“Residents of forest villages that file formal complaints against illegal loggers have had their outbuildings burned, the windows shot out of their vehicles. One complainant was assaulted by illegal loggers and had his neck broken.”
These people and their forests need our help. The ministries in charge of land use in Primorye are very cynical and will only respond to direct pressure. YOU – the international community – can exert it!
Please send your protests to: intnlcmt@primorsky.ru and ulhpk@primorsky.ru, and call for the cancellation of the proposal to log remaining Amur tiger habitat.
For more information, see below:
Canceling Destructive Logging in Three Key Tiger Habitats:
On October 26, 2010 the Forest Management Department of Primorsky Province (Russian Federation) auctioned the right to conduct “intermediate harvesting” in 1732 ha of forest land, of which 1044 ha are located in three key tiger habitats: the proposed “Middle Ussurisky” wildlife reserve, riparian forests along the Bikin River (Bikinsky Pine Nut Harvesting Zone), and the Pozharsky Pine Nut Harvesting Zone. Extensive experience in Primorsky Province has demonstrated that “intermediate harvesting” is not used for its intended purpose of removing low-quality and diseased trees, but is instead used to cut the highest quality timber from forests where final harvesting is prohibited. Based on numerous past violations recorded by WWF Russia (see Section 4), we can expect the following results from such activities: unplanned road-building in minimally-disturbed forest massifs resulting in greatly increased poaching pressure on Amur tigers and their prey; extraction of the healthiest nut-bearing Korean pine and Mongolian oak (on which all tiger prey species depend) at 2-3 times the permitted harvest level; destruction of “key biotopes” critical for tigers and their prey, especially riparian forests.
Intact forest landscapes with undisturbed habitats and minimal road infrastructure are essential for maintaining stable tiger populations, and the forests described in this report are part of the largest intact landscape remaining in the range of the Amur tiger – the Bikin River Basin. The fragmentation and roading of such intact forest landscapes will have serious negative impacts on Amur tigers in Primorsky Province. Intact landscapes support twice as many tiger cubs and nearly five times as many wild boar and Sika deer (key tiger prey species) as roaded, fragmented forests open for hunting and logging. Tigers living in proximity to forest roads experience greater mortality (often poaching-related) and reduced reproductive success compared to those living away from roads, and are more often forced to abandon kills due to human interference.
The proposed logging activity thus poses a critical threat to Amur tigers and their habitat at a time when world leaders gather to develop a conservation strategy for this flagship species. Intermediate logging must be cancelled within these three key habitats in order to prevent serious harm to Amur tiger populations.
The Key Tiger Habitats under threat
The proposed “Middle Ussurisky” wildlife refuge: Located in the Strelnikov Mountains, this proposed refuge protects the last migration corridor connecting tiger habitat in Primorsky Province with the Wandashan Mountains of northeast China, which host a critically endangered subpopulation of Amur tigers. A Chinese-Russian-American research team concluded that migration through the Strelnikov corridor provides the only hope for sustaining and replenishing the Wandashan subpopulation. The proposed refuge has already been approved by the administration of the counties in which it is located but has been opposed by the Primorsky Province Forest Management Department, which is now opening the territory to logging.
Riparian forests in the Bikin River Basin: Located within the Bikinsky Pine Nut Harvesting Zone, these riparian and lowland forests are leased by the Udege indigenous peoples for pine nut and medicinal plant gathering. They are located within the Bikin Basin, known as the “Russian Amazon” because it contains the largest massif of old-growth coniferous-broadleaf forests in the world. A population of up to 50 Amur tigers is known to occupy the basin, especially its riparian forests.
Pozharsky forest massif: Located in the Pozharsky Pine Nut Harvesting Zone, this massif is also part of the Bikin Basin or “Russian Amazon”. It contains some of the last undisturbed oak forests in Primorsky Province, which along with Korean pine sustain the boar and deer populations that the Amur tiger depends on. In a secretly filmed interview, the head of the Primorsky Province Forest Management Department Pyotr Diuk said that “The only [oak] timber that’s left is in the pine nut harvesting zone, which you can’t take on auction cause the greens would raise hell. Especially in the ‘Year of the Tiger’”. Nonetheless, he described how his Department is using “intermediate harvesting” to access the best timber in the Zone, and promised to open the last undisturbed forests to logging in the next two years . The October 26 timber auction constitutes the fulfillment of that “promise.”
Logging operations violate the Amur Tiger Program and Russian Law
In March 2010 a special working group convened by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources produced a new “Strategy for the Conservation of the Amur Tiger in Russia”, which forms the basis for the Amur Tiger Program under the direct management of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The Strategy calls for protection of key tiger habitats and adaptation of forest management to reduce negative impacts on Amur tigers. It also includes three specific provisions that would be directly violated by the logging described in this report. These provisions are as follows:
• “Deploy federal authority to provide strict control over the authorization and implementation of intermediate harvesting in habitats of the Amur tiger and fully prohibit this practice in protective forests, maximally limit harvest of mature oak forests, and ensure that all Pine Nut Harvesting Zones are used only for collection of non-timber forest products.” Two of the key tiger habitats listed in this report have the status of Pine Nut Harvesting Zones, and the the Middle Ussurisky Wildlife Reserve contains protective riparian forests for salmon breeding in the Ussuri River and anti-erosion forests on steep mountain slopes. The mature oak forests of the Pozharsky forest massif are a primary target of “intermediate logging.”
• “Establish a wildlife reserve in the Strelnikov Range of Primorsky Province… and prepare an Agreement with China for the establishment of a transboundary reserve.” The Middle Ussurisky Wildlife Reserve was proposed to fulfill this provision. If matched by a protected area in the Wandashan Mountains of China, the reserve could significantly improve the prospects of Amur tigers in China. The opposition of the Primorsky Forest Management Department has stalled this goal, and the logging authorized by this agency now threatens its existence.
• “Immediately institute a moratorium on the logging of Korean pine and the unregulated collection of pine nuts, support the initiative to include Korean pine in the Red Book of Primorsky Province, appeal to the government of the Russian Federation for the inclusion of Korean pine in the list of species forbidden for harvest and the international CITES list.” The intermediate logging described in this report opens up some of the most productive and high-volume Korean pine forests left in Primorye. 5380 cubic meters of this species are authorized for harvest in the auction and given the high rates of “overcutting” observed with intermediate logging, we can expect as much as 15000 cubic meters of the finest quality pine to be cut. This translates to approximately 3000 Korean pines culled from mixed forests.
The planned intermediate logging also violate Russian and provincial law in three key ways:
• According to the provincial law № 141-K3 (23.10.2007) “On the Use of Forests in Primorsky Province” intermediate logging for “state or municipal needs” can only be conducted in forests not under lease. The Bikinsky Pine Nut Harvesting Zone is leased by the Indigenous Peoples Community Enterprise “Tiger” for the collection and processing of edible and medicinal plants.
• According to the 2006 Russian Forest Code (Chapter 2, page 64) and the Rules on Intermediate Harvesting (pages 3 and 4) intermediate harvesting can only be conducted by the party holding management responsibility for that land, that is, the leaseholder. For the Bikinsky tract, this is the “Tiger” Udege indigenous enterprise. The planned logging here is a direct violation of their lease contract, and threatens the Korean pine nut supply on which the enterprise depends.
• Intermediate harvesting can only be conducted in forests where the state forest inventory indicates that “forest tending” is neccesary. According to the 2009-2010 state forest inventory the forests up for auction are in excellent condition and require no such “tending”!
The threat posed by “intermediate” logging
The past record of the Primorsky Province Forest Management Enterprise with “intermediate logging” clearly demonstrates the negative impacts we can expect from the planned operations. In the past two years WWF illegal logging expert Anatoliy Kabanets recorded serious violations of forest law on 10 Enterprise logging sites, of which we offer an example: Stands 23, 33, 34 and 36, block 87, Pozharsky subdistrict, Verkhe-Perevalnensky Forest Management Unit. Intermediate logging to improve forest health was authorized in these stands, yet the forestry authorities authorized the harvest of 80% of the standing volume of valuable oak timber (2889 m3). This authorization seems to have no connection to the conditions on the ground, and rather than conscientious intermediate harvesting it invites degradation and massive overcutting. Indeed, the loggers then proceeded to cull the finest oak timber from adjacent healthy forests entirely outside the permitted cutting boundaries (see fig. —). Only top grade sawtimber was present in the log piles, when in fact this grade only constituted 35% of the permitted cut. In order to produce that quantity of sawtimber it would have been necessary to cut at least twice as much oak as was permitted.
The trees cut in this operation are not only prime timber, they are also the most productive acorn producers. Such reckless logging seriously reduces food availability for wild boar and red deer, the two primary prey species of the Amur tiger.
The perversion of “intermediate harvesting” to plunder the most valuable timber from protective forests not only degrades Amur tiger habitat, it undermines rule of law in Primorsky Province. Residents of forest villages that file formal complaints against illegal loggers have had their outbuildings burned, the windows shot out of their vehicles, and bullets left in warning on their front steps. One complainant who worked with WWF Russia was assaulted by illegal loggers and his neck broken.
The solution: Immediate cancelation of planned logging in key tiger habitats
Delegates to the Global Tiger Summit have gathered to take concrete steps towards the protection of the world’s tigers. These steps will involve changing the way we manage the landscapes that humans share with tigers, and putting a stop destructive practices that are pushing this flagship species to extinction. The immediate cancelation of planned logging in the proposed Middle Ussurisky Wildlife Reserve, riparian forests of the Bikin Basin and the Pozharsky forest massif is exactly such a positive step. Let us demonstrate our serious commitment to tigers and the ecosystems that sustain them by protecting these intact natural landscapes.
– Sergei Berezniuk, Phoenix Fund
