0768-C1
Nikolay Shmatkov[1] and Tim Brigham
Over the past two years we have been involved in a community economic development project focused on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. Our project is actually one component of the larger project "Building Partnerships for Forest Conservation and Management in Russia," funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and managed by IUCN-The World Conservation Union. Our project on "Building Community Capacity for Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products Harvesting, Monitoring, and Marketing on Kamchatka and Sakhalin" is aimed at assisting remote communities of the Russian Far East to sustainably develop their NTFP resources.
In our project, NTFPs are viewed as one part of a local sustainable livelihood strategy (which also includes tourism, cultural activities, hunting, herding). We provide business and legal issues training, consultation on small business and community-based enterprise development, and support for sustainability and monitoring programmes. It is the hope of project participants that the successful development of these opportunities will decrease the pressure to move forward with potentially damaging resource-exploitation activities such as mining, which provide limited benefits to local people while leaving them to shoulder many of the environmental costs of these developments.
The project is focusing on groups who have not normally had the chance to participate in small business or natural resource management - indigenous people and women. One of the basic principles of the project has been a participatory approach to project development and implementation. This allows for more pragmatic decisions based on local experience, but also gives the community a stake in the project. The Team is especially proud that the participatory approach led to cultural issues being given more attention in the project. Although community economic development is the primary goal, the revival and sharing of indigenous knowledge about NTFPs - especially for younger people - has been identified by participants as a key concern, and is a focus of the educational materials being developed through the project.
Over the past two years we have been involved with a community economic development project focused on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. Our project is a component of the larger project "Building Partnerships for Forest Conservation and Management in Russia" funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and managed by IUCN - The World Conservation Union. Our project on "Building Community Capacity for Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Products Harvesting, Monitoring, and Marketing on Kamchatka and Sakhalin" is aimed at assisting remote communities of the Russian Far East to sustainably develop their non-timber forest product resources. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs for short) are any plant or fungi resources of the forest other than timber, pulpwood, or firewood. Examples of NTFPs include berries, mushrooms, and herbal medicines; although actual 'products' vary from place to place, NTFPs are used around the world by all cultures.
The interest in using NTFPs as a tool in economic development has grown enormously in recent years. In our project, NTFPs are viewed as one part of a local sustainable livelihood strategy (which also includes tourism, cultural activities, hunting, herding). We provide business and legal issues training, consultation on small business and community-based enterprise development, and support for sustainability and monitoring programmes. It is the hope of project participants that the successful development of these opportunities will decrease the pressure to move forward with potentially damaging resource exploitation activities such as mining, which provide limited benefits to local people while leaving them to shoulder many of the environmental costs of these developments.
With 29 active volcanoes, some reaching over 4,000 metres in height, and the largest surviving populations of wild salmon and brown bear, Kamchatka has a richly deserved reputation as a wild and relatively untouched land of 'fire and ice'. Apart from the difficulties presented by living in a remote area with a harsh environment, many of Kamchatka's residents are facing new challenges brought on by the collapse of the Soviet regime. Since the early 1990s, communities on Kamchatka (and elsewhere in the country) have experienced economic decline made worse by the withdrawal of federal support to outlying regions and traditional resource use such as reindeer herding. Looking for a solution to the economic woes facing the Region, members of the local and regional administrations of Kamchatka are looking to exploit mineral resources in this ecologically sensitive area. Of course, it is unrealistic to compare the economic returns from gold mining in the Bystrinski District of Kamchatka to the potential value of developing NTFPs on the same territory. On the other hand, the question must be asked: who benefits from mining development? There is a real risk that the industrial development of natural resources will provide few or no economic benefits to local communities while further damaging their ability to pursue traditional and new livelihood activities including NTFP business development, eco-tourism, reindeer herding, and wild salmon harvesting. Local salmon stocks - essential to the subsistence and culture of Native Peoples - are at particular risk from the technologies for gold extraction proposed for the area. Now, as was the case in 1996 when IUCN led the campaign against gold mining in Bystrinski Nature Park, the issue of industrial development is once again acute in this part of Kamchatka. As a nature conservation organization, it is essential for IUCN to provide effective tools to local Native communities to enable them to increase incomes through the sustainable use of resources.
The project is focusing on groups who have previously had few opportunities to participate in small business or natural resource management - indigenous people and women. It is the intention of all involved that over time, local community groups (perhaps organized along the lines of a co-op, or 'community enterprise' as they're known on Kamchatka) will take over all the production and marketing activities involved in organizing and running a NTFP-based business. However, with no or limited experience in the marketplace, project participants - mainly indigenous women - are vulnerable to exploitation by 'big business' interests from outside the area. Our role is to provide business support services to ensure enterprises are established, and the participants have a clear understanding of sound business practices.
One of the basic principles of the project has been a participatory approach to project development and implementation. This allows for more pragmatic decisions based on local experience, but also gives the community a stake in the project. The Project Team (which includes local co-ordinators) has worked hard to ensure that the interests and vision of local people are included in project design and implementation. The Team is especially proud that the participatory approach led to cultural issues being given more attention in the project. Although community economic development is the primary goal, the revival and sharing of indigenous knowledge about NTFPs - especially for younger people - has been identified by participants as a key concern, and is a focus of educational materials being developed through the project. The recent publication on traditional use of dwarf Siberian pine as well as project support for a workshop on sustainable birch bark harvesting and weaving (videotaped for further distribution by our local partners), exemplify the educational dimension of the project.
Taking into account the specific ecological, social, and economic conditions of Kamchatka and working closely with our partner communities, we have identified a number of products with good potential for development. One of these products is herbal tea. Herbal teas have an extensive history with the Even, Koryak and other indigenous peoples in the area, with many recipes handed down through the generations. In August 2001 the project helped to organize a contest on herbal teas with our partner communities that was timed to coincide with a local festival. The contest was a huge success with over 400 people voting on their favourite teas and over 1500 people witnessing the 'awards celebration'. The contest provided valuable feedback to the tea producers, and generated a number of recipes for producing samples that we provided to buyers outside Russia. Residents of the communities have also produced samples of very unique and attractive packaging for the teas made from sustainably harvested birch bark and small diameter wood. If it is economic to do so - and we believe it is - our intention is to produce the majority of the packaging locally to ensure the maximum amount of economic benefit is captured in local communities. The day of the Herbal Tea Festival also signalled the beginning for the community movement now known as the Kamchatka Herbal Tea Club. Started as a mostly educational and social organisation, the Club has transformed itself into a community-based co-operative, in which several active Indigenous women and their families are working on the sustainable harvesting and marketing of wild harvested herbal teas. Ms. Vera Gurkina, one of the leaders of the local Eveni Nation community, is the head of this business. She is very excited by the opportunities presented by NTFPs, although she has faced, and continues to face, many challenges in her quest to organize a successful business. Mistakes in harvesting planning and lack of responsibility from some of her business partners led to considerable problems with meeting the first order from Canada. With the help of the project, she has high hopes that she will effectively overcome these problems for the next production season.
Berry picking is a traditional activity on Kamchatka. During Soviet times, local communities relied on a system of centralized harvesting and marketing of berries, fern, birch sap, and medicinal plants. Although the system ceased to function with the collapse of the USSR, the berry resources, especially of zhimolost (Lonicera spp.) and brusnika (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) remain abundant and under-utilized, without a sound marketing strategy in place for the benefit of local people. Igor Kokorin, Director of Bystrinski Nature Park, a World Heritage Site since 1996, believes that the proper development of berry resources, herbal teas, and other NTFPs could provide a real alternative to salmon and wildlife poaching for the residents of the two villages located in the middle of this protected area. Through a 'Train-the-Trainer' program provided by the project, Igor has developed a training course for local residents on sustainable berry harvesting and marketing to restaurants in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski.
During September of 2002, a Study Tour to Canada was organized for participants in the NTFP project. The six participants from Russia represented a broad cross-section of interests, from amateur NTFP business people, NGOs, community members, to a representative of the UNDP-GEF Project that has recently begun its activities on Kamchatka.
The major objective of the Tour was to build partnerships between Canada and Russia: partnerships between NTFP businesses, governmental and non-governmental organizations, Indigenous peoples' communities, and other groups and organizations that could help facilitate sustainable NTFP-based business development controlled by Indigenous people in the Russian Far East. Introducing Tour participants to the experience of NTFP business development in Canada was also seen as an important goal. In all, NTFP Study Tour participants visited two provinces - Manitoba and British Columbia, met representatives of about 20 organizations, and visited 5 Indigenous peoples' communities.
One potential marketing avenue the project has been exploring is through fair trade organizations in Canada. Study Tour Participants were able to meet representatives of a number of fair-trade organizations, all of which expressed interest in establishing long-term connections for the supply of NTFPs and crafts from the Russian Far East. The U'mista craft store in Alert Bay, BC purchased samples of products worth over $600. One of the highlights of the Study Tour for Canadian participants were presentations on birch bark weaving given by Nikolay Shishkin, a Native weaver from Kamchatka. Nikolay gave two presentations in Indigenous peoples' communities in Manitoba and conducted a short workshop for a group of basket weavers in Duncan, BC. All the participants in his workshops were impressed with Nikolay's artistic talent and with his skill as a trainer. His demonstrations created such an impression that Nikolay has been invited to lead two workshops on birch bark weaving in Canada next summer.
Perhaps the most memorable part of the Study Tour for participants was a series of meetings in the Northern Forest Diversification Centre, the principal Canadian partner and co-funder of the Study Tour. Participants were keenly interested in the model used by the Centre to support NTFP and ecotourism development by Indigenous peoples' communities in Manitoba. Kamchatka and Sakhalin residents spent many hours becoming acquainted with NFDC equipment, producing their own 'souvenir' crafts from driftwood and twigs.
In an otherwise busy schedule, participants found time for cultural activities as well. Participation in a Sweat Lodge Ceremony in Manitoba, visiting the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, and the U'mista Cultural Society in Alert Bay were all crucial for understanding the culture and history of Canada, including First Nations traditions and historical development.
The Canadian NTFP Study Tour provided a number of valuable benefits for participants. The knowledge obtained and the contacts developed will assist participants in promoting and developing economically, environmentally and socially sustainable NTFP-based businesses in the Russian Far East. No less important are the positive impacts the Tour had in Canada. The business contacts established will benefit not only Russian, but also Canadian businesses. Canadians who attended Nikolay's demonstrations believe that these skills have applications in NTFP business development in Canada as well. The communities visited by the Study Tour will remember these visits for a long time. As one of the leaders of the Cormorant community in Manitoba put it, "This visit is one of the most exciting events for our people for many, many years."
Kamchatka is a young land. Volcanoes are still active, hot springs are plentiful, and earthquakes are common events. Along with gold, other mineral resources are abundant on the Peninsula: platinum, copper, and a wide selection of other rare and heavy metals are present under the surface, and sometimes above it. This mineral richness not only creates challenges for environmental conservation but it also presents a potential threat to the health of local people.
Heavy and rare metals, which naturally occur in the soil and water of specific sites on Kamchatka, pose a potential risk to those in the local population - such as Native People - who consume large amounts of wild harvested fish, meat, and plants. NTFPs growing in some locations on Kamchatka may not be safe to consume in large quantities over a long period. One of the objectives of the project is to help local people avoid sites contaminated by natural or anthropogenic pollution when harvesting NTFPs for their own consumption or for commercial purposes. The research - led by Elena Dulchenko, an expert with the Pacific Institute of Geography (Kamchatka Branch, the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Science) - forms the basis for recommendations on specific plant species and parts of plants that are safe to harvest from certain locations near the villages.
Apart from the project's contribution to the long-term physical health of the local population, we must also concern ourselves with the health of the natural resources - in this case, plants and fungi - we are proposing for economic development. With an educational as well as a development mandate, we work closely with communities to ensure none of the wild species utilized in product development are vulnerable to over-harvesting or are threatened in any way. As the World's largest conservation organization, IUCN is especially sensitive to the issue of sustainability and we are working on establishing a community-based monitoring program in Bystrinski Nature Park to ensure our activities pose no threat to the natural environment. The goal of the research is to establish a long-term monitoring program to examine the impacts of various harvesting methods on plants such as brusnika (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), an important NTFP in Bystrinski District. Research sites were chosen with the assistance of the community based on the traditional sites used for picking brusnika berries. Our aim is to determine if harvesting berries with the use of rakes and picking leaves for herbal teas could influence the production of berries and leaves in following years, and if so, how? The Bystrinski Park Director and a Native community leader was field trained in establishing sample plots, using different methods of harvesting, and in performing basic mapping of the sample plot. The actual research was conducted with the help of members of a local tourist and environmental club for youth-at-risk. By establishing long-term monitoring over a number of plots, we hope to compare the influence of various harvesting methods on the NTFP resource base over time. We believe the results will assist local communities and the Nature Park Administration to choose sustainable methods and levels of harvesting and in the long run, help to find a proper balance between the two major objectives of Bystrinski Nature Park - biodiversity preservation and support for the traditional culture and way of life of Native residents.
In less than two years, the project has demonstrated some significant achievements. It also continues to face sizable challenges. What are some of the major barriers facing sustainable NTFP business development? Interestingly, one of the major challenges to be overcome is the skepticism of local residents and authorities to the idea of community economic development in general, and to economically viable and sustainable NTFP-based business development in particular. The predominant viewpoint is that harvesting in large volumes and selling as raw materials is the only worthwhile approach to marketing NTFPs. A lack of information and business skills prevent many people from setting up their own business. A complex tangle of poorly developed legislation on small business development as well as sizable direct and indirect tax barriers also have a suffocating effect on entrepreneurial activity. In this environment, training, communication, and long-term mentoring and support to emerging businesses is a vital role for our project.
Getting local communities to buy into the project has not always been easy. There were times when locals found planting potatoes and harvesting berries in the forest were preferable to sitting through a workshop on legal issues. However, now that the project is moving from its 'preparatory' stage to the point where local communities are receiving orders for their NTFPs, people's interest is growing rapidly. The enthusiasm of local communities was demonstrated clearly by the recent success of the birch bark-weaving workshop led by Mr. Nikolay Shishkin, a Master in traditional weaving techniques using sustainably harvested bark. The workshop was of tremendous interest, and not only to local residents; participants came from all over the Kamchatka peninsula. In the few months since the workshop, those who attended have begun teaching other people in their home villages to weave. Although the art of weaving had disappeared from the communities of Bystrinski District, the memory of this skill was still alive. As Valentin Solodikov, one of the Esso community leaders said, there was "something about the genes" - he was surprised that the skill of bark weaving seemed to come so easily to him at the workshop. Valentin remembered different household items made from birch bark in his traditional homestead when he was a boy. In the 1960s, Native people were removed from their villages to larger settlements, and most of their spiritual connections to Nature, and their traditional practices, stopped. The project is providing an opportunity for people to re-learn the skills of their parents and grandparents, and, if they choose, to apply these old skills to the modern challenge of fashioning a livelihood in 21st Century Russia. As we expand project activities to the new project sites of the Koriak Autonomous District of Northern Kamchatka and Sakhalin Island, we find new and promising partners to work with, as well as many of the 'old-new' problems to overcome. Just as we are assisting local people to learn about the potential pitfalls and the promise of NTFP-based business development, our experiences in Bystrinski District have taught us new ways to better help communities in their quest for sustainable and equitable development.
Our project, as with all projects, will come to an end. The legacy of the project will be not only in how many herbal teas and other products were marketed, but also, what has been the long-term impact on the way of thinking of local people and other decision-makers? Will the generous Kamchatka taiga remain at peace for another thousand years, continuing to provide local people with the berries, herbs, and nuts they depend on to meet their subsistence and monetary needs?
Brigham T., 2002. A new Canadian partner for IUCN Russia. The Power of Integrity (IUCN-Russia magazine) No. 10:15.
Deutz A., D. Cantin, A. Laletin, V. Teplyakov, and V. Moshkalo (eds.), 1999. The future of forest conservation in Russia. Programme Development Workshop reports, IUCN Temperate and Boreal Forest Programmee, Montreal, Canada and Moscow, Russia. 72 pp.
Dulchenko E., 2002. Geochemical aspect in the assessment of environmental quality. Proceedings of the Inter-regional Workshop People in the North: Problems of the Quality of Life. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski, pp. 35-38. (in Russian)
Shmatkov N., T. Brigham (eds.), 2002. Forefather of the Koriaks: dwarf Siberian pine in the material and spiritual culture of Native peoples of Kamchatka and Koriakia (the Russian Far East). IUCN-CIS, Moscow, Palana. 24 pp.
Solodikova T., N. Shmatkov, 2002. Kamchatka - a land of risks and opportunities. 16th Session of the Global Biodiversity Forum, background documentation.
Teplyakov V., 2001. Building Partnerships in Forest Conservation and Management in Russia. Lesnoye Khosiaystvo (Russian national forestry magazine) No. 5: 2-3 (in Russian)
| [1] NTFP Component Co-ordinator,
IUCN - The World Conservation Union Office for Russia and CIS, 17 Marshal
Vasilevski St., 123182 Moscow, Russia. Tel: + 7 (095) 190 46 55; Fax: +
7 (095) 490 58 18; Email: [email protected];
Website: www.iucn-cida.ru;
www.iucn.ru |