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Russian Big Oil Redraws Pipe Dream
by Rory Cox
Environmentalists in Russia and around the world welcomed the
postponement of plans for a massive pipeline project that was to be
built by Russian oil companies Yukos and Transneft. If built according
to the original plan, the pipeline would have cut through Siberia's
Tunka National Park, before going on to its final destination of
China. Russia's Natural Resources Ministry halted the project on the
grounds that it poses a risk to environmentally sensitive areas near
Lake Baikal. Last October, the US government stated its interest in
importing oil that Yukos produces.
Tunka National Park comprises nearly three million acres of pristine
forest eco-system, over 200 mineral springs, and traditional
communities of Buryat, Soyot and Evenk peoples. The park is home to
many endangered species, including the snow leopard, Siberian mountain
goat, black stork, mountain goose, golden eagle, and white tailed
eagle. Adjacent Lake Baikal would be at risk of a spill from the
pipeline if it were to be routed through the lake's catchment area.
The deepest lake in the world that holds 20 percent of the world's
freshwater, Baikal is known as the "Galapagos of Russia" for its
outstanding variety of endemic plants and animals, including one of
the world's few freshwater seals, the nerpa.
If the pipeline were to be built, it would have extended from
Siberia's Irkutsk Region to the city of Daquing, China, a distance of
1,490 miles. Seismic activity, high mountain passes, extreme weather,
and geography pose serious challenges for pipeline construction,
maintenance, and security.
Oakland based organization Pacific Environment and their partner
groups in the Baikal region have been highly critical of the project
from its inception. An international letter writing campaign
spearheaded by the Colorado based organization Global Response has
recently flooded the Russian government with hundreds of letters,
faxes, and emails.
"This is a milepost in the Russian environmental movement," commented
Olga Belskaya from Baikal Environmental Wave, a partner organization
of Pacific Environment. "We would like to think this is a sign that
the Russian Government recognizes the sanctity of the Tunka, not to
mention Russia's environmental laws...." According to the
organization, the pipeline would have blatantly violated Russia's Law
on Protected Territories, the Law on the Environment, and the Land
Code.
David Gordon of Pacific Environment said, "There's a strong need to
keep the pressure on the Ministry of Natural Resources, and to keep
those letters flowing. The project is by no means gone and forgotten;
rather, they're going back to the drawing board. And we now understand
that there are proposals to move the boundaries of the park for the
pipeline, which wouldn't change the fact that we're still talking
about a sensitive ecosystem."
Contact Rory Cox, communications coordinator of Pacific Environment,
at rcox@pacifcenvironment.org or
www.pacificenvironment.org, or Paula
Palmer (Global Response) at 303-444 0306.
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