«NEWS FOR THE SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENTS OF NATURE RESERVES»

SECURITY AT NATIONAL PARKS IN 2000

A Letter from the Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety, Russian Ministry of Natural Resources,
to the directors of national parks.

By the end of 2000 the security services of 35 Russian national parks employed a total of 2,080 guards. Specially created operative groups were functioning at 26 parks.

Park security guards filed 3,696 reports of violations in 2000, including 970 incidents (26%) of fire hazards; 829 incidents (22%) of illegal fishing; 556 (15%) of illegal cutting; 231 (6%) of illegal hunting; 236 (6%) of squatting and illegal construction; and 181 (5%) of pollution. In all, 3,532 offenders were detained.

In 14 (out of 35) national parks the detention of offenders was accompanied by the confiscation of 17 rifles and 45 smoothbore weapons (Table 1). Thus, 46 of 62 confiscated firearms, or three quarters, came from offenders at 4 national parks: Tunkinsky (22), Pribaikalsky (10), Meschera (8), and Smolenskoye Poozerye (6).

Table 1. Confiscated firearms in Russian National Parks in 2000.

In addition to these firearms, security guards also confiscated 1,046 fishing-nets, drags and sweep nets; 388 trap and bow nets; 180 traps; 2,845 chokers and the like; and 8 electric fishing tools.

Meanwhile, 467,000 rubles in fines and 674,000 rubles in damages were collected for harm done to natural complexes and sites. Eight national parks were the most effective at imposing fines: Losiny Ostrov — 134,200 rubles; Sochinsky — 97,300; Valdaisky — 24,200; Taganai — 22,600; Ugra — 21,400; Zyuratkul' — 20,600; Samarskaya Luka — 17,300; and Rurshskaya Kosa — 15,000. Together these parks collected three quarters of all the charges imposed within the system of Russian national parks.

Competence and persistence in collecting fines and damages is an important indicator of the security service’s efficiency. In 2000, 9 national parks did the best job of bringing offenders to justice and making them pay the fines and damages: Ugra — 116,000 rubles; Maschera — 99,800; Sochinsky — 74,700; Valdaisky — 72,400; Pripyshmenskie Bory — 68,100; Tunkinsky — 43,900; Samarkaya Luka — 35,700; Yugyd Va — 35,300; and Taganai — 27,900. These 9 parks collected 85% of all the fines and damages received within the national park system in 2000.

Investigating authorities initiated 72 criminal cases against offenders caught at Meschera, Valdaisky, Smolenskoye Poozerye, Mariy Chodra, Meshcersky, Nechkinsky, Yugyd Va, Orlovskoye Polesye, Sochinsky, and Tunkinsky. Eleven offenders were found guilty of environmental crimes and criminally liable. Guilty verdicts were returned in the cases of offenders at Sochinsky, Meschera, Valdaisky, Russky Sever and Nechkinsky.

Reports of environmental pollution, squatting and illegal construction were filed by security guards at only 13 national parks (Alania, Vodlozersky, Zabaikalsky, Losiny Ostrov, Mariy Chodra, Nizhnyaya Kama, Samarskaya Luka, Pribaikalsky, Sebezhsky, Sochinsky, Ugra, Sushensky Bor, Yugyd Va). Though these violations are not typical of some parks due to their location (Paanayarvi, Taganai), they are typical of other parks and the fact that they go unreported suggests that security is lax.

Security services vary considerably from park to park. Consequently, 301 (8%) of 3,696 offences reported in 2000 were unsolved and the offenders never caught. At Russky Sever, 26 out of 29 reports of illegal cutting were unsolved; in Vodlozersky, 10 out of 12.

Furthermore, at Russky Sever (166,000 hectares), security guards reported no other violations besides the 29 incidents of illegal cutting. In Chavash Varmane, security guards reported only 36 incidents fire-law violations and 1 incident of illegal cutting; no other offences, including illegal hunting and fishing, were detected. In Prielbrusye, security guards reported only 1 incident of illegal hunting and 3 of illegal fishing – rather strange for a park with such a developed tourist infrastructure.

Some security services did not take appropriate measures to bring offenders to justice. They allowed offenders to act with impunity and discredit the security guards. At Russky Sever, offenders were not brought to justice while at Chavash Varmane the average fine was 11 rubles (30 cents) – well below the minimum fine allowed by the Federal Act On Protected Natural Areas. The average fine per offender at Meschersky was 25 rubles, at Mariy Chodra – 52, at Smolny — 56: again well below the minimum legal fine.

Some national parks limit their activities to bringing offenders to justice and take no measures to ensure that the fines and/or damages are paid. Thus, eight national parks, including Kenozersky, Kurshskaya Kosa, Pribaikalsky and Prielbrusye, did not sue for damages in 2000.

Some national parks, however, did a good job of bringing offenders to justice and seeing that appropriate fines and damages were paid: Meschera, Ugra, Valdaisky, Losiny Ostrov, Taganai, Samarskaya Luka, Sochinsky, Zyuratkul', Tunkinsky, Smolenskoye Poozerye.

In connection with the aforesaid:

1. The directors of Russky Sever, Chavash Varmane and Prielbrusye have the least efficient security services and should work to improve these dramatically.
2. Bonuses will be paid to the directors of national parks with the best security services.
3. The formation and maintenance of operative groups remains a top-priority anti-poaching and anti-regime-violation measure.
4. State nature reserve directors should organize regular workshops and seminars for security staff with the help of regional associations of nature reserves and national parks.
5. State nature reserves should pay special attention to the collection of imposed fines and damages. They should sue all convicted offenders. They should stop releasing offenders arbitrarily. In cases of damage caused to natural complexes and sites, offenders should not only be fined, especially in cases of illegal cutting, haymaking, cattle grazing, hunting, fishing and collecting of wild plants. Regime violations should be transferred to the proper legal authorities, the necessary papers promptly filled out, and the case’s progress supervised. Security should be improved in and around the reserves in cooperation with regional departments of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. Security staff should be better trained in how to proceed legally in case of regime violations and in how to complete the necessary paperwork. The Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety should be promptly informed of any illegal activities as well as of any decisions by regional and municipal authorities, by officers of nature protection and law-enforcement, economic entities, etc., that could pose a threat to protected natural complexes and sites or violate the NP regime. Park staff caught poaching should be severely punished. NP research departments and outside research institutes should be used to evaluate the condition of the park’s protected natural areas and sites; to promptly detect sources of anthropogenic impact; and to plan eco-system conservation activities. Ways of improving park security should be discussed at a meeting of the park’s technical research board; the results of the meeting should be sent to the Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety.

V.B. Stepanitsky,
Deputy Head
Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety
Russian Ministry of Natural Resources

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