Oak and ash export quality cut in the floodplains of the Bikin River allegedly for firewood. Residents of the village of Krasny Yar National appealed to the gathering to President Vladimir Putin Putin to stop cutting in a bikini. The press service of the Amur branch of WWF Russia.
Known at least in the Far East, many loggers harvesting schemecommercial timber by implementing a contract for firewood for the local population began to blossom with new vigor in the last "outpost" of the Ussuri taiga - protected forests. Apparently not enough that here in Primorye , Almost half of the protective forests (more than 1 million hectares) leased to the timber industry, including under the so-called priority investment projects.
Bikin forests, which the international community recognizes the value of the globalscale, territory, making a preliminary list of World Natural Heritage Site, including to save the world's climate, those forests that are key for indigenous people Udege, and for the rare Siberian tiger, those forests, which, with the assistance of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are rented for 49 years for the procurement of food forest resources and collection of medicinal plants indigenous communities "Tiger" - once again come under the ax.
"In the water protection forests Bikin, 68 quarter Sable district forestry Top - Perevalninskogo forest is currently being produced billet timber species oak and ash. Despite the fact that we are tenants in t h of forest, our view of what is happening on the inadmissibility not taken into account ", - Chairman of Territorial neighborhood community of indigenous peoples 'Tiger' Vladimir Shirko sends verbal and written appeal to the division of the Department of Forestry Economy Primorye to clarify the legality of the requirement of cutting and independent verification of cutting areas. Because selected assortments business oak, ash, elm sent from this area of the taiga to the border with China "Firewood for the needs of the population" is not explicitly called, if this "local population" The forest is not the lobby of Sino-Russian business.
"Many people on hearing the story of the struggle for forest Bikin against a particular timber company. Now, to justify the cuts are no some industrial interests, at least on the surface. Easier and supposedly noble. Valuable riparian forests Bikin cut firewood in order to meet the needs of the local population, which is about 200 km from cutting themselves. In this case, the community itself "Tiger" in the firewood was denied. How then can look into the eyes of the local population, bikini villagers Krasny Yar those leaders and officials who agreed on such cutting and justify their usefulness in clearly wasteful transport costs at such distances and quality of the road. Everything falls into place when you realize that this action - Large "wood" wood under the "outskirts of China"? - The head of the forest program of the Amur branch of WWF-Russia Yevgeny Lepeshkin.
It is worth noting that in addition to matching cuts from forest designated for felling trees and fine wood harvested in water conservation forests Bikin not embarrassed senior inspector of the state forest in forest and woodlands of Primorye, which at the time of check felling March 1 "forest offenses for firewood collection is not found. "
Upon such verification, the representative of the Forestry Department in the national population of the village of Krasny Yar became one hope - to President Vladimir Putin. Here's a snippet appeal to the President, adopted at the gathering of residents March 12:
"Now with the licensing documents are logging in floodplains Bikin River in its middle reaches of the border with the kernel production zone. On the section of cedar-broadleaf forest, which never were cutting, and even there is no reason for them. And now with permits for the firewood is cut down, cut with the whip assortments Mongolian oak timber for sale to the Chinese. Oak - now the most valuable species for loggers. Healthy mature trees are cut for firewood allegedly - half-meter diameter! And driven by the taiga 200 km border with China.
This part of the forest is leased to our indigenous communities "Tiger", we pay for the rent of the forest fund and protect it from fire. Prepared by the community development project of the forest fund, approved by the Forestry Department, no logging is not planned. Meanwhile, permits for felling Awarded to neighboring municipal district, without any notice to the community. The residents of the village of Krasny Yar, home to members of the community, in this winter can not get permission for firewood even in places where they can be harvested. "
In this situation, it must be said that the crisis in the forest protection forests crossed all possible and impossible border. Valuable timber is so short that the lobby The forest "cover" cover the needs of the local population for firewood to access from logging in the last remaining intact areas of protected forests. Depth of the problem is underlined by the fact that these cases are glaring right now, before our eyes, when the order of the day - a meeting of the State Council on the forest industry, the discussion of forest policy of the Russian Federation and the adoption of the law on account of turnover of round timber.
