ASustainable Future for the Taiga?

Conservation

We can protect the Taiga in various ways:

__National Parks – __Area of countryside, or water protected by the government for the enjoyment of the general public or the preservation of wildlife.

__Protected wilderness areas – __Protected area set aside for preservation, with limits on most human activity except for non-motorized forms of outdoor recreation.

Sustainable forestry – Managing the forest so that the resources that society enjoys today are available now and in the future.

Zabaikalsky

The Zabaikalskiy National Park is situated on the eastern shores of Lake Baikal adjacent to the southern borders of the Barguzinsky Nature Reserve. The park was set up with the aim of preserving the nature of Zabaikalye.

Some 40% of the park has nature reserve status. The length of Zabaikalskiy National Park along Baikal’s shoreline is some 240 kilometres.

The national park is part of the Lake Baikal World Natural Heritage Site. Only one road leads into the park, allowing park officials to control the flow of visitors. There are only three settlements within the bounds of the park, with a combined population of 180 people.

Ecological education is a prominent component of the national park’s activities, and all local villages are included in education programs. The park runs the Podlemorye Ecological Center in the town of Ust-Barguzin, and organizes ecological camps for children, as well as other programs and conferences on building environmental awareness.

Lake Baikal is a popular tourist destination. Each year over 20,000 tourists visit Zabaikalsky National Park. Five hiking and two lake routes are offered to visitors to the park.

Why?

Boreal Forest Russia

The boreal forest may not get as much publicity as the tropical forests of the Amazon or Indonesia, but it’s hugely important. Massive stores of carbon are locked up in its trees, soils and peat lands – more carbon than in all tropical and temperate forests combined.

It’s one of the last places where vast herds of herbivores including reindeer and large predators like bears, wolves, lynx and the Amur tiger range free in their natural state. Indigenous people, with unique customs and traditions, also depend upon these forests.

Viewpoints

More than three-quarters of Russia’s boreal forest remains in a more or less pristine state – but it’s coming under increasing pressure. And as demand for timber continues to rise, logging companies are moving further into pristine forests.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a new initiative that will explore how timber production can be intensified sustainably, without loss of important intact forest landscapes or biodiversity, or affecting the important services that forest ecosystems provide. Mondi has been working with WWF and Silver Taiga for over 10 years to identify and protect important boreal forest areas in the regions where they operate, and to ensure our forest management is environmentally and socially responsible while improving yields in commercial areas. The Boreal Forest Platform provides an opportunity to share ideas, experiences and best practices, and develop solutions that will accelerate the transition to sustainable forestry in Russia.

The need for more intensive forest management with effective regeneration, proper and timely thinning and prevention of devastating forest fires and illegal logging in industrial forests is needed.

At the first BFP meeting in April this year, representatives from Russian and international forest businesses, federal-level forest management authorities, scientists and environmental organizations discussed the barriers to sustainable forestry intensification in Russia, and possible market, policy and technical options for overcoming them.

Above all, participants recognized the need for businesses to work together with government and civil society in order to balance social, environmental and economic priorities.

Talk about the methods of conservation in Zabaikalsky National Park.

Your answer should include: Education / Wilderness / Lake / Tourism

What is the importance of protecting the boreal forest?

Your answer should include: Wildlife / Species