To: Russian Prime-Minister

To: Russian Prime-Minister

Krasnopresnenskaya nab. 2, build. 2

103274, Moscow

RUSSIA

To: Russian President

4, Staraya Square

Moscow, 103132

RUSSIA

To: Director of the World Heritage Centre

UNESCO

7, place de Fontenoy

75007 Paris

FRANCE

To: UNESCO Director-General

7, place de Fontenoy

75007 Paris

FRANCE

26.09.2008

Dear Sir/Madam/Mr. President,

Re: Bikin River Basin, Primorye

We would like to draw your attention to the serious problem regarding the Bikin River Basin.

The Basin of the upper and middle Bikin River (Primorye Region of Russia), the 'Bikin Basin', is a natural site of international scientific and aesthetic significance, and represents the key area for preservation of a whole range of species and ecosystems. It is here that the primary breeding grounds of the Amur tiger are situated and according to data acquired in 2004-2005, the Bikin Basin is home to over 10% of the whole Far Eastern population of this great cat (at least 95% of Amur tigers live in Russia, only a few individuals occur in China). Preservation of this land, along with the Sikhote-Alinsky Nature Reserve and National Park 'Udege Legend' is absolutely crucial for the preservation of the Amur tiger.

The Bikin basin region is also the key habitat of many rare and endangered animal and plant species that are included in the IUCN Global Red List (including the hooded and Japanese crane, scaly-sided merganser and fish

owl) and the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation (including the black and Far Eastern stork, ginseng, and Fori rhododendron). This region is a key area for the preservation of these and many other species. In total, the IUCN Global Red List contains 2 plant and 16 animal species from this area, while the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation contains 22 plant and 32 animal species that can be encountered in this part of the world.

At the same time, this is the last remaining conglomerate of unique natural landscapes of the Central Sikhote-Alin (primary mixed coniferous - deciduous

forest) that have never endured any significant human activity and, in fact, is the only remaining large uninterrupted massif of the Ussuri taiga. There are only two high conservation value areas in the world that match the Bikin in size and are located in the same latitude; the National 'Olympic' Park in the United States and 'Gross Morn', in Canada, but these two areas preserve different sets of ecosystems. There is no other place on the planet where such mixed coniferous - deciduous forest can be found.

The main peculiarity of this area is the co-existence of southern and northern species of plants and animals, which is a rare phenomenon. For example, the river is full of Siberian whitefish and Amur asp, lenok and taimen while it is also possible to encounter tropical fish - mudfish and the rare suppon. Here the unique Ayan spruce, that lives as long as 500 years, grows alongside the rare orchid, Japanese snakemouth. These organisms will continue to exist only if the whole biodiversity of this area can be preserved.

This area is especially important for supporting the traditional way of life of the Udege people - a small population of indigenous people in the Russian Federation. The Udege people living in the Bikin area have shown full support for the idea of establishing a specially protected natural area at the federal level.

The idea to include the 'Verkhnebikinsky' Game Preserve and the traditional nature management territory of 'Bikin' into the World Heritage Site 'Central Sikhote-Alin' was among the topics for discussion at the 25th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2001. The Committee officially acknowledged that these areas fully comply with the criteria set out for World Heritage properties. However, inscription of a regional-level specially protected natural area into the UNESCO World Heritage List would be against Russian law because issues of international law lie totally within the authority of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Therefore, if the protection status of the Game Preserve and the traditional nature management territory do not step up to the federal level, the threat to Amur tigers populating those areas will definitely increase, as well as possibility that these areas loose their conservation value.

It is necessary to point out that at the present time the protection regime of the Verkhnebikinsky Game Preserve does not forbid clear-cutting, mining and other activities that inevitably result in the degradation of valuable natural resources. Efforts to acquire permission to clear-cut local woods or launch other industrial projects in this area have been many.

The danger exists that these highly valuable ecosystems will be irreversibly damaged and lost. Federal protected area status for the Bikin Basin would make it possible to change the protection regimes of the Game Preserve and the traditional nature management territory that would help keep this area, along with the fauna and flora living here, intact.

To: Russian Prime-Minister and President:

We ask you to use your authority and urgently create a federal protected area for the Bikin Basin to ensure the preservation of one of the very few remaining key habitats of the Amur tigers and of the globally renowned unique nature therein.

Kindly let us know your position on this matter; we look forward to hearing a decision from you shortly.

To: Director of the World Heritage Center and to UNESCO Director-General:

We ask you to use your authority to convince Russian officials to urgently create a federal protected area for the Bikin Basin as an area which has worldwide value and which, if it will receive national protection status, can be inscribed into the World Heritage List.

Kindly let us know your position on this matter; we look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Yours sincerely,

Andrey Petrov, Greenpeace, Russia

Irshad Abbasov, Eko-Renesans Azerbaydjan qord Qyandja, Azerbaijan

Sergey Berezniuk, Phoenix Fund, Russia

Wen Bo, Pacific Environment, China

Amanda Bright, Global Tiger Patrol, United Kingdom

Viacheslav Charsky, AGAT Club, Kyrgyzstan

Sengkuk Choi, Green Korea United, Korea

Faith Doherty, Environmental Investigation Agency, Spain

Geert Drieman, Greenpeace, the Netherlands

Rachelle Durant, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, United Kingdom

Emiliano Ezcurra, Banco de Bosques, Argentina

Viktor Fenchuk, BirdLife, Belarus

Sanghamitra Gadekar, Anumukti, India

Surendra Gadekar, Anumukti, India

Sandy Gauntlett, Pacific Indigenous Peoples Environment Coalition, New Zealand

Sevinj Geidarova, “In the Name of Us – Life. Alternative. Development.”, Azerbaijan

Mandy Haggith, Worldforests, United Kingdom

Lars Haltbrekken, Friends of the Earth, Norway

Michiel Hötte, Zoological Society of London - Tigris Foundation - Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance, the Netherlands

Farida Huseynova, Azerbaijan Greens Movement, Azerbaijan

Timur Idrisov, “For the Earth!”, Tajikistan

Irina Kaparikha, Ecohome, Belarus

Heorhi Kazulka, Public Project "Belovezhskaya Pushcha - 21 Century", Belarus

Pavlo Kravets, “Forest Certification Society in Ukraine” Non-commercial Partnership, Ukraine

Galina Kozlova, “Ecograf”, Azerbaijan

Bård Lahn, Norwegian Nature and Youth, Norway

Anatoly Lebedev, BROC, Russia

Yujin Lee, Green Korea United, Korea

Wil Luiijf, Fast Forward Foundation, Netherlands

Kamran Makhmudov, Environmental Research Centre, Azerbaijan

Merita Mansaku-Meksi, EDEN Center, Albania

Alec Marr, The Wilderness Society Inc, Australia

Matti Masing, Sicista Development Centre, Estonia

Natalia Medvedeva, “Green Salvation” Environmental Society, Kazakhstan

Sharon Miller, AMUR, United Kingdom

Zymantas Morkvenas, Lithuanian Environmental NGO Coalition, Lithuania

Chingiz Nazarov, Еko-TES, Azerbaijan

Samuel Nguiffo, Environment and Development Center, Cameroon

Danielle van Oijen, Friends of the Earth – Milieudefensie, the Netherlands

Alda Ozola-Matule, Latvian Green Movement, Latvia

Roberto Pedraza Muñoz, Grupo Ecologico Sierra Gorda I.A.P, Mexico

Laura Perez-Arce, Viva Sierra Gorda , USA

Tarlan Ramazanov, Mountain Club, Azerbaijan

Pat Rasmussen, World Temperate Rainforest Network, USA

Martha Ruiz Corzo, Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

Bittu Sahgal, Sanctuary Asia, India

Yuki Sakamoto, Global Environmental Forum, Japan

D.J. Schubert, Animal Welfare Institute, USA

Mikhail Shishin, “Altai –XXI Century” Fund, Russia

Michael Soule, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

Maria Staniszewska, Polish Ecological Club (City of Gliwice Chapter), Poland

Oksana Stankevich-Volosianchuk, “Ecosphere” Regional Youth Environmental Association, Ukraine

Darius Stoncius, biologist, Lithuania

Firuza Sultan-zadeh, Ecosphere Environmental Center, Azerbaijan

Steve Trent, Environmental Justice Foundation, United Kingdom

Sun Xiufang, Forest Trends, China

Telman Zeinalov, National Center of Environmental Prognosis, Azerbaijan

Sergiy Zibtsev, Institute of Forestry and Landscape Economy of the National Agrarian University, Ukraine