THE AUTHORITIES OF KOMI REPUBLIC PUT AT RISK THE FIRST EVER RUSSIAN TERRITORY INCLUDED INTO THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST

THE AUTHORITIES OF KOMI REPUBLIC PUT AT RISK THE FIRST EVER RUSSIAN TERRITORY INCLUDED INTO THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST
Moscow 29 May 1997
'Hands Off the UNESCO World Heritage in Komi Republic' - this was the slogan of activists from Greenpeace Russia who picketed the building on Novyi Arbat, where the representation of Komi Republic is situated .When coming to their work places, the Komi representatives stumbled upon a huge stump - 'gift' from ecologists to the Government of Komi Republic. The stump - all that was left from a once strong tree - in opinion of ecologists, is symbolizing the future of a considerable part of the unique territory - Komi national park 'Yugyd Va', because the head of the Republic makes illegal attempts to change its borders.
After long negotiations with employees of the representation, the Greenpeace activists handed to them an appeal to the Komi Government with demands to revoke documents on elaboration of the borders of the national park and to stop all preparations for mining activities. Journalists, which accompanied the activists , were not let inside the office. In half an hour after the start of the action, militia detained three female activists who were hanging the slogan and conveyed them to the court, where the judge dismissed the girls with a caution.
Government of Komi Republic forwarded documents 'on elaborating borders' of the national park to the Government of the RF. This park is part of the territory 'The Komi Virgin Forests', which has a UNESCO World Heritage Status. On the cunning pretext of 'elaborating borders' the industrial lobby of the Republic is concealing its intention to cut off 200 thousand hectares of the most presentative and most vulnerable, part of the park, situated at the European and Asian border, and to start gold mining there, though it evidently has no prospects. The territory, which is supposed to be attached to the park, is of the same size but not of the same value, and in fact there's an unauthorized attempt to include the area into the already established World Heritage territory. Actions of the republican authorities look especially cynical because all Heritage territories are integral part of the humanity's treasure, which should have strong protection.
'The Komi Government does not give any economic or social reasons for such 'elaboration'. There's an evident attempt of manipulating the total area of the national park with an objective of 'pulling' absolutely new borders through the Russia's Government', Vladimir Chuprov from Greenpeace Russia said to the journalists.
When issuing the Decree on elaborating borders of the national nature park, head of Komi Republic Yuri Spiridonov exceeded his commission and violated Enactment of the Government of the RF #377 from 23-April-1994 on establishment of the park at the expense of forest fund lands of Pechora and Vuktyl forest services (leskhoz). In accordance with annex to the Decree, Spiridonov withdraws lands of the Pechora forest service and substitutes them with other territory.
There already exists a gold mining project for the basin of the Kozhim river, which enters the territory of the being torn away Pechora forest service. While the enactment on the national nature park 'Yugyd Va', confirmed by the Federal Forest Service of the RF, stipulates the main task of the park as preservation of the unique nature complexes and sites and prohibits prospective works and mining, as well as any activities, which may change the hydrological regime, on this territory. The direction of the Federal Service supported the 'elaboration of the borders; evidently deluded by this unclear wording. The Komi authorities may manage to have this illegal decree on change of the borders of the park adopted and make the Russian Federation look rather unattractive in front of the international community.
'It's not that just a single national park on the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation is in question. The moral status of our state at the international arena is at risk', Sergei Tsyplenkov, forests campaign coordinator at Greenpeace Russia, said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ivan Blokov, Vladimir Chuprov, Andrew Semenov Greenpeace Russia - tel: 251 90 73
Information for the editor
To take this insignificant stock of gold, which is situated near the Kozhim river, it'd be necessary to totally ravage vast territories of the river valleys. Cost of the inevitable /stipulated by the law/ restorative works will bring to naught the derived profit. Ecological costs of the gold mining are extremely high. Just one example - research in the valley of the Kozhim river has shown that opening of just 0.5 per cent of the territory has already caused reduction of the salmon stock by 50 per cent.
Proper management and development of ecological tourism may convert the park into a quite profitable enterprise, what will save the unique nature of the exceptional value.
The 4th Congress of the Komi people /1995, Syktyvkar/ recognized the need to preserve the national park 'Yugyd Va' within existing borders and forwarded adequate petitioning to the Russian Government.
In 1988, the USSR ratified the Convention on protection of the cultural and natural heritage. Article 4 of the Convention states that every state should provide protection, preservation and transfer of the cultural and natural heritage to further generations.
According to the Law of the RF 'On Specially Protected Nature Territories', lands of national parks are lands of the federal significance. According to the Law of the RF 'On the State Ecological Assessment', any change of the status of lands of the federal significance becomes possible if only the state ecological assessment of the federal level draws a positive conclusion. NO assessment was carried out in this case.