GREENPEACE WELCOMES WORLD HERITAGE NOMINATION FOR BAIKAL AND KAMCHATKA

GREENPEACE WELCOMES WORLD HERITAGE NOMINATION FOR BAIKAL AND KAMCHATKA
6TH DECEMBER 1996, AMSTERDAM:
Greenpeace today welcomed the news that the World Heritage Committee has officially added Lake Baikal and the Volcanoes of Kamchatka to the World Heritage List. Greenpeace Russia worked closely with the Federal and regional Governments in Russia to prepare the two World Heritage Nominations which will protect an area of more than 12 million hectares in Russia.
"Today is a great day for nature conservation in Russia", said Sergei Tsyplenkov, from Greenpeace Russia. "Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake in the world, and the Kamchatka volcanoes and surrounding forests are one of the most stunning landscapes in Russia. We are delighted that these two sites have now been placed on the World Heritage List."
Greenpeace Russia has worked on the establishment of World Heritage Sites in Russia since 1994. One year ago, the 3.2 million hectare Komi Virgin Forests in the Ural Mountains were placed on the World Heritage List; the culmination of a campaign by Greenpeace to stop logging and mining in the area.
Lake Baikal, in central Siberia, is over 700 kilometres long and up to one and a half kilometres deep. It contains fifteen per cent of the fresh water on the planet; as much water as all the Great Lakes combined. The Lake Baikal World Heritage Site includes a belt of forest adjacent to the Lake .
The total area of the nomination is 8.8 million hectares, about the size of Austria, making it one of the world's largest World Heritage sites. Lake Baikal is home to a unique species of fresh water seal, as well as numerous fish and mammal species. "The World Heritage Listing strongly supports Greenpeace's effort to close a pulp mill which still pumps toxic effluent into the Lake", said Tsyplenkov.
Kamchatka is a peninsula in the Russian North Pacific. The World Heritage Site includes active volcanoes, geysers, bubbling mud cauldrons and lava streams, set in pristine forests and fast flowing salmon streams. Several new National Parks were created in the last year so that the Kamchatka World Heritage Site would contain more of the region's outstanding features. The protected area measures 3.3 million hectares and will help to protect Kamtschatka from devastating mining plans, that have been proposed for the region.
Greenpeace will continue its work to establish further World Heritage Sites, and has been contracted by the Russian Federal Government to prepare nominations for: the Karelia forests - a belt of old-growth forests extending down the border between Russia and Finland, the Altai Mountains - a pristine, high mountain region in Western Siberia and the Sikhote Alin Mountains - home to the Siberian Tiger, and many other rare and threatened plants and animals in the Russian Far East.
"Russia has some of the most outstanding and well preserved forests and wildlands in the northern hemisphere. Many of its protected areas are of world importance," said Patrick Anderson, forest campaigner from Greenpeace International. "Greenpeace welcomes the chance to cooperate with the peoples of Russia and their governments in this important conservation work."

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sergei Tsyplenkov or Jim Ford, Greenpeace Moscow on ++7 095 978 49 17
Patrick Anderson, Greenpeace International, in Australia on phone or fax ++61 66 886 392.
For stills and video materials please contact Anke Scheib at Greenpeace International ++31 20 5249 543