news newsletter on boreal forests can fleg...

issue 53

winter 2005

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taiganews

inside: forest fires in the boreal region

Can FLEG Work?The Europe and North Asia Forest Law and Governance (ENA-FLEG) ministerial meeting kicked offin St Petersburg on 22 November 2005. Taiga Rescue Network (TRN) hosted a well-attended sideevent at the meeting, optimistically entitled ‘FLEG Can Work’, explaining practical initiatives tocombat illegal logging and trade.

Chaired by Jouni Nissinen, TRN international co-ordinator, the panel included Lars Lastadieus (WorldResource Institute) on Satellite Monitoring, StuartWilson (Forests Monitor) on Independent ForestMonitoring, Ke Dong (WWF China) on cross-bordercontrols between China and Russia, and KenichiNakazawa (Friends of the Earth Japan) on publicprocurement in Japan. TRN is keen to see that allboreal forest users, including communities, industry,traders, flora and fauna, are represented in actions toestablish and maintain good sustainable and equitableforest governance throughout this vast region.

TRN saw the ENA-FLEG meeting as anopportunity to highlight the problems of forestgovernance and trade in the boreal region. TRN hasproduced two briefing papers, a webpage and pressmaterials to raise awareness of the issues ofunsustainable legal and illegal forest practices andassociated international trade.

TRN participants were keen that the ministerialdeclaration would not support continued enforcementof the very laws that undermine forest-dependentcommunities whose forest practices are lessdestructive than some national and internationalcompanies issued with legal concessions rights. Theprevious two FLEG processes have increasingly beencriticised by many stakeholders for failing to realiseinitial expectations, including positive legal reform toestablish good forest governance for sustainable andequitable forest management and trade. Will the ENA-FLEG be any different?

Prior to the meeting a non-governmentalorganisation (NGO) position paper outlined prioritiesfor the final ENA-FLEG declaration. These included:legal reform to establish sustainable and equitableforest management; good governance to endcorruption in forestry; time-bound national action

plans with measurable targets to be adopted by allparticipant countries; public procurement polices to beadopted by governments; and a clear follow-upprocess with NGO involvement included.

Despite a positive preamble, the final declarationis much less determined than NGOs had wanted. Itfails to include many NGO and industry priorities,such as commitments to time-bound actions withmeasurable targets of success. The language of thedeclaration remains evasive, using terms such as‘assess’ and ‘formulate’ rather than ‘implement’.National action plans like procurement policy are onlyreferred to in the indicative list of actions (ILA).

However, the success of the ENA-FLEG will notbe contained in the declaration and ILA but will lie inthe actions that governments enable to take place,including key stakeholders: NGOs, indigenous peoplesand forest communities, and industries both in theENA region and internationally.

There will be a follow-up ministerial in 5 yearstime, and two expert level meetings involving civilsociety prior to then, to assess the success andproblems in implementation. When Russia hosts theG8 in 2006, NGOs want the ENA-FLEG to bereaffirmed as of key political importance.

Arguably the ENA-FLEG declaration is anothernon-legally binding text that will be acted upon by few,and under funded as a whole. To avert this NGOs havenoted the need for an effective follow-up process.TRN is keen to mobilise the resources and skills of thenetwork to assist in this challenge to make theintentions of ENA-FLEG contribute to the end goalsof good governance and sustainable, equitable forestmanagement in the boreal.

Contact:

[email protected]/index.php?sub=1&cat=37

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news

taiganews issue 53 winter 2005

RussiaNTFP FairAn international Non-Timber ForestProducts (NTFP) Fair and Forum was held atthe All-Russia Exhibition Center, in Moscow,24–28 September 2005, organised by theWorld Conservation Union (IUCN), aimingto provide small Russian businesses (crafters,indigenous peoples and community-basedbusinesses) with opportunities to reach newmarkets with their NTFP products.

Contact:

[email protected]

Land Rights Fury over CodeLand rights campaigners stepped up thepressure as the Russian State Duma preparedto hold its second reading of the new ForestCode (lesnoi kodeks) in mid-September,gaining a reprieve until November. The codewill allow large-scale privatisation of Russia’sforest lands, and is being viewed as the mostsevere threat yet to indigenous land rights inRussia. Campaigners complain thatconsultation with indigenous peoples overthe code has been inadequate.

Source:

CHUM-L listserve

Conservation ConferenceA conference on high conservation valueforests (HCVFs) will be held in Arkhangelsk,13–14 December 2005, with the objective ofelaborating strategic plans at national andregional levels for managing HCVFs.

Contact:

[email protected]

GlobalTissue GiantsWWF has evaluated Procter and Gamble,SCA Tissue, Kimberly-Clark, Metsa Tissue,and Georgia Pacific on environmentalperformance across a range of criteria,including sourcing practices, recycling, cleanproduction, transparency and publicreporting. They have found irresponsiblewood sourcing policies and alarmingly lowlevels of use of recycled fibres. The best,SCA Tissue, scored less than half theavailable points, and Kimberly-Clark scoredworst.

Contact:www.panda.org/forests/[email protected]

GE TreesGenetically engineered (GE) trees are beingdeveloped by researchers backed by the pulpand paper industry. Nippon Paper Industrieshas begun outdoor cultivation of GE salt-tolerant eucalyptus trees at the JapaneseUnivesrity of Tsukuba’s Gene ResearchCentre.

Contact:

www.gen-ethisches-netzwerk.de

www.stopgetrees.org

UNFF6The sixth session of the United NationsForum on Forests (UNFF6) will take place inNew York, 13–24 February 2006.

Contact:

www.un.org/esa/forests

COP11The 11th Conference of the Parties (COP) ofthe Framework Convention on ClimateChange meeting took place in Montreal,Canada, 28 November – 9 December 2005,with the forestry industry making a strongplay for the role that sustainable forestry canplay in controlling greenhouse gas emissions.

Contact:www.wbcsd.org

FSC GAThe Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) heldits General Assembly (GA) in Manaus,Brazil, 7–9 December 2005, wherediscussions included a new future strategy.One controversial area is certification ofplantations, and a moratorium has beenproposed on such certification until after theFSC’s current review process is complete.

Contact:[email protected]@wrm.org.uy

contents

news 2–3

fire 4–11

karelia 4

canadian first nation 5

in the hot seat 6–7

female fire-fighter 8

outer space 9

sámi knowledge 10

cleansing fire 11

editorialThis is my final issue as editor of TaigaNews and I am very pleased that as thetheme this time is fire, I get a chance to goout in flames!

It has been a really rewarding 6 years,and my only complaint is that in all thistime I have never had the opportunity tovisit the arctic wonders of Jokkmokk. Thechance for a real Swedish sauna was oneof the things that persuaded me to take onthe job, so it says much about the wondersof telematics and the excellent phone-conferencing skills of the TRN staff that Ihave never needed to go to Sweden to meetthem in person. Shame!

I need to thank a lot of people whohave helped me over these years. Specialthanks to the various TRN staff who haveprovided invaluable support, informationand of course paid the bills: Elisa Peter andOla Larsson for helping me through thesteepest part of the learning curve;Swaantje Fock, Danielle Peloquin andSolveig Lubeley for the middle years; andDamien Lee and Jouni Nissinen who willtake TN into its next incarnation. I alsowant to thank Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, forgetting me into it; Dennis Khoroshavtsev,our dream of a Russian translator; GunHofgaard, the wonderful illustrator; EvaFairnell, my friend and ever watchfulproof-reader;David Ritchie, printer andadviser; and Bill Ritchie, cuddlyrevolutionary and well handy with a redpen. Finally, I want to thank all the manyactivists who have taken the time andtrouble to write about their campaigns andyour passions, and given me suchfascinating and inspiring texts to edit.

For the taiga!Mandy Haggith

1

No Plantations DayPeople around the world celebrated anInternational Day against Monoculture TreePlantations on 21 September 2005 byplanting a diversity of native trees.

Contact:[email protected]

Deforestation UnderstatedThe UN Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) has published new figures on the‘state of the world’s forests’, met by howlsof protest from NGOs that claim they aremisleading, inaccurate and understate the realextent of deforestation and damage to forestsglobally.

Contact:[email protected]/forestry

news


EuropeSámi Rights Upheld at UNOn 14 November 2005, the UN HumanRights Committee ordered Finland to stoplogging activities in the Nellim area in Inari,which is one of the Sámi reindeer herdingareas (see TN52 Action Alert). The reasongiven is that the current and escalating activityis violating the rights of the Sámi people. Sámipeople are celebrating the decision and hopethat Stora Enso, Metsähallitus and otheractors in Sámi areas now take time to evaluatetheir positions and policies.


Old-Growth LoggingOn 7 November 2005, Greenpeace activistsblocked a Finnlines freight ship to prevent itloading pulp and paper in the Finnish port ofKemi, linking it to the destruction of one ofEurope’s last ancient forests, being exportedto make magazines. The world’s largestpaper company, Stora Enso, buys logs fromareas of ancient forest in northern Lapland,which the Finnish government agencyMetsähallitus has started logging themselvesin defiance of the country’s ownconservation laws.

Contact:

[email protected]

[email protected]

No to MTCCIn late November 2005, 64 NGOs from 21countries presented a statement urging theEuropean Union (EU), Europeangovernments and the European timberindustry to reject the Malaysian TimberCertification Scheme (MTCC), which cannotguarantee sustainable or legal timber forestmanagement because it does not respectindigenous peoples’ rights. MTCC hasreceived widespread criticism for itsdisregard of indigenous peoples’ rights. Thecertification scheme is widely considered amarketing device for Malaysia’s disreputabletimber industry rather than a credible effortto achieve sustainability.

Contact:

[email protected] www.bmf.ch

Impacts of BiofuelsThe drive for ‘green energy’ in Europe ishaving the perverse effect of encouragingdestruction of tropical rainforests to growpalm oil and soybeans. The rush to makeenergy from vegetable oils is being driven inpart by EU laws requiring conventional fuelsto be blended with biofuels, and by subsidiesequivalent to e0.3 per litre. The UKgovernment has announced a target forbiofuels to make up 5% of transport fuels by2010, aiming to help meet Kyoto protocoltargets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Source:www.newscientist.com

North AmericaBiggest FSC YetIn September 2005, Alberta-Pacific ForestIndustries Inc. (Al-Pac) achieved FSCcertification of 5.5 million ha, becoming thelargest FSC certification in the world.Smartwood certified the forest in north-eastern Alberta. Al-Pac’s forest is on publiclyowned land. Certification will enable Al-Pacto deliver FSC-certified Kraft pulp tocustomers. With this certification, Canada isnow the leading country in the world forFSC-certified forests, with 14.3 million ha, or22.8% of the global total. Al-Pac is owned byMitsubishi Corporation (70%) and Oji PaperCo. Ltd (30%).


Arctic Oil Drilling HaltedThe USA House of Representatives hasdropped a plan to allow oil drilling inAlaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,after intense lobbying efforts persuaded 22Republican politicians to threaten a rebellionon the budget bill. Environmentalists considerthis a substantial setback for President Bushand the oil lobby.

Contact:

www.savebiogems.org

Cree Win Buffalo VictoryThe Supreme Court of Canada ruled on 24November 2005 that the federal governmentfailed to meet its treaty obligations to consultthe Mikisew Cree First Nation when itauthorised a road to be constructed in theWood Buffalo National Park, which straddlesthe border between Alberta and theNorthwest Territories. The Cree argued theroad could damage their traditional hunting,trapping and fishing rights, as granted in an1899 treaty.

Source:

www.cbc.ca/news

Stop Kimberly-ClarkOn Boreal Action Day, 3 November 2005,activists in more than 160 North Americancities demonstrated against Kimberly-Clark,the world’s biggest tissue productmanufacturer, and citizens around the worldflooded them with letters and phone calls.The campaign against Kimberly-Clark isescalating, with Greenpeace, the NaturalResources Defense Council (NRDC) andothers criticising the USA-based paper giantfor its role in destroying Canada’s borealforest.

Environmentalists are urging Kimberly-Clark to increase the use of post-consumerrecycled fibre and to ensure any virgin fibreused comes from ecologically sound loggingoperations.

Contact:www.kleercut.net

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4 taiganews issue 53 winter 2005

fire

Loggers Fighting FiresAlexander V.MarkovskySPOK, Karelia,Russia

Contact:

[email protected]

The Forests are on FireFire is a frequent event in boreal forests. Forest fireshave always happened, but with different intervalsdepending on the type of forest habitat. For example,in natural communities with windfall stand dynamics(mostly dark coniferous rainforests in damp habitats)fires occur only once every several centuries. In naturalcommunities with pyrogenic dynamics (mostly lightconiferous forests growing in well-drained soils) firestake place up to several times a century. However thefrequency of forest fires rocketed when people beganharnessing the boreal forests. Even in as scarcely apopulated region as the Republic of Karelia (where thedensity of population is only four people per km2) upto 90% of forest fires are human-induced. This is oneof the most pressing problems in taiga ecosystemtransformation. The forest does not have enough timeto recover and it is set on fire over and over again.

At the same time forest fires represent a directdanger to the people. In Karelia, 158 communities(nearly 40,000 people or 6% of the republic’spopulation) live in places exposed to forest and peat-bog fires.

In recent years the situation with forest fires inKarelia has been diverse. The number of forest fireshas fluctuated from 137 to 1712 a year, and the firearea from several hundred hectares to several thousandha (in 2002, more than 4000 ha). Financial lossescaused by forest fires, including the cost ofextinguishing them, exceed 10 million roubles (Euro350,000) per year.

Forest Legislation: A Helping Hand?As a part of the Russian forest management systemreform, on 1 April 2005 the responsibility forextinguishing forest fires was transferred from theleskhozes to the Agency for Supervising NatureManagement. However, so far fire supervision in eachregion is carried out on average by as few as fivepeople, including those responsible for fire fighting.This situation calls into question the new agency’scapability for fighting forest fires in Karelia andthroughout the country. Another factor aggravating thesituation is the lack of finance allocated for fire fightingfrom the federal budget. Karelia was supposed toreceive 9 million roubles (about Euro 300,000) but themoney was not transferred during the forest fireseason.

Who Fights Forest Fires?As a result, leskhozes staff have had to try to continuefighting forest fires even though they do not havesufficient funds. They are joined by large local loggingoperators, who have often had to stop their loggingactivities and switch to extinguishing fires. The pressservice of Segezh pulp-and-paper plant reported thatduring the summer of 2005, a few enterprises of the

holding had to cease logging operations completely.For example, Segezhles JSC stopped its loggingactivities, and Pandany JSC only logged 30% theplanned amount. As a result logging enterprisesincurred direct losses because of failed timber supplyand the costs of fire fighting. For example, the Segezhpulp-and-paper plant alone spent 4.5 million roubles(Euro 150,000) on maintaining a fire fighting unit.

The duty of the fire fighting squads formed oflogging company staff is only supposed to be ‘toprovide assistance in fighting forest fires’, not toreplace professional firemen. These forest tenants havecriticised the approaches of the republican governmentand Karelian forest management agency to fightingforest fires. In emergency situations, the authoritiestend to use temporary control schemes that relyheavily on administrative resources. In the case offorest fires such a scheme was based on forcing thetenants to incur extra expense whilst simultaneouslycriticising them as the main, if not the only, bodiesresponsible for keeping order in the forest.

ConsequencesThe present high fire hazard was forecast long ago, butthe authorities have once again failed to get ready. Thereform of the environmental authorities has completelydestroyed the system for extinguishing forest fires, butthe authorities blame their difficulties on thetransitional period and the lack of finance.

Now the government of Karelia intends to prohibitlocal residents from entering the forests because of theincreased number of forest fires. In this way theauthorities are once again going to make the localcommunities hostages of the situation and make thempay for the bureaucrats’ mistakes. However, banningthe local communities from entering the forestsviolates their civil rights. According to our research, inthe Republic’s Pudoshzky Rayon alone, where the lastlarge areas of old-growth forests remain unprotected,each summer more than 1500 people earn their yearlylivelihood by collecting non-timber forest resources.The people must be allowed to visit these forestsfreely, but making fire in public forests must berestricted only to specially allotted sites.

SummaryThe restructuring of the forest management bodiescontinues in Karelia and in Russia in general. Forestlegislation is also being changed, with adoption of thenew Forest Code under way. Various regions addressthe problem of forest fires differently: in some it isstill dealt with by the leskhozes, in other regions bythe tenants. However, it remains unclear when theRussian Agency for Supervising Nature Managementwill be properly financed and able to begin to workefficiently.

In Karelia, lack of government financing of fire fighting means that logging companies are forcedto devote significant resources to putting out fires, even, in some cases, to the extent ofpreventing them from extracting any timber at all. Meanwhile, local communities are threatenedwith being banned from the forest, which they depend on for non-timber forest products, in aneffort to prevent them from lighting fires.


fire

The Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung prairie is allthat remains of a largeprairie-oak savannahthat once stretchedalong the Rainy Riverbefore Europeanhabitation of the area.Until the 1800s, mesicprairie vegetation greweverywhere here, but itwas cleared foragriculture, drasticallyreducing the availablehabitat for the area’snative vegetation and

wildlife. During this time, Ojibway people lived atKay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung, thus ensuring thepreservation of this unique habitat through conductingyearly burns.

The prairie–oak savannah is nestled between theLong Sault Rapids and the mixed woodlands. It is aglobally significant plant community and hosts manyof Ontario’s rare plants, including oval leafedmilkweed, hoary puccoon, and wild licorice. The site ishome to hundreds of plant species, 15 that are veryrare in Ontario.

Today, preservation of this site is ensured throughthe stewardship efforts of the Rainy Rivers FirstNations. Each spring the prairie is burned to mimic thetraditional yearly burns, which facilitates the growth ofprairie plants and inhibits the encroachment of invasivespecies.

HistoryKay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung is one of the most significantcentres of early habitation and ceremonial burials inCanada; Long Sault has deep cultural and spiritualmeaning to indigenous peoples throughout NorthAmerica. Each year, thousands of visitors to theHistorical Centre are accompanied to the prairie–oaksavannah communities and burial mounds by tourguides trained in ethnobotany and Ojibway culture andhistory.

This site was home to a once vibrant continentaltrading network. Long ago, indigenous people travelledto this site during the spring when trading with theEuro-Canadians flourished. Europeans broughtblankets, weapons and their non-native seeds, whichare responsible for many of the non-native vegetativespecies found today at this site.

Each spring, when indigenous people arrived at thisculturally significant site, they would burn all thegrasses to clear the area in order to build their teepees.Over many years, these yearly spring burns along withthe new seed species created a unique habitat, theprairie-oak savannah ecotype.

The historical yearly spring burns have long

ceased. Consequently, invader species, such as aspentrees, have been creeping back onto the site.Additionally, many of the ground vegetation speciesinduced into their reproductive cycles by fire havebeen dormant.

Site Conservation PlanUntil the 1800s, mesic prairie vegetation grewextensively along the shores of the Rainy River. Thestewardship efforts of native people living at LongSault preserved the prairie–oak savannah, thoughfarmers have cleared most of this prairie during thepast 200 years for agricultural purposes. In order tocontinue to conserve and restore Long Sault’s globallyrare prairie as part of their natural and culturalheritage, Rainy River First Nations developed aconservation plan to implement conservation,monitoring and education actions at the site.

Each spring, as soon as the snow melts, RainyRiver First Nations conducts a prescribed burn torenew growth of rare prairie plants and keep invasivespecies away. As fire burns through the prairie, itexposes the mineral soil, allowing new growth ofplants. Prairie plants are well adapted to fire, as theirgrowth tissue is located below the topsoil, safe fromthe effects of a fast-burning fire. Woody plants are setback or destroyed because their growth tissue, locatedat the upper tip of each plant, is damaged. Weeds,such as reed canary grass, sprout early in the springand are burned off by spring fires, while native prairiegrasses start to grow after the burn.

However, in 2002 it was determined that springburns alone will not prevent poplar encroachmentonto the prairie. The Watershed Program thusdeveloped an expanded site conservation plan that willbe implemented from 2003 to 2005. The initial stagesof the plan are currently being enacted.

In order to maintain the site as a part of itsheritage, at the yearly spring burns Rainy River FirstNations uses the traditional knowledge of an elder.Solitary ceremonies are held with the spirits byoffering tobacco and replacing a handful of dirt of aburial mound that has been desecrated by privatebusinesses.

Maggie ParkerRainy River FirstNationsWatershedProgram,Ontario, Canada

Eco-Cultural CindersThe Rainy River First Nations’ heritage includes a prescribed burning technique that preserves aunique form of prairie–oak savannah ecosystem, at Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung (Long Sault), aNational Historic Site.

Contact:

parkerma@cnc.bc.cawww.kaynahchiwahnung.comwww.rainyriver.firstnation.ca

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Photos: Maggie Parker


fire

What is the GFMC?The GFMC is an interface institution betweenwildland fire science, the fire management communityand policy makers, working to enhance internationalco-operation in wildland fire science, management,training and sharing of knowledge and resources.

We have partners in all boreal countries. OurCanadian partners are very experienced leaders in thedevelopment of wildland fire early warning systems.For boreal Eurasia the Canadian Forest Service hasdeveloped the Eurasian Experimental Fire WeatherInformation System that is displayed in 2-dayintervals on our early warning website2.

We also work with people from Nordic countries,notably Finland, particularly on re-introducingprescribed fire in nature conservation, forestry andlandscape management. This work is conducted underthe European Fire in Nature Conservation Network(EFNCN), which aims to restore historic culturalburning practices that have positive effects onbiodiversity, ecosystem productivity and stability.

Back in the early 1990s we recognised thatwildland fire science and management in Russia and thestates of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) was laggingbehind approaches in western boreal countries. Duringthe Soviet era fire had been considered as an enemyand was fought with all possible resources, despitenatural fire having shaped the ecosystems and theirfunctioning for millennia. Also, the use of remotesensing was not accepted as a tool for monitoringforest fires. Recently, this situation has changed.

Is fire a natural part of the boreal forestecosystem or is it destructive?The boreal forest zone is a circum-global lightning-firebelt. Both natural and human-made fires are importantfor the whole functioning and life cycle of a borealforest.

In Alaska and Canada very intense fires in pine,spruce and fir stands ‘recycle’ the forests: so-calledstand-replacement fires occurring at the end of the lifecycle of a mature or overmature North American borealforest allow the regeneration of the stand and the startof succession towards a new forest.

The situation in Eurasia, notably in Siberia, is quitedifferent. Pine and larch forests are regularly affectedby low-intensity lightning fires that occur undermoderate weather conditions every 10–20 years,consuming dead organic debris on the forest floor.Pines and larches are quite resistant against suchmoderate surface fires: their thick bark protects themagainst lethal heat. By reducing the fuel loads thesefires often result in relatively open stands that are lesssusceptible to high-intensity fires simply because anuncontrolled wildfire will find less material to burn.The open and sometimes park-like coniferous forestsof the ‘light taiga’ provide valuable habitats for wildlifeand plants, and they are economically of high value.

It is clear that high-intensity fires that scar trees orsometimes even consume tree stems reduce the valueof timber. So, in areas of intensively managed andutilised forests fire may cause economic damage. Andhere we have a conflict.Is the rate, scale or nature of fire (fireregime) changing in the boreal region?There are dramatic changes of fire regimes in the wholeboreal zone and the adjoining hemiboreal lands. Thechanges are driven by human activities, but in someregions also by the consequences of climate change. Insouthern-central Russia or in northern Mongolia, forexample, increasing fire pressure is associated witheconomic weakness: the consequences ofinappropriate forest management, reduced budgets forforest protection activities and economically motivatedarson have brought an increase of destructive fires tothese regions. This coincides with a trend of increasingregional aridity. For instance, we collected rainfall datain the Trans-Baikal region for the season preceding theextreme fire year 2003. Between August 2002 andMay 2003, the total rainfall recorded in two stations inBuryatia Republic and Chita Oblast was 36.0 mm and45.7 mm, respectively. The evaluation of vegetationhealth by satellite sensors confirmed this drought andthe trend of increasing aridity in the Eurasiantemperate–boreal belt between Europe and east Asia.

Extreme fires burned between May and Septemberof 2003, leaving behind a total burned area of morethan 20 million ha in the region around Lake Baikal.Many of these were fires in the so-called ‘grassforests’, which under normal conditions do not harm

Forest FiremanJohann G.GoldammerWorld FireMonitoring Centre,Freiburg, Germany

Professor Johann Goldammer is a specialist in the ecology and management of fire at FreiburgUniversity, Germany. He co-ordinates the Global Wildland Fire Network and the United NationsInternational Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Wildland Fire Advisory Group, a high-level advisory body to the UN system in questions related to wildland fires. In 1998 heestablished the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC)1 .

Photo

: Jo

han

n G

old

man

ner

Photo: Johann Goldmanner

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fire

the trees at all. But in 2003 the fire severity wasextreme: the fires burned the humus layers and affectedthe roots. We have confirmed this in two expeditions in2003 and 2005.

Another aggravating factor of the wildland firetheatre in the region around Lake Baikal, especially inBuryatia and Chita, is the increase of arson fires. Theunderlying causes for arson fires are deeply rooted inthe economic development of south-east Russia,Mongolia and neighbouring China. The depletion ofChina’s forest resources and the increasing demand fortimber products on the market in China have created anenormous pressure on the forest resources of Mongoliaand the Russian Federation. Local people in the regioninformed the GFMC that Chinese timber dealers haveencouraged or bribed locals in the Russian Federationand in Mongolia to set fires to forests in order toincrease the permissible salvage logging areas and thusincrease the timber export to China.What questions remain unresolved about firein the boreal region?Collectively we are facing global change as aconsequence of climate fluctuations, both natural andhuman-induced, and fire is playing a determinant role inthat process, for instance accelerating the transitionfrom forest to non-forest cover. We need to make adecision whether we wish to accept an accelerated‘steppisation’ in Eurasia (i.e. the replacement of forestsby steppes) or, alternatively, whether we could haltthis development by appropriate fire management andmaintain a forest cover that would offer a high carryingcapacity for humans, biodiversity and carbon.

The new Canadian forest fire management strategy,which is currently in preparation, is carefully lookingat the impacts of climate change and the firemanagement policy needed to respond to thesechanges. The Canadians do not intend to suppressthose fires that will be an expression of changingclimate, vegetation composition and fire regimes.Trying to halt stand replacement fires in boreal NorthAmerica does not make sense: the process of change isso powerful and irreversible it cannot be stopped orredirected.What are the biggest fire-related problemsjust now in Eurasia?The biggest challenge is the development of human andtechnical capacities in fire management in Eurasia. Theperiod of transition from centrally planned to market-based economies of the FSU countries in the 1990s andearly 2000s has substantially weakened the formerlystrong centralised system of forest management andconservation, including their fire management system,and their ability to respond to these requests. How dowe apply advanced fire management knowledge incountries suffering extreme problems related to thesesocio-economic and political changes?

The situation in central Asia, including thehemiboreal forests of northern China, northernMongolia and southern Russia, is suffering all theextremes of global change. This is one part of theEurasian problem.

The other problem zones are quite outside publicawareness: the wetlands and peatlands of Eurasia. Inthese ecosystems we have a rich biodiversity and thelargest terrestrial carbon stores of the world. Whereasthe peatlands in the tropical regions are primarilythreatened by drainage and systematic conversion withthe help of fire, the situation in the uninhabited regions

of the boreal zone is quite different. Here we will seethe interactions between desiccating wetlands andwildfires which may lead, long term, to the triggeringof the ‘terrestrial carbon bomb’.

The melting of permafrost sites as a consequenceof regional warming will also result in change to forestcover and fire regimes in central Asia. For example, thecontinental larch forests of Yakutia are extremelythreatened. Carbon will be released by fire and will notbe sequestered by this ecosystem because ofirreversible changes from forest to steppe. In additionthe ‘palaeogases’ trapped in the permafrost ice will bereleased and add a new pulse of greenhouse gases tothe global atmosphere.

Finally, problems remain of radioactivelycontaminated forests and other vegetation in Eurasia.Remnants of nuclear weapons tests and nuclearaccidents wait in the form of radionuclides in theorganic layers of contaminated regions. Wildfires leadto a lifting of these radionuclides. Their redistributionis by chance: the wind direction and convectiveactivity on the day of the fire. These are all high andunacceptable risks that we need to be aware of.Do government policies need to change?The Russian Federation is now undergoing a dramaticreform, at least on paper, and prescribed fire as anintegrated forest and wildland fire management toolhas been recognised. However, in the near future thereare almost no human, technical and financialcapabilities to change practice substantially. TheRussian government is refusing to provide sufficientfunding for forest fire suppression and the amount oflarge fires is on the rise. One may say this is a resultof a new ‘let burn policy’ based on ecologicalconsiderations, but the reality is that this is simplythe effect of insufficient financial support for firemanagement.Can NGOs or local communities help?The need for action in boreal Eurasia to reduce the riskof destructive fires is present at all levels. Themajority of fires in Eurasia are caused by people, andso the most important need is fire prevention.Everybody must be included, from the youngest tothe oldest, from civil society to those who have aresponsibility in the government. NGOs will becrucially important. We have seen this in south-eastAsia, for instance in Indonesia, where in the processof democratisation civil society is standing up andtaking responsibility. This will also be the case in theFSU countries, I am quite confident.

International organisations and financialinstitutions will be involved too. Support of the WorldBank and the Global Environment Facility in a firemanagement project in the Amur-Sikhote-AlinEcoregion in the Russian Far East is a first encouragingexample.

On our side we are working through the GlobalWildland Fire Network (GWFN), which is co-ordinated by the GFMC as a UNISDR programme3 .We are establishing three regional Wildland FireNetworks (Baltic, central Asia and northeast Asia) inwhich boreal countries participate, aiming to enhanceinternational co-operation in wildland fire managementbetween neighbouring countries, sharing humanresources, knowledge and fire managementtechnologies, and assisting each other in large firedisaster and emergency situations.

So, we can do a lot!

Notes:

1 www.fire.uni-

freiburg.de/

or www.gfmc.org

2 www.fire.uni-

freiburg.de/fwf/

eurasia.htm

3 www.fire.uni-

freiburg.de/

GlobalNetworks/

globalNet.html

www.unisdr.org/eng/

task%20force/tf-working-

groups4-eng.htm


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fire

Contact:

[email protected]

Patricia BurleyCanada

City girl fighting forest fires in the back woods, noway? Yes! Anyone can do it who likes the outdoors,wants a good challenge and is in good physicalcondition. How can you go wrong with a job that paysyou to go camping? You work outside cutting trees onbeautiful days (most days) with lakes all around you(sometimes swamps) and many of the people youwork with become friends who are as close as family.You get to travel across Canada and sometimes theUSA, where you see how amazing Mother Nature canbe when it is dry outside and something sparks theearth to start a blaze. This job is seasonal, so youwork hard in the summer and get the winters off to dowhatever your heart desires, perhaps down-hill skiing.If you love all of the above, then forest fire fightingmight be the career for you!

Growing up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I alwaysfelt there was something lacking in my lifestyle: trees!I love trees, forests and everything else about nature’sbeauty. I knew at a young age I wanted to get out ofcity life. So when I turned 18 I moved away fromhome to the small town of Lindsay to enroll in acollege forestry programme. Did my life change! Ifound my love: not a man, but the environment and theoutdoors. I planted trees for a summer, which was anexcruciating job, but that one summer was enough forme! It challenged my mental and physical capabilitiesmore than I thought possible. Back in school some ofmy friends were taking a forest fire-fighting course thatsounded very interesting, so I enrolled and soon foundthat I absolutely loved it. I was hired that next summerin North Western Ontario, a 21-hour drive fromToronto. What was I getting myself into?

Five years later, I am still working at the same firebase. I am now a crew leader in charge of three men. Iwork as an Initial Attack Fire Ranger, where we usehelicopters, trucks and boats as our transportation to awater source. Once at the water source we set up ourfire pumps and lay out hose to the fire and then nozzlethe fire out. We could be working on a fire foranywhere from one day or up to 19 days straight. Welive in all weather conditions in the bush until that fireis dead.

Fires can be started by lightning or by carelesspeople (camp fires, cigarettes, etc.). This is why it isso important to remember, as Smoky Bear says, ‘Onlyyou can prevent forest fires’!

Working in this field is sometimes difficult being awoman. I will never be as strong as most men, so Ihave to pull my weight a little extra at times. It doesnot really matter how big or small you are, it is abouthow smart you are and how you use you head whenyou are working in the bush. Safety always comes firstwith this job, and with this principle I can honestlysay that my life has never been endangered from thisline of work. Usually when people do get hurt, it isbecause of their own mistakes.

Everyone working in this position has to take atest to make sure they are physically capable of thejob. Yet while physical fitness is one of the most

Fire-Fighting Female!A Toronto-born woman tells how she got a taste for life on the frontline of boreal forest fires.

important parts of thejob, of equalimportance is aperson’s emotionalstability, social skillsand ability to work ina team. We alwaysneed to rememberthat it is only treesthat are burning andthat this a naturalprocess. Personalsafety and the safetyof the crew alwayscomes first.

In northwesternOntario there is avast difference inlandscapes andterrain, ranging fromthe Canadian Shieldto boreal forests andfrom mixed wood totundra. Where Iwork, forests mostlycontain conifer mixes,which burn betterthan deciduous trees.Ontario is rich withfresh water lakes. Insome areas it is onlya 5-minute drive fromone lake to the nextas many areconnected, which isvery handy for theforest fire fightersbecause water is theeasiest way to putfires out.

As each season comes and goes I anticipate whatnew adventure might come out and grab me. Being atransient individual really gets tiring after a while, but Istill get excited for the winter powder snow, which Iski every winter, and appreciate every moment of it,knowing how lucky I am to live this free lifestyle.

Being a forest fire fighter has grown on me. I havemade some of the best friends, people that I will neverlose touch with. Special bonds seem to grow betweenpeople who are in this job. No one else seems tounderstand why we do this tedious work.

Fire has taught me many life lessons. I never takefamily for granted. I appreciate little things like hotshowers and warm meals. Many of my senses havebecome more acute during my years in fire fighting. Ireadily smell smoky hot spots. My hearing is sensitivebecause of all the helicopter and radio activity. Mytaste buds now crave meat even though I was avegetarian for six years. Yes, fire fighting has definitelychanged me: no more city life for this girl!


fire

Resources:Web Fire Mapper from theUniversity of Maryland:

maps.geog.umd.edu/

maps.asp

NASA’s Earth

Observatory:earthobservatory.nasa.gov

NOAA Fire Events:www.osei.noaa.gov/

Events/Fires

American Boreal Forests:www.whrc.org/borealnamerica/

role_of_fire.htm


Tom StoneWoods HoleResearchCenter, USA

Fires are common in boreal forests and it is axiomaticthat the patterns of boreal forests are controlled byfire. In contrast, temperate forests are controlled moreby tree falls, insects and storm damage. Fire, itslocation and severity, is perhaps the largestdeterminant of vegetation development in the borealforest. Fires and the resultant patterns they impose onboreal forests are, in general, easily seen by satellites.

The first imaging satellite, Landsat, was launched in1972 and there have been newer versions of thesatellite in orbit continuously ever since then,providing coverage of the entire globe. Landsat imagesor ‘sees’ primarily in the visible and near infrared partsof the light spectrum. As the satellite resolution is around30m, canopies rather than individual trees are imaged.

Newer satellites, such as the North American SpaceAgency (NASA) MODIS satellite, acquire imagery inthe thermal part of the spectrum as well (but at lowerspatial resolution) and are therefore ideal for mappingactive forest fires and other thermal hot spots. TheMODIS satellite is specifically designed to monitor fireon a daily basis. MODIS sensors have a field of viewof 2330 km and orbit the Earth several times a day. Thecombination of having two MODIS sensors in orbitallows the detection of fire activity across the globefour times each day.

Weather satellites, sensitive to heat so that theycan measure cloud temperatures, have been excellentmonitors of fire locations and change. Their frequentcoverage allows rapid updating of the fire location andsize. Coverage, however, is limited in areas of heavyclouds but as the satellite can acquire a new imageevery day, the location, size and progress of larger firescan be followed through time. Global databases of fireare being constructed based on the different types ofsatellite imagery that are available and can be used tosupplement national level surveys and provide a timeseries of changes in a region or over a continent.

Although fire location, size and change can bedefined, it is much more difficult to define fireintensity. Fire intensity is important as severe fires arestand-replacing, and the severity of the fire determineswhether the majority of the carbon from trees is lost ascarbon dioxide or as carbon monoxide. Also, the typeof ground cover being burned cannot be determined

very well so in some cases a grassland or tundra fireand a forest fire might be confused. Consequently, it isdifficult to define how damaging a fire is and this maybe better defined by fieldwork.

Historically, monitoring of fires in the boreal zoneby different countries was limited by resources andthere was little consistency in approaches. Forinstance, in some countries there were incentives tounder-report the area and number of fires. Usingsatellites, although not perfect, provides consistentestimates from country to country and over time.

Monitoring boreal forest fires is very important tohelp us understand the global carbon cycle and theeffects of climate change, especially when we considerthat about 25% of all global terrestrial carbon is in theRussian boreal forests.

Global warming will probably be mostpronounced in the high latitudes and if it both warmsand gets drier, we can expect to see the cycle of borealforest fires intensify. Fires that may have re-occurredin the past on a 100–150 year cycle may occur muchmore frequently in the future, preventing forestsgrowing to maturity. If this happens, there will be apositive feedback to the increase in greenhouse gasesthat will only make matters worse. Recent researchshows that boreal forest fires are, indeed, increasing infrequency.

Similarly, if the climate of the boreal forestswarms, it might encourage insect infestations that willdecimate forests and make them more prone to fires.Satellite data can also see the effects of these majorinsect infestations.

In summary, the use of satellites for monitoringforest fires has removed much of the guesswork andthe reliance on national government agencies for data,and enabled useful and up to date information to beobtained on the location and frequency of all types ofwildfires globally. However, fieldwork or other dataare still required to define the type of ecosystemburned and the intensity of the fire. As we enter an erawhen the climate is changing rapidly, satellite datafrom many different countries and agencies will allowus to monitor not only the location, timing andduration of fires but also to follow the recovery of thevegetation on the site after the fire.

Watching Fires from SpaceThe use of satellites enables monitoring of the location, timing and duration of fires in theboreal forests, with a consistency of approach across many countries. This is crucial forresearchers trying to determine the climate change impacts of climate stores lost to forest fires.

9


fire

Contact:

www.nok.se

The Sámi people in the north of Scandinavia have athorough knowledge of fire-making. They werenomads and moved with their reindeer herds. Theyseldom had permanent housing, living instead insteadin tents. Being always on the move, they had no storesof chopped and dry firewood. They had to make a firewith whatever was available where they camped. Thatusually meant cutting down standing living trees, andusing the raw wood immediately.

In Scandinavia it is birch (betula species) thatgrows at the highest level up to the tree-line in themountains, not conifer trees as in most of the arcticarea. When birch dies it does not dry out, instead itdecays under its waterproof bark. This kind of rottenwood is possible as firewood, but not used very much.Instead, freshly cut birch is a superior fuel foreveryday use in the tent. Despite being fresh anddamp, it burns well, if only you know how to light it.

Above the birch forests you find willow bushes(Salix species), called siergga in the Sámi language.When willow shrubs die they dry out. The dry twigsare excellent for lighting a fire, but there is never verymuch of it in one place. Instead there is plenty of livewillow, and it resembles raw birch: even damp it burnswell, and the embers stay alive and glowing for manyhours, while coals from dry wood die out faster.

Raw willow bushes are such good fuel that innomadic times some families stayed in the highmountains the whole winter, living in tents andwarming themselves and cooking with nothing else.

Reindeer herders sometimes slept out in the openeven in winter. They made a big fire of willow, andwhen the fire had gone out they spread a thick layer oftwigs over the embers, and then slept on this heatedtwig bed. There are many rules regarding what kind oftwigs you should use, how to cut them and how todistribute them on the coal. Mistakes will set fire tothe twigs and the sleeping men will get burned. As anold reindeer herder says: ‘Inexperienced people mustnot try to sleep on coal, they will surely burn’.

Higher up in the mountains where the willow israre there is dwarf birch (Betula nana) or skierre. It isused as summer fuel in the tents, and for little coffee-making fires outdoors. The slender twigs are burnedfresh with their green leaves, and they burn quickly. Afire of thin skierre twigs gets hot enough for bakingbread, but does not last long.

In the mountains Juniper bushes (Juniperusspecies; gaskas), grow crooked and curved, and theirneedles whirl around in the air when lit, thereforejuniper wood is seldom used. Still it has one veryimportant property, so important that reindeer herderssometimes call juniper ‘life saver of the mountains’.When a juniper has died and dried out, the wood isharder than any other. Even in very heavy rain it doesnot absorb water. No matter how terrible the weatheris, it is always possible to get a fire going if you canfind old juniper.

Freshly picked crowberry, (Empetrum nigrum;dangás in Sámi), Phyllodoce caerulea(vuorkkodangás), and even Lycopodium (ruvdarássi)are also used for fire, usually in fine summer weather.When the sun is hot, reindeer move up on tosnowfields high above the tree-line and for the herdersfollowing them these small shrubs are the onlyfirewood available.

A reindeer herder always carries birch bark in hisbackpack to light his fire with. The precious strips ofbark must not be squandered; in the mountains thenext birch might be a very long way off. In the summeryou might find dry wood to light up with. But inwinter it is much harder, as almost every twig ishidden under snow. Surprisingly though, it is actuallypossible to light a fire out of live, raw willow, evenwith no dry material at all to help out. Matches and arazor sharp knife are necessary, however. You take afresh willow branch and slice a number of paper-thinstrips, piling them into a little, lofty heap. Put two orthree matches to it carefully, and it ignites.

In pine and spruce forests it is easy to make fire,as there is plenty of dry wood about. When pine(Pinus sylvestris) dies it gets dry, and the trunkremains standing for decades, until it finally falls to theground. The standing dry pine, soarvve, is used indifferent ways. When sleeping outdoors intemperatures of –20°C or –30°C, the reindeer herdersmade a special fire of two soarvve logs. One was laidon the ground, and the other parallel upon it. Differentkinds of supports were used to prop up the upper logand prevent it from rolling off. The small flames, notmore than on a candle, still generate a lotof heat. Such a double log fire, anuorssjo, burned all night.

Dry spruce wood (Picea abies; Sámiluorkoj), is unsuitable for open fires,because it generates a lot of sparks thatfly around. When the spruce has decayed,however, and is rotten through, you haveuseful firewood that will glow and burnsoftly without making sparks. Thereforeit was used for night-fires in the tent.

Smoke from fires has many uses, forinstance as protection againstmosquitoes. Bigger animals can also bescared off by smoke. In the old daysreindeer herders picked leaves of Angelica(Angelica archangelica) and smoked themin a pipe to protect the reindeer fromhungry wolves. Angelica has twodifferent forms; one is tall with a stem ofone metre or more, Sámi bosku. Thisform is edible and well known as a Samihousehold vegetable. The low-growingform without the long stem is calledvádnu. It has an acrid taste, and its leavesare smoked in the foul-smelling wolf-scaring pipe.

Traditional KnowledgeYngve RydSweden

The Sámi people have a rich traditional knowledge of fire and fire-making, which includesdetailed understanding of the ecology of the plants that they have used as fuel for generations.

In a recent book by YngveRyd the Sami expertise offire-making is revealed infascinating detail, withexcellent colour photosmaking it possible even forthose who do not readSwedish to follow theprocesses and tounderstand something ofthese ancient skills.

The author and publisherare looking for a partner topublish the book in English.

Eld Flammor och glöd –

samisk eldkonst.

Yngve Ryd, Natur och

Kultur, Stockholm,

Sweden. 430 pages.

ISBN 91-27-10750-7.


fire


Picture a hunter’s camp deep in the Ussuri taiga. Afterthe brief heat of the summer, frosts are alreadycrisping the leaves, and the sky is clear and brightabove the clearing where a handful of huts cluster: acooking shed, three sleeping cabins, the compost toiletand, most important of all, the banya.

It is late September, the broadleaf trees are in fullautumn colours, vine leaves shout red up aspen trunkscrowned with fluttering gold coinage. The sticky greencones of the Korean pines are stuffed with succulentnuts and the forest understorey is jewelled withrosehips, redcurrants and wild kiwi fruits. Here in theRussian Far East, the most southerly reach of the vastboreal forest, home to Siberian tiger and Amur leopardand both European brown and Asiatic black bears, thevegetation is a diverse mixture of northern conifers,temperate broadleaves and fruits that evoke thesubtropics. This is a forest to die for.

Up the wooden steps into the banya, there is aninviting warm room, hung with clothes, towels, andaccoutrements for washing. Here you can pause, chat,sip some beer.

A door leads into the inner sanctum, where aceremony is taking place. The fire in the iron stove isblistering hot. Water has been thrown onto it so steamfills the room. A faint light seeps through cracksbetween the thick plank walls.

In the semi-dark, two people lie naked on thehighest level of a wooden staging, one man and onewoman. The Banya Master has chosen this couplefor special treatment. With his long black beard andhair, wet and sleek, and his dark eyes shining, he istransformed. Activist by day, at home in the forestand lobbying in the corridors of UNintergovernmental meetings, this night he returns tohis ancestral Siberian tradition. He is a shaman.

With both hands he brushes bundles of wiltingoak stems over the bodies of the couple. They aremoist, soft, gently abrasive, scented like the heart ofthe forest. Under their rhythmic, pattering massage, itis impossible for any muscles of the back or legs toremain tense. The leaves waft the couple into totalrelaxation, and with his rich Russian intonation, theshaman talks to them about reconnection, nature,soul. The ritual will heighten their love, he says,strengthen their bonds to one another and to earth.The heat sears their minds clean.

Slowly, gently, he leads them outside, instructsthem to step off the wooden pathway onto the forestfloor, to stand barefoot on the soil. In the clear skyabove them the moon is full, a silver disc, shinier thanthey have ever seen. Taking a bucket of shriekinglycold water, he empties it over the their heads, one byone, explaining that the chakra on the top of the headwill open their spirit to connect to them to MotherEarth. They gasp and smile. They have never felt so

open, so close to each other. Unencumbered byclothes or tools, two small animals under the shelter ofstars, they are reborn into the taiga.

Three times the shaman takes them into thesteamy womb room, and three times he brings themout to dowse them, like a spiritual midwife bringingforth children. And like children, all those whoexperience his ceremony this night emerge innocent,wide-eyed, full of wonder at the beauty of the forestand the sky.

They drink and eat and laugh together long intothe night. The vodka is strong, fortified by a rootrelated to ginseng. One of the hunters relates stories ofbeing helped in his hunting by a Siberian tigress.Anton, a motherless brown bear cub who has beenadopted by the hunters, eats water melon and tales aretold about previous bears befriended who return to thecamp to see their comrades (and maybe raid the kashabarrel) from time to time. There are toasts to friends,the taiga, the banya, and to peace. This night’s forestfire is one we will always remember.

Thank you Andrei, Anatoly, Fyodor, Arkady, Pavel,Luba and all our other Russian friends too numerous toname. Thank you for the healing wisdom of your foreststhat you have shared with us. We will be forever gratefuland continue to do whatever we can to try to help you tosave the precious far eastern taiga.

The Cleansing FireMandy Haggithworldforests,Scotland

The ultimate spiritual taiga forest experience is a traditional Russian banya ceremony led by amaster in the art, followed by toasts to friendship and the forest.

...Unencumbered

by clothes or

tools, two small

animals under

the shelter of

stars, they are

reborn into the

taiga...

11

Next issue The next issue of Taiga News will focus on energy in the boreal region. Deadline for contributions is 15 January 2006.

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A new report by Canadian Parks and WildlifeSociety’s (CPAWS) Wildlands League documents theharm being caused by unsustainable logging in theWhiskey Jack Forest under licence to AbitibiConsolidated. The report investigates the results of thecompany’s government-approved logging practices andfinds that the amount of wood that Abitibi is cutting iscausing extensive damage to the forest ecosystem.

‘We’ve found evidence that these logging levels aretoo high and we know they cannot be sustained’, saidChris Henschel, lead author of the report. The peopleof Grassy Narrows know this all too well, and hencethey have been blockading logging roads into theWhiskey Jack Forest for the past 3 years.

The report highlights the long-standing concerns ofthe First Nation, that industrial forest management intheir traditional territory is adversely affecting theirlivelihoods, impinging on their constitutionallyprotected aboriginal and treaty rights, and affecting thehealth of fish and wildlife populations on which thecommunity depends.

ACT NOW in supportof Grassy Narrows FirstNation

Send an email to the First Nation(email [email protected]) tellingthem that you support their blockade

Send an email to the OntarioPremiere, Dalton McGuinty ([email protected]),asking him to listen to the people ofGrassy Narrows First Nation, heedthe conclusions of the CPAWS reportand stop the clearcutting of theWhiskey Jack Forest.

ACT NOW!Support Grassy Narrows’ fight to save their forest

Contact:

[email protected]

www.wildlandsleague.org

Three years on the longest-lasting logging blockade in Canada will be marked on 5 December 2005by the people of Grassy Narrows First Nation, near Kenora, Ontario. Now the logging must stop.

© Taiga Rescue Network, 2005. ISSN:1401-2405

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