Posted on 27 May 2011
Companies seeking oil extraction rights
to a newly available concession off Russia’s
Sakhalin Island will not be permitted to
conduct activities while Western gray whales
are present. The seasonal restriction, imposed
by the Russian government, will require
developers to conduct activities only from
late November to late May, when the whales
are away from their summer feeding grounds
around the island.
The new regulation applies
to only one section of the waters surrounding
Sakhalin, although numerous companies have
active projects in other areas close to
the whales’ feeding habitat. There are currently
four off-shore oil and gas platforms near
Sakhalin in Russian Far East, but the development
of additional platforms is planned.
The waters around the
island are the primary feeding habitats
for critically endangered Western gray whales
and their calves. There may be fewer than
130 of the whales remaining.
Activities needed for
oil exploration, such as seismic testing,
can disrupt the whales’ behaviour or even
cause them to abandon their feeding area.
"WWF welcomes this
seasonal restriction and urges authorities
to expand the regulation to include all
other off-shore projects near Sakhalin,”
said Aleksey Knizhnikov, WWF-Russia’s Oil
& Gas Environmental Policy Officer.
“While the whales await this much needed
protection, WWF calls on operators to halt
their dangerous off-shore activities during
this summer’s feeding season, including
Sakhalin Energy’s planned seismic survey.”
Whales will begin to
arrive to Sakhalin next month and scientists
will be on hand to observe the animals’
physical condition. The number of whales
and their ‘skinniness’ will be analysed
to determine the impacts of last summer’s
seismic testing. Three seismic surveys were
conducted in or near whale feeding habitat
last summer and are believed to have caused
severe pressure on the animals. Several
surveys are being planned by oil developers
for this summer.
Sakhalin Energy, a consortium
that includes oil giant Shell, recently
revealed plans to construct a new off-shore
platform close to the whales’ feeding habitat,
and plans to conduct seismic surveys this
summer to determine the exact location of
the platform. A coalition of environmental
organizations, including WWF, has urged
Sakhalin Energy to halt all activities relating
to the new platform until an assessment
has been made of the cumulative impacts
the numerous different oil and gas projects
have on the whales.
The Russian government’s
directive highlights the need for establishing
protected zones for Western gray whales,
an initiative WWF has supported for a number
of years. The document also stresses that
specialized observers are necessary to monitor
the impact of oil and gas development on
the whales.
“We commend the government
for its leadership in prohibiting industrial
activities when the whales are present in
this area,” Knizhnikov said. “We look forward
to the implementation of additional measures
to fully mitigate the impact of oil development
around Sakhalin Island.”
+ More
States unite to protect
primeval European forests
Posted on 27 May 2011
Bratislava, Slovakia: Europe's largest areas
of old growth forests outside Russia are
to be protected across the seven country
span of the Carpathian Mountains.
The commitment comes
in the form of a Protocol on Sustainable
Forest Management, signed today in Bratislava,
Slovakia, by ministers of all the Carpathian
Convention countries - the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia
and Ukraine.
“The Forestry Protocol
under the Carpathian Convention joins a
growing number of legislative tools and
political commitments, including new EU
legislation on illegal logging as well as
the EU Habitats and Birds Directives for
addressing the loss of these forest treasures
- it is essential that these commitments
are now put into practice”, said Andreas
Beckmann, Director of the WWF Danube-Carpathian
Programme. .
Early tasks under the
protocol include the identification and
protection of natural, especially virgin
forests.
Many areas being felled
Some 300,000 hectares
of old growth or primeval forest are thought
to exist in the Carpathian Mountains, a
small remnant of the vast forests that covered
Europe. They include over 10,000 ha of magnificent
beech forests in eastern Slovakia and western
Ukraine that have been included in the UNESCO
World Heritage List as well as areas in
the southern Carpathians of Romania that
make up Europe’s greatest unfragmented forest
area.
Unfortunately, many
of these areas are being felled. Only 18%
of the 250,000 ha of Romanian old growth
forests are inside protected areas. In Slovakia,
only 0.47% of forests could be considered
old growth, as demonstrated by a thorough
field study undertaken in 2010. Prior to
the study, it had been thought that at least
2% of forest area could be considered old
growth.
The Protocol also aims
to maintain or enlarge forest cover as well
as improve protective forest functions such
as preventing floods, landslides and in
general water cycle regulation.
“In the International
Year of the Forest, the governments of the
seven Carpathian countries have committed
themselves to protecting and preserving
Europe’s greatest remaining forest treasures,
including the continent’s largest remaining
areas of natural and virgin forests outside
of Russia, which are in urgent need of protection,”
Beckmann said.
New EU legislation on
addressing illegal logging requires EU member
states to take specific measures to address
the problem of illegal logging, which has
been a major problem in the Carpathian region.
An online timber tracking
tool developed by the Romanian Forest Agency
Romsilva can support implementation of the
Forestry Protocol and EU legislation and
provides a good example for other countries.
Romania has also been one of the pioneers
in the Carpathian region in promoting responsible
forest management, with some 2 million hectares
of forest on track for certification under
the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
