«CURRENT EVENTS»

HOW TO IMPLEMENT THE SEVILLE STRATEGY FOR BIOSPHERE RESERVES

An international training seminar – Ways of Implementing the Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves – took place June 18—23, 2001, in the Krasnoyarsk and Shushensky settlements. Over 70 specialists from eight countries (Russia, Byelorussia, Germany, Spain, Slovakia, Finland, France and Estonia) participated.

Plenary reports were read and discussed. The seminar included three thematic round table discussions and a field trip to the Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve.

Russia was represented by managers and specialists from the following State Nature Reserves and National Parks: Astrakhansky, Baikalsky, Bargusinsky, Visimsky, Vodlozersky, Kavkazsky, Katunsky, Kerzhensky, Kronotsky, Laplandsky, Oksky, Prioksko-Terrasny, Sayano-Shushensky, Sikhote-Alinsky, Sokhondinsky, Stolby, Teberdinsky, Ubsunurskaya Kotlovina, Ugra, Hakassky, Tsentralno-Lesnoy, Tsentralnosibirsky, Tsentralno-Chernozemny, Chernye Zemli, Shshensky Bor. Byelorussia was represented by managers and specialists from the Berezinsky State Nature Reserve and from the Byelovezhskaya puscha, Narochansky and Pripyatsky National Parks. The seminar was also attended by representatives from the Krasnoyarsk Krai Administration, the Krasnoyarsk Krai Ecology and Natural Resources Department, the Department of Environmental Safety and Natural Resources (Ministry of Natural Resources), the Siberian Regional Department of Natural Resources, the Natural Resources Committee of Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Republics of Kalmykia and Khakassia, Astrakhan Region, different municipalities, UNESCO’s Moscow Office, the Russian Committee of Man and Biosphere (a UNESCO program), NGOs, scientific institutions and the media.

The seminar – marking the first time since the World Strategy for Biosphere Reserves was adopted in Seville six years ago that ways of implementing it in Russian biosphere reserves had been discussed by such a broad forum – was clearly a success. By Russian biosphere reserves, we mean State Nature Reserves and National Parks that already have a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve certificate, as well as those that do not have a certificate yet, but satisfy all the requirements.

Prior to the adoption of the Seville Strategy in 1995 many Russian specialists considered that virtually any Russian State Nature Reserve deserved to be certified as a biosphere reserve. This view was fairly objective, especially given the debatable and vague criteria for the certification of Russian reserves. Now that the Seville Strategy is being implemented, one can see that most protected areas of various categories in Russia – including all State Nature Reserves and National Parks – adhere to the strategy’s main principles.

As it says in the preamble to the Seville Strategy, biosphere reserves have been established to solve one of the most important problems the modern world faces today: to combine biodiversity and bio-resources conservation with their sustainable development. Insofar as biosphere reserves contribute to sustainable socio-economic development, they differ from other protected areas. However, in Russia all the State Nature Reserves and National Parkss should perhaps play a more significant role than simply protected areas do.

Theoretical and practical approaches to the implementation of the Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves in Russia should take into account Russia’s enormous experience in nature protection and conservation. Past successes and failures should also be considered, as should Russia’s natural, geographical, historical, economic and socio-political realities.

The main purpose of implementing the Seville Strategy in Russian State Nature Reserves and National Parks is to promote their further integration into the regional socio-economic structure.

Nature Reserves and National Parks cannot be alien bodies in the Russian regions (even if they are self-sufficient, as in Soviet times). They must become part of the regional infrastructure and their conservation, recreational, scientific and intellectual potential should benefit the region. This is the only way to ensure the sustainable functioning of State Nature Reserves and National Parks in Russia today without doing damage to their main objectives. 

At the same time, the biosphere reserve should promote and publicize all the economic, conservation and eco-educational advantages and benefits to the region (including communities living in or near the biosphere reserve). The public must know about this and understand it.

The seminar participants thanked the directors and staff of the Krasnoyarsk Krai Ecology and Natural Resources Department, Sayano-Shushensky State Nature Reserve and Shushensky Bor National Park for organizing the seminar and for showing such kindness and hospitality.

V. B. Stepanitsky
Deputy Head
Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety
Russian Ministry of Natural Resources

The seminar participants adopted the following resolution:

Russia’s biosphere reserves have grasped the main guidelines of the Seville Strategy and already started their implementation. The term “biosphere reserve” in this resolution refers to State Nature Reserves and National Parks that fulfill the three main functions of a biosphere reserve as stipulated in the Seville Strategy and to reserves that could (potentially) fulfill these functions.

Given the need to implement the concept of sustainable development, as outlined in the Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves, and to support the recommendations adopted at the Seville +5 Conference (Pamplona, 2000), the seminar participants agreed:

1. To consider the further expansion of the Russian network of biosphere reserves (including on the basis of the existing National Parks) an important goal. To view Bryansky Les, Visimsky, Kerzhensky, Komandorsky, Bolshoy Arktichesky, Ust'-Lensky State Nature Reserves and Vodlozersky, Ugra, Smolenskoye Poozerye National Parks as the best candidates to be nominated for UNESCO.

2. To note the potential of biosphere reserves to fulfill the obligations stipulated in the Convention on Biodiversity and other international conventions and agreements.

3. To draw the attention of directors of biosphere reserves to the necessity of publicizing the idea of sustainable development and the aims of biosphere reserves. The directors should involve all concerned regional structures in this publicity campaign.

4. To stress the importance of using biosphere reserves to develop certain types of agricultural production, to manage hunting facilities, and to organize industrial and amateur fishing.

5. To stress the important role biosphere reserves can play in developing eco-tourism, a tourism infrastructure and local crafts. To recommend that biosphere reserves involve the local population in these activities as much as possible.

6. To publicize the role of biosphere reserves in providing direct economic benefits to local communities, including:

• new employment opportunities;
• assistance in providing the local population with vocational and higher education and additional training opportunities;
• a privileged system of natural resource use (land plots for staff, cheap firewood, etc.)
• practical activities to ensure sustainable livelihoods for indigenous inhabitants and older residents involved in traditional natural resource use;
• centers for the reproduction of valuable hunting-trade animals that play an important role in the regional hunting economy.

7. To recommend that biosphere reserves cooperate with any large local industrial enterprises in an effort to implement the concept of sustainable development.

8. To stress the importance of using the informational and intellectual potential of biosphere reserves, conducting state ecological inspections, and promoting socio-economic development and environmental protection programs in Russia’s regions.

9. To insist that biosphere reserves coordinate their activities with regional authorities, local municipalities, business structures and NGOs in order to implement ecological and development programs and projects (coordination boards should be formed at each biosphere reserve to improve implementation); and to propose to the Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological (Ministry of Natural Resources) that is draft a statement on Coordination Boards in biosphere reserves.

10. To propose that biosphere reserves that have no zones of collaboration create such zones.

11. To continue to develop management and development plans for each biosphere reserve.

12. To point out the importance establishing and developing a network of trans-border sites, particularly on the Russian side on the basis of Pasvick Nature Reserve (Russian-Norwegian site), Paanayarvi National Parks (Russian-Finnish site), Kurshskaya Kosa National Parks (Russian-Lithuanian site), Bryansky Les Nature Reserve (Russian-Ukrainian site), Ingermanlandsky Nature Reserve (Russian-Finnish site), Katunsky Nature Reserve (Russian-Kazakh site), Sailugemsky Nature Reserve (Russian-Mongolian-Chinese site), Bolshehehtsirsky Nature Reserve (Russian-Chinese site), Ubsunurskaya Kotlovina Nature Reserve (Russian-Mongolian site), Komandorsky Nature Reserve (Russian-American site) and Kurilsky Nature Reserve (Russian-Japanese site).

13. In the field of monitoring and scientific research:

• to help restore the network of monitoring stations in biosphere reserves;
• to stress the importance of involving biosphere reserves in national and regional biological monitoring programs ;
• to suggest that research institutes and high schools work with State Nature Reserves and National Parks to organize scientific research and train specialists in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development;
• to propose that the Commission on Reserves (under the Academy of Sciences with support from the Ministry of Natural Resources) draw up a plan for publishing monographs summarizing the results of long-term research in Russian biosphere reserves; and to find sources of funding for these publications.

14. So as to further develop eco-tourism:

• to recommend that biosphere reserves take advantage of opportunities related to the certification of local products (goods and services) and the use of reserve logos;
• to recommend that regional associations of nature reserves and National Parks improve coordination of BR eco-tourism activities in the region;
• to support the idea of creating a Russian Association of Eco-Tourism and to propose that biosphere reserves take active part in the Association’s activities.

15. So as to develop small businesses in the reserves:

• to suggest disseminating Russian and international experience in initiating and funding small-business projects;
• to recommend for general study a joint project by the Biodiversity Conservation Center, Ugra and Smolenskoye Poozerye National Parks and Katunsky State Nature Reserve to develop and introduce small-business support mechanisms;
• to recommend that biosphere reserves lobby for tax breaks and other financial privileges at the regional level.

16. So as to implement the Seville Strategy’s main ideas and further develop biosphere reserves in Russia:

à) To suggest publicizing the successes of Russian biosphere reserves in implementing the Seville Strategy.

b) To ask the Ministry of Natural Resources:

• to draft a normative act that would determine the mechanism of cooperation between government and regional authorities in the sphere of BR formation and functioning;
• to introduce appropriate amendments and additions to the Federal Act “On Protected Natural Areas,” especially the regulations on buffer zones (zones of collaboration);
• to help the Department of the Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety improve the efficiency of activities relating to the reserves’ coordination and management;
• to arrange create a system of compiling and circulating information on biosphere reserves.

c) To ask UNESCO, the Russian Committee on UNESCO and the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources to foster the activities of the Russian Committee UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Program.

d) To ask UNESCO and the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources to hold a training seminar on the implementing the Seville Strategy for regional government bodies, local authorities and large enterprises in regions where the biosphere reserves already exist or will exist in future.

e) To ask UNDP to consider decisions and recommendations in this resolution when drafting Global Ecology Foundation (GEF) projects.

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