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Ruthless Exploration of the Kolyma

In the 6th issue of The Nature, 2020, an article was published by the researchers from the IBPN FEB RAS and SNEISRI FEB RAS - "Ruthless development of the Kolyma, the last frontier is the southern part of the Chersky ridge."

 

The development of the Upper Kolyma began in the second quarter of the last century, and the harsh circumpolar highlands were turned into a mining region. In the permafrost conditions the archaic methods of placer gold mining destroy valleys and talik floodplains of rivers, which housed almost all the biotic potential of the mountain taiga landscape. The area covered by the "metastases" of placer mining already occupies about 50 thousand km2. It resulted in formation of a clearly visible from space environmental anomaly at the riverhead of the largest East Siberian river. The development of a regional environmental network and the reservation of territories preserving high conservation value could compensate for the ecological devastation. Thus, the southern edge of the Chersky Ridge deserves special attention. The Cherge and Okhandya ridges still serve as a site-protecting barrier, which preserves the unique natural, historical and cultural value of this site from the miners. In July-August 2018, the Institute of Biological Problems of the North and the Russian Geographical Society organized an expedition to survey the southern outskirts of the Chersky Ridge. The article provides novel or little-known information about the landscapes, biota and history of a remote area of ​​the Russian subarctic, preserving its unique features and high conservation value in an ultra-continental climate under growing environmental threats from the mining industry. Particular attention is paid to the physical and geographical features and biological diversity of large tectonic lakes of the Darpir Depression. Based on the results of this expedition, a proposal to create Chersky National Park was developed.

You can find the article  by the link.

Position project of environmental organizations on alluvial gold mining is in process of formation

The coalition of public environmental organizations of Russia prepared and presented for discussion a position on solving environmental and social problems of alluvial gold mining. Based on the results of the discussion, on the basis of these proposals, an appeal will be prepared to the Government of Russia to reduce the impact of alluvial gold mining on the environment and living conditions of the population of the territories where it is carried out.
 

The position text is posted on the website zolotari.net, opened for public comments until the end of the summer. The position contains such proposals as:

 

· The moratorium establishment on the development of deposits on rivers that were not previously affected by gold mining; in areas adjacent to protected areas and settlements, which is important for economic activity;

 

· An increased role of the local population opinion, local self-government bodies and state authorities of the gold mining regions in making decisions on the start of the development of a particular deposit;

 

· Improving the efficiency of government regulatory authorities and toughening penalties against gold mining enterprises that violate environmental legislation.

 

The document was developed by a working group of representatives from the following organizations: WWF Russia, the coalition “Rivers without Borders”, the Altai regional public environmental organization “Environmental Asset”, the Amur regional public environmental organization “AmurSoES”, the Krasnoyarsk regional public environmental organization “Plotina”. The authors of the position invite all interested organizations and individuals to take part in the discussion of this document on the page http://zolotari.net/position . According to the discussion results, a letter to the Russian Government will be prepared in early autumn with a proposal for reducing of the harmful environmental effect of alluvial gold mining.

 

The material was taken from the WWF news resource https://wwf.ru/resources/news/amur/wwf-rossii-vynosit-na-obsuzhdenie-proekt-pozitsii-prirodookhrannykh-organizatsiy-po-rossypnoy-dobych/

Herbarium replenishment with samples of the Finnish flora

The replenishment of the Herbarium stored at the Institute of Biological Problems of the North is ongoing. Botanical laboratory specialists bring samples from expeditions and business trips, exchange with colleagues from other regions.

This year the collection was supplemented with unique material from Finland. You can find the details in our online journal.