The Yugyd Va National Park (translated from Komi as “light water”) was created on April 23, 1994 by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 377. It is located in the Northern and Subpolar Urals in the south-east of the Komi Republic. The total area of the park is 1,891,701 hectares, including 21,421 hectares of water area. According to 2006, it is the largest national park in Russia. The park is located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site Virgin Komi Forests. In the south, the Yugyd Va National Park borders the Pechora-Ilychsky Reserve.
National Park "Yugyd Va" is the largest national park
in Europe, its area is more than 1.89 million hectares. It is located 80
km southwest of the city of Inta, 100 km east of the city of Pechora, 50
km east of the villages of Aranets and Synya, 20 km north and 70 km east
of the city of Vuktyl. The nearest settlements to the park are the
villages of Podcherye, Kyrta, Ust-Shchugor. On the territory of "Yugyd
va" the largest array of primary boreal forests in Europe has been
preserved. The territory of the park stretches for almost 300 km from
north to south, occupying three orographic zones - the Pechora Lowland,
the foothills of the Ural Range and the mountains of the Northern and
Subpolar Urals. Thanks to this, the national park is distinguished by a
rich variety of landscapes: it features bald tundras, coniferous taiga,
crooked forests, swamps and alpine meadows. 56% of the park is covered
with forests; in the entire European region, only Yugyd Va has preserved
untouched virgin taiga.
In "Yugyd va" there are the highest peaks
of the Urals: mountains Narodnaya (1825 m), Telpos-iz (1617 m). The
symbol of the park is Mount Manaraga (1662 m) with six peaks. There are
38 glaciers in the mountains. The mountain rivers of the park - Kosyu,
Vangyr, Bolshaya Synya, Podcherye, Kozhim - are distinguished by the
purity and transparency of the waters. The Shchugor River is the longest
(more than 300 km) and full-flowing Yugydva River, in its middle reaches
the border of the Northern and Subpolar Urals passes. These rivers feed
the Pechora, recognized as one of the cleanest rivers in Northern
Europe. There are also more than 800 high-mountain lakes, mostly of
glacial origin, in the park.
The territory of the park has a
unique biodiversity, 16 types of ecosystems are distinguished, from
subalpine mountain tundra to swamps, and 668 species of vascular plants
are registered, 120 of which are rare and endangered. "Yugyd va" plays a
major role in the conservation of more than 47 species of rare plants
listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and Komi, as well as
relic boreal species. "Yugyd va" is the only place in the European north
of Russia where the entomofauna has been preserved in its primitive
form, not affected by human activities. The traditional migration route
of indigenous peoples engaged in reindeer herding passes through the
national park.
"Yugyd va" is a key ornithological area of
international importance. The total number of identified bird species is
about 190, 12 of which are included in the IUCN Red List and the Red
Book of the Russian Federation, and 21 in the Komi Red Book. The park is
also inhabited by 40 species of mammals (wolverine, wolf, fox, marten,
elk, reindeer, lynx, etc.) and 16 species of fish (grayling, roach, ide,
etc.). The species diversity of insects is rich: 87 species from five
families of cycads, rare butterflies (for example, swallowtail, Apollo
Phoebus, large mother-of-pearl, mnemosyne, etc.), over 352 species of
beetles, 59 species from 17 families of caddisflies are registered in
Yugyd Va.
Monuments of nature and culture
On the territory of
"Yugyd va" there are many natural monuments and traces of ancient human
settlements, among which the most remarkable are:
“Saran-grandfather”, “Stone woman”, “Old man-owner” are sacred
rocks-outliers.
“Zalaz-di-bezh” is an outcrop of mudstones, clayey
limestones, dolomites and marls, a section of the bottom of an ancient
sea basin, where fouling of brachiopod shells under algae can be traced.
"Kirpich-Kyrta" - a chain of rocks up to 5.5 km long, formed by a
shallow subtropical sea. It includes the rock "Castle" 50 m high, which
resembles a medieval bastion in shape.
"Grotto Arka" - a rock
sanctuary of the XI century AD. e., an altar where magical rituals took
place.
“Lower Gates of the Podcherem River” (“Kyrta-Varta”) are two
coastal rocks 12 km from the mouth of the Podcherem River. On the right
bank there are lime burning kilns left over from ancient human
settlements.
The cultural monuments include the Sibiryakovsky
tract and the huts of the Old Believers near the bed of the Podcherem
river: Kamchatka, Parfen, Pilyakerka, Oselok, Orlovka; near the river
Shchugor: Michabichevnik; Mezentsev's estate is located near the Vangyr
River.
The purpose of the creation of the park: protection
and organization of recreational use of the mountain-taiga ecosystems of
the Subpolar and Northern Urals. As stated on the official website of
the park, its main tasks are:
preservation of natural complexes,
unique and standard natural sites and objects;
preservation of
historical and cultural objects;
environmental education of the
population;
creation of conditions for regulated tourism and
recreation;
development and implementation of scientific methods of
nature protection and environmental education;
implementation of
environmental monitoring;
restoration of disturbed natural and
historical-cultural complexes and objects.
Tourism is an
important activity of the park. In 2017, 6.5 thousand people visited
Yugyd Va. In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of guests
decreased compared to 2018-2019 and amounted to 6713 people, however,
the park management continues to create new routes, improve parking lots
and guest houses. In 2020, the project "Tourist and recreational
cluster" Virgin forests of Komi "" won first place in the All-Russian
competition to identify pilot areas for the development of ecotourism.
In 2017 and 2018, the subpolar stage of the TransUral ultramarathon was
held in the park. It is very important to strike a balance between
increasing the flow of visitors and preserving wildlife - in the absence
of sufficient state funding, the park can only earn on tourism, but an
increase in load can lead to the degradation of natural ecosystems.
Currently, you can visit the Yugyd Va territory only after receiving a
special permit, and stay in tents at tourist sites. During spawning and
during fire periods, the territory of the park is closed to the public.
Scientific activities are actively carried out at Yugyd Va -
students from many Russian universities, as well as scientists from
abroad - Norway, Finland and other countries, come on expeditions and
for summer practice. Since 2016, the park has been implementing the
Heart of Taiga International Volunteer Camps program. Volunteers from
Japan, France, Iceland, Serbia, Norway, Romania and other countries come
to Yugyd Va and participate in the repair, arrangement of ecopaths and
tourist camps, and animal count Rare species of plants and animals
continue to be found in the park.For example, in 2017, employees of the
Institute of Biology of the Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the
Russian Academy of Sciences recorded six rare bryophytes and 13 vascular
plants in the Shchugora basin, the habitats of four species of birds:
dunlin, blackbilled cricket, polar bunting The winter count of animals
in 2021 showed a threefold increase in the number of reindeer in the
Inta part of the park compared to 2020. The populations of elk, marten,
hazel grouse and capercaillie have increased.
Formation
The first information about the flora and
fauna of the Yugyd va territories is found in the works of Nikolai
Ivanitsky (1882) and Richard Pole (1907). The scientific justification
for the need to create a national park in the Northern and Subpolar
Urals was prepared in the 1970s. The Yugyd Va National Park was formed
by a resolution of the Komi Council of Ministers on September 28, 1990.
The status of the park was finally established on April 23, 1994 by
Decree No. 377 of the Government of the Russian Federation.
In
1995, "Yugyd Va" as part of the natural complex "Virgin Komi Forests"
was included by UNESCO in the list of World Heritage Sites. In the same
year, the Swiss government allocated a grant of 5 million francs for the
development of the national park. In 2005, the German Foundation
provided funds and helped Yugyd Va organize infrastructure for the
development of eco-tourism, and the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation provided a grant for conservation of the Kozhim River.
gold mining
In the 1970s, between the Sanaiz and Maldynyrd ridges
on the banks of the Balbanyu River, the Sanavozh base was founded for
the artel of geologists-gold miners Vadim Tumanov, who developed the
Chudnoye deposit. It is located in the southern part of the Maldynyrd
ridge in the upper reaches of the Balbanyu and Kozhim rivers. The
development went on until 1994, when Yugyd Va received the status of a
national park. After the work was stopped, all equipment, change houses
and garbage of varying degrees of toxicity were left in the vicinity of
Chudny. Numerous uncultivated areas remained in the surrounding
areas[39]. Gold mining, during which drilling and blasting operations
were carried out, caused long-term damage to nature: sturgeons
disappeared from the Balbanyu and Kozhim rivers, Lake Grubependity
became cloudy from suspension, the slopes of Maldynyrd, on which the
waste rock was dumped, were not covered with vegetation even by 2021.
Attempts to change park boundaries in 2010-2020
Since 1994,
authorities at various levels have already tried 11 times to withdraw
the territory of the Chudnoye deposit from the boundaries of the
national park. In 1994, the organization "Polyarnouralgeologia" carried
out prospecting and evaluation work and revealed the high potential of
gold occurrences in Chudnoye. According to various estimates, the total
volume of gold in the deposit ranges from 80 to 600 tons, which can
bring the operating company up to $200 million a year. In 1997, 2002 and
2004, the heads of the Komi Republic issued decrees on the exclusion of
200,000 to 35,000 hectares of land from the national park[39], but after
an appeal from the prosecutor's office, the Supreme Court of the Russian
Federation canceled these decrees. On November 28, 2008, the
administration of Inta, the city closest to Chudny, decided to withdraw
1,900 hectares of land from the national park for mining. At the suit of
Greenpeace, the prosecutor's office of Inta protested this decision, and
the Inta court canceled it on July 10, 2009[59]. However, on December
30, 2009, a certain Gold Minerals CJSC received a license from Rosnedr
for geological exploration and gold mining in Chudnoye for a period of
25 years.
The exploration company JSC "Gold Minerals" has three
employees, its authorized capital is located in Cyprus. Thanks to an
investigation by environmentalists and activists, it was possible to
find out that Gold Minerals was part of Nord Minerals CJSC, the latter
was bought in 2008 by the Russian mining company Vysochaishy PJSC, owned
by billionaire Sergey Dokuchaev. Part of Vysochaishy's shares is owned
by the American investment fund BlackRock. Dokuchaev is a business
partner of the son of the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov. In 2011,
Vysochaishy announced the sale of Gold Minerals, but did not disclose
the buyer. According to information available to The Telegraph, the
Highest himself planned to buy the Chinese concern Fosun International.
In 2010, the Ministry of Nature of the Russian Federation withdrew
the territory of the Chudnoye deposit from the national park, where
exploration and gold mining began, including with blasting. Soil damage
led to the cloudiness of the waters of Lake Grubependity, its
transparency was not restored even ten years later. UNESCO specialists
recorded pollution of the waters of the Bolbanyu River on space
monitoring. In 2011, Greenpeace Russia filed an appeal to the
prosecutor's office, but received a response that "there were no grounds
for the application of prosecutorial response measures by the
prosecutor's office of the republic." At the 35th session of the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee, Greenpeace proposed to transfer the World
Heritage site "Virgin Komi Forests" to the "World Heritage in Danger"
list, but was refused.
In January 2012, Gold Minerals made the
only statement about the project, telling the press that it plans to
mine 4 tons of gold per year for 10-12 years. The mountainous location
of Chudny makes it impossible to develop it without affecting other
lands of Yugyd va. When the park was created in 1994, scientists from
the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of
Sciences substantiated that the Kozhyma river basin must be included in
the number of protected lands. Gold mining in Chudnoye will cause
irreparable damage to both rivers: the passage of heavy equipment is
carried out through specially protected areas, drilling and blasting
destroy fish, and the discharge of rock into the rivers causes water
turbidity. The creation of a quarry will disrupt the landscape and river
channels, and the leaching and cyanide processes associated with gold
mining will cause toxic damage. All these interventions entail a complex
violation of ecosystems that go far beyond the borders of Chudnoye and
the disputed 50 thousand hectares of land. The consequences of gold
mining in 1960-1970 still affect the ecological state of the park. In
addition to the actual violations of the landscape and ecosystems,
ecologists also note a direct impact on animals. For example, in 2019, a
drilling warehouse abandoned in the early 1980s was discovered. It fell
into disrepair, the roof and walls collapsed, and under the influence of
rains, the bags in which cement and drilling clay were stored rotted.
Several tens of tons of materials spread over an area with a diameter of
15 meters. Drill clay was found to contain salt, and for decades hares,
moose and bears went to eat it, mistaking it for natural salt licks.
The next order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian
Federation to exclude Chudny from the boundaries of the national park
was appealed by the prosecutor's office in the Supreme Court and
canceled in the summer of 2013. In August of the same year, Gold
Minerals stopped work.
In 2015, the mayor of Inta, Pavel Smirnov,
publicly discussed the development strategy of the field and called
Greenpeace representatives "foreign henchmen." Smirnov and the head of
Komi Vyacheslav Gaizer were arrested in November of the same year on
charges of creating an organized criminal group, bribery and fraud with
state property. Smirnov was sentenced to 11 years in a strict regime
colony, Gaiser received 11 years in prison and a fine of 160 million
rubles.
In 2015, the Committee for Saving the Pechora NGO met
with experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature,
Greenpeace and UNESCO to draw the attention of organizations to the
threat to the territorial integrity of the park. In 2016, the court
issued a writ of execution, which obliged Gold Minerals to reclaim the
areas of the park affected by the work, including removing equipment,
household and technical waste, filling up diversion channels through
which industrial pollution and waste rock enter the rivers.
In
2016, the head of the region Sergey Gaplikov initiated the unification
of the ministries of industry and ecology under the leadership of the
latter. Experts suggested that one of the goals of such an initiative
was to facilitate the removal of Chudny from the national park. After a
series of protests and attempts to organize a referendum, the
authorities restored the Ministry of Nature.
In 2017, declared
the Year of Specially Protected Natural Areas (PAs) in Russia,
environmentalists assessed the state of the Yugyd Va park as
deteriorating. In a written appeal to the Minister of Natural Resources
and Ecology Dmitry Kobylkin dated October 15, 2018, the head of Komi
argued that the Yugyd Va mountain areas had lost their environmental
significance, and asked to be excluded from the protected area in order
to improve the economic situation in the Inta region.
In 2019, it
became known that the issue of withdrawing part of the Yugyd Va
territory for mining is still being worked out in the government. At the
same time, in response to a request from Greenpeace, the Ministry of
Natural Resources replied that "the exclusion of part of the territory
from the national park is contrary to the legislation of the Russian
Federation."