*[Enwl-eng] [EWNC] Environmental NGO's call on the World HeritageCommittee to take a tougher decision on Western Caucasus site
ENWLine
ENVIRONMENTAL WATCH ON NORTH CAUCASUS (EWNC)
<July 7, 2017>
Russian environmental groups call on the World Heritage Committee to take a tougher decision on Western Caucasus site
The coalition of environmental organizations, including Greenpeace Russia, Environmental Watch on North Caucasus and NABU-Caucasus has made a group appeal to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to make a stronger and more specific decision regarding the site "Western Caucasus" at the 41st session currently in progress in Krakow.
Over the past nine years, the Committee has repeatedly expressed concern to Russia regarding a number of threats to this site, including the construction of a ski resort in Lunnaya Polyana on Fisht mountain, the threat of resort development on the Lagonaki plateau and in Fisht-Oshten mountains, the illegal removal of an area of protected zone of the Caucasus Reserve, massive logging and the lack of a buffer zone around the entire Western Caucasus site.
Since 2015, more problems emerged for this site: Rosa Khutor, which owns and manages a ski resort near Krasnaya Polyana, has appealed to the Russian government to lease it parts of the Sochi National Park and former Sochi Sanctuary (in the upper reaches of the Mzymta river) for 49 years "to develop sports and tourism". These plots were given to a number of offshore firms registered on Cyprus which are affiliated with Rosa Khutor, owned by the Interros holding.
13 of the plots have a combined area of over 392 hectares and directly border the Caucasus Reserve. Prior to the Sochi Olympic Games, Russia promised to add these areas to the Caucasus Reserve as compensation for the environmental damage from the Games. Not only did Russia fail to keep this promise, it did the exact opposite, removing the protected status from these plots and opening them up to development by offshore companies.
At this time, Rosa Khutor is already building a road to the upper Mzymta which has caused massive damage.
Gazprom, another company managing a ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana, has also announced plans to expand its infrastructure by building new ski slopes and ropeways inside the Caucasus Reserve.
Despite these developments, the draft decision 41 COM 7B.8 on the World Heritage Site Western Caucasus, which will be discussed by session participants in the coming days, merely expresses, once again, the Committee's "concern" about the possible development of large ski resorts which would impact the territory of the World Heritage Site. The draft decision also appeals to Russia to provide detailed information regarding how changes in legislation about protected territory (which entailed of its considerable weakening) has impacted "Western Caucasus". Lastly, the decision reminds, once again, about the inadmissibility of economic development of the Lagonaki plateau and the Fisht-Osten mountains.
The draft decision largely repeats other decisions taken already over several years, despite there being grounds for a stronger reaction, such as moving "Western Caucasus" into the "World Heritage in Danger" list. This would severely impact the public image of the ski resorts in the Sochi area and the plans to develop ski infrastructure on the Lagonaki plateau.
In previous years, the World Heritage Committee has made the following demands:
- That Russia ends contruction of "scientific center" called Biosphere on the Fisht mountain slope, using the existing structure for true scientific needs and environmental monitoring. In reality, construction is continuing to this day and the venue is used as an elite ski resort.
- That Russia establishes a buffer (protected) zone for "Western Caucasus", ends all logging in this potential zone. In reality, the buffer zone has not been established even around the Caucasus Nature Reserve, while in Adygea region logging is continuing inside the World Heritage Site.
- That Russia stops plans to build on the Lagonaki Plateau and the Fisht-Oshten mountains. In reality, neither the Krasnodar region nor the Adygea region have stopped their plans to construct ski infrastructure there.
The coalition of environmental organizations appeals to the World Heritage Committee to make changes to the draft decision, including clauses regarding the need for a mission visit by UNESCO and IUCN to evaluate the condition of the "Western Caucasus" site. In addition, the coalition believes the decision should mention that "Western Caucasus" can be moved to the list of "World Heritage in Danger" already in 2018.
Information of Environmental Watch on North Caucasus
Appeal to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee
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