Swamp Stomp
Volume 14, Issue 7
In the spirit of the Winter Olympics I thought I would do a little digging on wetlands in Russia. Russia is the world’s largest county. According to Wetlands International, the country includes very large areas of wetlands, including peatlands of various types (raised bogs, fens, and transitional mires) covering 1.8 million km2, 120,000 rivers with a total length of 2,300,000 km, 2 million lakes with a total volume of 370,000 km3, and diverse marine wetlands occurring over a 60,000-km stretch of the national coastline.
Since 1975, Russia has been one of the one of the Ramsar countries. It has designated 35 wetland sites totaling 10.3 million hectares for the Ramsar list. However, they have also protected areas of wetlands the go well beyond the Ramsar criteria. Approximately, 9,000,000 ha of wetlands are protected within the strict nature reserves (zapovedniki), 5,300,000 ha, in the federal sanctuaries and wildlife refuges (zakazniki), 650,000 ha, in the national parks, and 60,000,000 ha of wetlands are protected at the local level.
Some of the more significant wetland systems include (From Wetlands International):
- The Volga Delta, the largest deltaic complex in Europe and one of the richest bird habitat in the world, covering 19,000 km2;
- Kandalaksha Bay on the eastern side of the White Sea and Lake Khanka in the Russian Far East, renowned for their importance for breeding and migrating waterbirds;
- The world’s largest peatland system of Bolshoye Vasyuganskoye covering 50,000 km2 in Western Siberia;
- Lake Baikal containing 20% of the world’s liquid fresh water with its unique fauna characterized by the highest number of endemic species of all the inland water bodies;
- Large wetland areas along the coasts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov on the south;
- Extensive tundra wetlands underlying by permafrost on the north, and many others.
On the plains of Western Siberia, a continuous bog landscape is found, with a great number of lakes and wide river valleys. This area comprises a great ‘duck factory’, comparable with the prairie pothole country of North America.
Wetland concerns in Russia are similar to those in the United States. Loss of wetlands due to drainage for agriculture and water supply dams have been significant. There is no large scale assessment of Russia’s wetlands and many systems are vulnerable to development pressures.
To help Russia manage some of its environmental issues representatives from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Technological Platform, Russian regional administrations, and private industry met with EPA experts in Washington, DC in 2009 to discuss development of economic mechanisms in addressing legacy waste sites in the Arctic Region. The delegation also visited United States Superfund and Brownfields sites, to observe and review innovative technologies and best practices in land remediation and destruction of hazardous wastes.
While this is not directed at wetlands, it is a start. It is reminiscent of the early days of the Clean Water Act in the 1970’s. The focus then was water contamination. In Russia today the major concern is hazardous waste, especially in the arctic regions.
Wetlands International has drafted a national strategy for Russia. It includes a number of key points including:
- Develop and implement a national wetland inventory program;
- Protect the most important wetlands by means of designating sites of special (international, federal and regional) importance;
- Establish a network for monitoring the status of wetlands and a system for collecting, storing and analyzing data on wetlands in the form of National Wetland Cadastre supported by relevant legislation and institutional network;
- Develop legislation that will provide for wetland wise use and conservation throughout the country;
- Raise the awareness in wetland functions and values among the general public and specific target groups;
- Promote the participation of indigenous and local communities and other stakeholders in the decision-making process concerning wetland management and conservation;
- Promote research in wetlands as a basis for management and conservation action;
- Promote international cooperation in the field of wetland conservation and sustainable use.
Wetlands International recently published a guidebook for creating concepts for visitor centers and eco-trails in wetlands. It is targeted at a wide audience, including those that have the intention of establishing a visitor center or a wetland center, plan to renovate an old natural history museum, design a network of walking trails, a child-friendly exhibit or a play area. This publication contains the detailed description of the steps they will go through to plan the concept development process, the practical examples and tips to avoid common mistakes. It sounds like a great publication. Unfortunately, it is only available in Russian. You can download it here.
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