Kamchatka's Mushrooming Opportunities
Canadian market for non-timber forest products is valued at over C$180 million. Is there a chance to save forests while boosting Russia's economy?

Kamchatka, Russia, 19 September, 2001 (IUCN) - IUCN - The World Conservation Union is helping Kamchatka's indigenous people improve their livelihoods and conserve their forests by working with them on marketing non-timber forest products (NTFPs), such as mushrooms, berries, herbal teas and medicinal plants - a much awaited improvement for the regional economy, an IUCN field mission reported today.

"Indigenous knowledge is nowadays put into practice as the world market shows interest in ecologically friendly, locally made products. Availability of non-timber forest products made them a bright marketing opportunity for local communities worldwide, particularly by connecting with Canadian and American First Nations marketing co-ops, as well as tapping into markets in Japan, China and South Korea," says Nikolay Shmatkov, Kamchatka project component coordinator. "The Canadian market for NTFPs alone is valued at over C$180 million per year," adds Luc Duchesne of the Canadian Forest Service.

Since February 2001, IUCN has been working with local and indigenous communities in Esso and Anavgai in Central Kamchatka Bystrinsky Nature Park, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, within the framework of the Canadian International Development Agency-funded project "Building partnerships for forest conservation and management in Russia". One of IUCN's tools for NTFP development, was a competition for Bystrinsky residents in August 2001 for the "Best Herbal Tea Recipe" and the "Best Packaging" for those Herbal Teas. The winners and other indigenous entrepreneurs will use recipes and package designs to start up small NTFP-related businesses.

With Russia's economic collapse over the last decade, many regional politicians look to exploitation of natural resources to fill their budgets. Kamchatka has potential deposits of gold, valuable minerals, and offshore gas, as well as world-renowned protected areas occupying up to 30 per cent of its territory. Bystrinsky Nature Park, where the project is carried out, is a World Heritage site and has been recently threatened by a prospective gold mining site near its boundaries. "The mining site is located where rivers flow into the park and the company is presumably using toxic metals to extract gold, " says Igor Kokorin, the newly appointed Bystrinsky Park Director.

"Mega-development projects like gold mines and oil pipelines may bring development opportunities to the region, if they are done in an ecologically sustainable manner, but they often fail to bring concrete benefits to local communities. NTFPs, and soon eco-tourism, will be critical elements of the sustainable development pathway for Kamchatka that will benefit its people," says Dr. Victor Teplyakov, manager of the project, based in IUCN's Moscow office.

Next year the IUCN will extend its NTFP initiative to the ferny Island of Sakhalin, Russian Far East, some hundred km north of Japan. The exploration of the opportunities for project replication there is underway.

For further information, contact Xenya Cherny, IUCN - The World Conservation Union
Direct Line: ++41 (22) 999-0205 - Fax: ++41 (22) 999-0020
Email: xenya.cherny@iucn.org

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