases, but much more people are already deadly ill. But the
news people recently received were even worse - the military are
planning to demolish significant quantity of the chemical bombs on old
processing facilities KUASI. These facilities provide only one step
processing of the chemical weapons. The hazardous liquid waste would
be poured into some reservoir. Officially this would be change its
status from chemical weapon into waste, but this waste is highly
dangerous for environment and human health. "The quality and quantity
of the substances stored are such that the whole city may one night go
to sleep and rest in peace forever", said Lev Fedorov, Union for
Chemical Safety leader at the meeting with the people. According to
the information, obtained by the Kotelnich group of the Union for
chemical safety, 1200 bombs are prepared for processing. During the
meeting with local public, official representatives neither denied nor
confirmed the information. On the offer to bring public
representatives to the facility authorities referred to the need for
the permission from Moscow for such attendance.
For more information:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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GOOD NEWS
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SEU ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM PROGRAM TURNS FIVE
For 5 years by now SEU has been running program on environmental
education for journalists. SEU Press initiated it in 1995 -service, as
a joint project with Envornmental Health Center. The pilot project in
March - May 1995 at the Moscow State University Journalism faculty
turned further into a full-scale educational program for second and
third year students. The lecture cycle on environmental essentials
read by SEU experts is mandatory for second year students. The third
year program covers main issues and principles of environmental
journalism itself and is designed for students who decided to
specialize in environmental journalism. <Environmental Essentials for
Journalists> is unique course. Started in 1995, it was for the first
time in Russia when students of journalism faculty studied
environmental issues.
The other part of the project is aimed on the journalists already
working in the media and eager to cover the environment. For them SEU
also has a special workshop program on environmental journalism. The
whole project has several parts: the lecture course at the MSU
Journalism Faculty, the seminar course at MSU Journalism Faculty,
internship for students at SEU CCI office, workshops for working
journalists, consultations for students and working journalists.
Our work started in the conditions when 75% of Russian media
didn't have environmental department or a person involved regularly in
environmental issue coverage. Majority of journalists who tried to
cover environmental issues lacked environmental knowledge and made
many mistakes in their articles.
Launching the project we aimed to create a community of
environmentally aware journalists who realize that media is
responsible not for only for forming public opinion but for the
influence media has or ought to have influencing public participation
in governing the country, which is essential for democratic society
establishing. In 5 years the situation has been gradually changing.
Around 1000 students passed through our courses. Many of them are now
working in the media covering the environment. New environmental
columns appeared in many of newspapers and magazines, on TV and radio
shows. A certain community of experienced and devoted environmental
journalism has formed, delivering information permanently and
correctly. Of course, today Russia and the countries of the former
Soviet Union in general still lack good environmental journalists, and
many things are to be done.
We appreciate any ideas and proposals for cooperation.
For contacts:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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This issue was written and complied by
Sviatoslav Zabelin, the SEU Council Co-Chair, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Olga Berlova, Victoria Kolesnikova - SEU CCI Press-secretaries,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Previous Issues of The SEU Times may be found at "The Online Gadfly"
at www.igc.org/gadfly
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E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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