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Golden Mountains of Altai

Russian Federation
Factors affecting the property in 2009*
  • Ground transport infrastructure
  • Illegal activities
  • Major linear utilities
  • Oil and gas
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports

a) Impacts of a road project across the property;

b) Gas pipeline construction plans.

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2009
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2009**

2001: UNESCO/UNDP mission; 2007: World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission 

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2009

This report was requested by the World Heritage Committee in its Decision 32 COM 7B.22at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008), in relation to the threat from the planned gas pipeline development.

The State Party report, received on 30 January 2009, outlines progress achieved on the conservation and management of the three protected areas included within this serial property. It is reported that in the Altai Reserve patrolling has been strengthened by increasing the number of staff to 43 and better equipping them for field work and communications. A check point has also been established to better control vehicular transit through the property. A fire fighting and control station has been established and is fully operational. A system to monitor ecological impacts from tourism has been put in place, as pressures from visitors are increasing.

A management plan for the Katunskiy Reserve and Ukok Quiet Zone National Park was developed in 2008 to guide management actions for the period 2009-2013; however no information is provided in the report on the status of implementation of this plan. In the Katunskiy Reserve and Belukha National Park, a series of studies initiated in 2007 on impacts from climate change to biodiversity has continued, while studies are also underway to assess the impacts from pollution on the rivers and glaciers within the property.

In relation to the implementation of recommendations from the 2007 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission, the State Party reported the following progress:

- Plans to construct a gas pipeline that could eventually cross the World Heritage property have been stopped because the project’s documentation was not ready to be submitted to State Ecological Environmental Assessment. However from the State Party report it is not clear whether or not there is a definitive decision to stop this project, or whether the issue could be re-opened once all technical documentation is available for the State Ecological Environmental Assessment.

- A common strategy for the development and management of the Golden Mountains of Altai World Heritage property has been developed and specific management plans (2009-2013) for its 3 component parts were developed in 2008. However, as noted above, no information has been provided on overall management framework for the property as a whole, or on the status of implementation of this strategy and the specific management plans.

- Tourism and Visitors Plans for the Katunskiy Reserve and Belukha National Park were prepared and an Environmental Tourism Information Centre for the Altai Republic was established with support from a UNDP/GEF project. Agreements with local communities and authorities have been developed to promote and guide public involvement in tourism and monitoring activities. However there is no information on the status of implementation of the Tourism and Visitor Plans.

- A draft Federal Law “On the Protection of the Teletskoye Lake” was approved in November 2008 by the Altai Republic and submitted to the Russian Federation for final approval, but the outcome has not been reported.

- Collaboration has been actively promoted between the Katunskiy Reserve (Russian Federation) and Katon-Karagayskiy National Park (Republic of Kazakhstan) as a practical step towards the establishment of transboundary cooperation between Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China on the management of the Altai Mountains.

Apart from these positive developments, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN also received some reports on illegal activities occurring in the area. In this context, in January 2009, the World Heritage Centre requested clarification from the State Party on the reported crash of a helicopter that had been chartered by officials of the Government of the Altai Republic in the Ulandryk Canyon, near the Mongolian border. It was reported that seven people were tragically killed and two injured in this accident and that carcasses of Altai mountain sheep (Argali), a protected species according to Russian Law, were found in the helicopter wreckage, indicating that the helicopter had been involved in illegal hunting. No response to the World Heritage Centre’s request had been received at the time of the preparation of this report. Whilst this one-off incident received a high level of media attention, there are also several other reports noting increasing illegal hunting activities within the property, including helicopter hunting, that have been received by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN.

 

Reports received also note that despite the increase in the number of staff dealing with patrolling and control activities, these staff do not have permission to take action against violators. Thus regulations in relation to most violations and illegal activities even if detected remain unenforceable. This problem also contributes to the increasing number of illegal activities associated with growing tourist activities, which are especially affecting the Belukha National Park.

Whilst the State Party reported that works connected with construction of the “Altai” gas pipe-line through the territory of the Ukok Quiet Zone National Park have been stopped, reports from the media indicate that the exploration works in the framework of the “Altai” gas pipe-line construction project will be continued in 2009 and no decision to reconsider this project has been made. In addition, it has been reported that there is the potential threat to Teletskoye Lake linked to the development of mining activities to exploit the Pyzhinskoye coal deposit that is located in the upper streams of the rivers Pyzha and Bolshoy Tchiri that flow into the lake. (http://www.sibcrisis.ru/?p=729).

NGOs and experts also note that there is increasing interest in tourism development in the Ukok Quiet Zone National Park, and if tourism development is to proceed, the possibility of a highway construction via the Ukok plateau still exists (http://www.regnum.ru/news/1116248.html), which could lead to impacts on the values and integrity of the property.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2009
33 COM 7B.27
Golden Mountains of Altai (Russian Federation) (N 768 rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.22, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),

3. Notes the progress reported in the state of conservation report submitted by the State Party on enhancing the management of the property and in responding to the recommendations of the 2007 World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission;

4. Notes with concern that the proposed Altai gas pipeline remains a threat to the property and requests an unequivocal confirmation of the decision to abandon the development of this project or any variant of it that could imply crossing the property;

5. Urges the State Party to take effective measures to stop the illegal hunting and other illegal activities, whether or not linked to tourism development, which are affecting or could potentially affect the values and integrity of the property;

6. Requests the State Party to provide clarification on existing or proposed plans for tourism development in the Ukok Quiet Zone National Park that could lead to the construction of a highway via the Ukok plateau;

7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2010 a report on the state of conservation of the property in order to clarify the issues noted above, as well as on further progress achieved in implementing the recommendations of the 2007 World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission.

Draft Decision: 33 COM 7B.27

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/7B,

2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 7B.22, adopted at its 32nd session (Quebec City, 2008),

3. Notes the progress reported in the state of conservation report submitted by the State Party in enhancing the management of the property and in responding to the recommendations of the 2007 World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission;

4. Notes with concern that the proposed Altai gas pipeline remains a threat to the property and requests unequivocal confirmation on the decision to abandon the development of this project or any variant of it that could imply crossing the property;

5. Urges the State Party to take effective measures to stop the illegal hunting and other illegal actitivities, whether or not linked to tourism development, which are affecting or could potentially affect the values and integrity of the property;

6. Requests the State Party to provide clarification on exisiting or proposed plans for tourism development in the Ukok Quiet Zone National Park that could lead to the construction of a highway via the Ukok plateau;

7. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2010 a report on the state of conservation in order to clarify the issues noted above, as well as on further progress achieved in implementing the recommendations of the 2007 World Heritage Centre/IUCN reactive monitoring mission.

 

Report year: 2009
Russian Federation
Date of Inscription: 1998
Category: Natural
Criteria: (x)
Documents examined by the Committee
arrow_circle_right 33COM (2009)
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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