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Volcanoes of Kamchatka

Russian Federation
Factors affecting the property in 2007*
  • Fire (widlfires)
  • Ground transport infrastructure
  • Illegal activities
  • Major linear utilities
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Mining
  • Renewable energy facilities
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

a) Illegal salmon fishing

b) Gold mining

c) Gas pipeline

d) Development of a geothermal power station

e) Forest fires

f) Boundary changes

g) Construction of the Esso-Palana road

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2007
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2007

The joint UNESCO/IUCN mission requested by the Committee at its 30th session could not take place and is expected to be scheduled in August or September 2007. Hence, the outcome of this mission will be reported at the 32nd session in 2008.

The State Party provided a detailed report to the World Heritage Centre on 10 March 2007, as requested by the Committee at its 30th Session in 2006. This report responded to a number of the recommendations of the 2004 monitoring mission and information requested by the Committee in previous decisions.

a) Staffing levels

The State Party reported an increase in overall staff numbers for the state institutions which govern different portions of the property: from 85 to 98 over the period 2005-2007. However, the property continues to have difficulties maintaining sufficient numbers of inspectors. Although the total number of inspectors has increased from 29 in 2006 to 36 in 2007, for the Kronotsky Reserve there are 10 vacancies out of the 31 positions for inspectors. The State Party reports that additional inspection stations are needed to control and monitor visitors.

b) Fires

The State Party is managing fires by raising ecological awareness and equipping eco-trails with fire places. Most fires are caused by visitors as reflected by their location, with 16 recorded fires in 2006 in the Bystrinsky Nature Park and not in the other parks and reserves which make up the property.

c) Poaching

The State Party has not recorded any salmon poaching in Kronotsky Reserve, Kluchevskoy and Bystrinsky Nature Parks. However, salmon poaching is widespread over the Kamchatka Region. Poaching controls during the fishing season include checkpoints on highways, and random checks by inspectors. There have also been some cases of illegal hunting for fur animals and bighorn sheep. The inspectors are receiving assistance from certified local hunters to control poaching.

The State Party has also reported on the following issues relating to the property:

  • All gold mines are located at least 5 km outside the boundary of the property;
  • The State Party did not register violations of environmental legislation from 2005-2006 from the Mutnovskaya geothermal power plant which is 8 km from Yuzhno-Kamchatsky Nature Park;
  • The route for the gas pipeline is outside the property and currently construction is on hold due to lack of funding;
  • There has been an increase in the use of off-road vehicles creating a number of impacts to the property. In response to this the State Party plans to ban these vehicles;
  • Illegal logging is limited to collection of firewood by villagers located near the property. This threat is being addressed through the supply of firewood by the regional administration;
  • The 2005-2006 Federal budget has allocated funds for construction of sewage treatment facilities;
  • The State Party has prepared the legal mechanism to support fee collection at the regional protected areas.
  • l>

     

    Whilst the information above is important, the State Party has not reported on a number of issues highlighted by the 2004 UNESCO/IUCN mission and in the Committee’s decisions from 2005 and 2006, including:

    • Status of salmon populations and ecosystems;
    • Interagency cooperation on timber and logging concessions, and poaching, particularly of salmon;
    • The need to review fines and penalties for poaching;
    • Quota allocation systems to ensure that local communities receive adequate and equitable access to natural resources;
    • Ensuring the best possible standards of road construction and maintenance are applied and that no subsidiary roads are constructed from the Esso-Palana Road; and
    • Progress towards the completion and implementation of the management plans for all components of the property.
    • l>

      These issues will be examined by the 2007 mission.

      The State Party also reported on a recent court decision that may affect conservation efforts on the property. Whilst a complex system of regulations for the protection of the property was foreseen in the Regional Program Ecology and Nature Resources of the Kamchatka Region (2005-2010), and approved by the regional government of Kamchatka (Decree 436 of November 2004), this regional programme was challenged in court and canceled for contradicting the Federal Legislation on specially protected areas. The implications of this court decision on the effective protection and management of the property are not discussed in the State Party report and require clarification.

      The World Heritage Centre and IUCN welcome the detailed information provided by the State Party on the ongoing research in the property and requests copies of research reports when available, in particular on the status of salmon populations. The World Heritage Centre and IUCN also request the State Party to provide quantitative information on poaching, hunting, logging and controls of these activities to aid monitoring of threats, as well as copies of the management plans for the components of this property.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2007
31 COM 7B.26
Volcanoes of Kamchatka (Russian Federation)

The World Heritage Committee,

1.       Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add,

2.       Recalling Decision 30 COM 7B.25, adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),

3.       Notes that the State Party has not reported on some of the specific issues raised in the 2004 UNESCO/IUCN mission report, as requested by the Committee at its 29th and 30th sessions;

4.       Welcomes the increase in the number of inspectors working in the property, whilst encouraging the State Party to fill-up all vacant positions of inspectors, particularly in the Kronotsky Reserve, so as to enhance patrolling and control in the property;

5.       Requests the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN copies of the management plans for the different components of the property, as well as specific information on the status of salmon populations and habitats, interagency cooperation to control illegal logging and hunting activities, and the implications on the conservation of the property of the Kamchatka Regional Court decision, which has cancelled the programme Ecology and Nature Resources of the Kamchatka Region (2005-2010);

6.       Also requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with an updated report by 1 February 2008 on the state of conservation of the property, including progress made in implementing the recommendations of previous Committee decisions, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 32nd session in 2008.

Draft Decision: 31 COM 7B.26

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add,

2. Recalling Decision 30 COM 7B.25, adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),

3. Notes that the State Party has not reported on some of the specific issues raised in the 2004 UNESCO/IUCN mission report, as requested by the Committee at its 29th and 30th sessions;

4. Welcomes the increase in the number of inspectors working in the property, whilst encouraging the State Party to fill-up all vacant positions of inspectors, particularly in the Kronotsky Reserve, so as to enhance patrolling and control in the property;

5. Requests the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN copies of the management plans for the different components of the property, as well as specific information on the status of salmon populations and habitats, interagency cooperation to control illegal, logging and hunting activities, and the implications on the conservation of the property of the Kamchatka Regional Court decision, which has cancelled the program Ecology and Nature Resources of the Kamchatka Region (2005-2010);

6. Also requests the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with an updated report by 1 February 2008 on the state of conservation of the property, including progress made in implementing the recommendations of previous Committee decisions, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 32nd session in 2008.

Report year: 2007
Russian Federation
Date of Inscription: 1996
Category: Natural
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 31COM (2007)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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