December 12, 2011

Russian Federation:

Forest Fire Response Project (Forest Project-2)

Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework

(IPPF)

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Project Objective

Project components

Planned project activities

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Indigenous Peoples, living in project areas

Legislative Safeguards to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the Russian Federation

Project impact on Indigenous Peoples

PARTICIPATORY SOCIAL ASSESSMENT

Screening

Detailed Consultations and Action Plan

Institutional Arrangements

PARTICIPATORY MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Annex. A brief data: Association of Small-Numbered Indigenous Peoples of the North in Khabarovsk Kray

INTRODUCTION

Project Objective

The World Bank is supporting the Government of the Russian Federation in the preparation of a Forest Fire Response Project that aims to improve forest fire prevention and management and enhance sustainable forest management. Specifically, the Project will support the Russian Government’s preparedness for forest fires, by strengthening the capacity for forest fire monitoring and response as well as strengthening the institutional and policy framework for forestry governance, which is also critical to the prevention of forest fires and management of areas affected by fires. Furthermore, the project will contribute to raising public awareness and education standards in forestry issues in general, with specific reference to forest fire prevention/control and forest governance issues. Given that the bulk of fires are of human origin, the latter is as important as suppression of fires underway. It is expected that project investments will lead to a decrease in the number of fires of human origin. Fires which occur will be better controlled (and hence reduced in extent and severity) as they will be detected sooner, response time will be reduced due to better communications, fire fighting capacity in terms of equipment and trained personnel will have been increased, and interagency and interregional fire-fighting coordination and cooperation will be enhanced. In addition, shortcomings identified in the forest policy and legislative framework will be addressed at both the national and pilot region level, strengthening the management of forests and landscapes, which will in turn have a positive impact on the prevalence and likelihood of forest fires.

Project components

The project has three components: (1) enhancing forest fire prevention, management and control; (2) building forestry management capacity; and (3) project management. There will be two implementing agencies for the project: the Federal Forest Agency (FFA), which covers the extensive area of forest fund, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), which will implement the project in Protected Areas (PAs).

Component 1: Enhancing Forest Fire Prevention, Management and Control. This component aims to improve the effectiveness of forest fire prevention and management by (i) strengthening the capacity of early detection and quick response to fight forest fires and (ii) reducing the number of fires of human origin through awareness raising and environmental education programs. Early fire detection is recognized as a key element in improving protection of forest from fires. Management of fires requires clear coordination across the various agencies. The project will therefore support the establishment of Inter-regional Forest Fire Centers (IFFCs) to improve detection and coordination across the various agencies. Fire prevention and environmental education will be focused on children and youth as a means to encourage long-term behavior change. In particular, this component will provide technical assistance to (i) develop fire preparedness master plans at the forest district level to determine the optimum location of different forest fire interventions; (ii) review and upgrade regional fire danger rating and fire hazard indices; (iii) improve the capacity of the early fire detection system; and (iv) develop public awareness and media/education campaigns to decrease the incidence of forest fires of human origin. In addition, investments will be made to improve fire fighting and preparedness systems and establish IFFCs.

Component 2: Building Forestry Management Capacity. Forest policy, legislation, institutions and silvicultural systems clearly have an impact on how forest is managed which in turn has multiple effects on the environment, including the likelihood, extent and severity of forest fires. This component will increase forest management capacity through (i) provision of technical assistance to help identify and address key policy and legislative issues and the institutional framework (by supporting the clear demarcation of mandates among federal and regional forest management institutions); (ii) targeted investments to improve forest regeneration and restoration, establish integrated forest management information systems, and develop model forests; and (iii) improved training opportunities for both professionals already in service and new forestry expertise.

Component 3: Project Management. A Project Implementation Unit (PIU) will work with FFA, MNRE, and each of the participating Inter-regional Forest Fire Centers to ensure effective and continuous communication with project stakeholders. This PIU will coordinate all project activities, procure works, goods, and consultants’ services for project implementation, supervise and monitor project activities, and report regularly to FFA and MNRE.

Planned project activities

The project will finance hardware, equipment and fire-fighting infrastructure, focusing on ground-based activities, and will not involve significant or large scale physical interventions or major civil works. Besides the purchase of equipment, tools, protection gear and vehicles, project funds will be used for the construction of observation towers and the rehabilitation of fire stations and warehouses for equipment and machinery. Such activities will be carried out in areas, regions or other administrative units where some fire-fighting capacity already exists, which can be enhanced and improved by the project’s activities. These civil works will have localized, minor and reversible environmental impacts, which are of a routine nature and will require only simple environmental management instruments.

The project may finance the construction of temporary access or service roads and the clearing of fire breaks that are immediately necessary to increase fire fighting effectiveness. These activities are standard forest management practice and do not cause significant impacts, either in magnitude or duration. The project will not finance airborne fire fighting, thus potential impacts from chemical agents commonly added to water dropped from fixed wing aircraft and helicopters are not expected. (Such agents commonly include retardants, which slow down water evaporation and thus increase its activity in a fire, and foam agents, which work in a similar manner and also have a smothering effect. One of the most commonly used retardants is Ammonium Phosphate, which has a fertilizing effect.)

The planned activities on the development and support of policies, legal frameworks and institutional capacities would result in a general strengthening of on the ground enforcement of laws and regulations by clarifying the rights and responsibilities of forest inspectors and rangers, as well as forest users. This would improve overall control of the authorities and reduce illegal activities, including negligent behavior or willful setting of fires.

In this context the project also aims to reduce the frequency of fires caused by arson, which appears to play a role in triggering forest fires. New regulations shall target the currently existing perverse incentives to set fire to forests intentionally to secure income from salvage logging, avoiding the complicated “red tape” associated with legally acquiring logging licenses. The project’s activities aimed at building forest management, education and training will include measures to improve outreach of forest authorities to the general public, increase awareness of the ecological and economic value of forests and build / strengthen the sense of ownership of the population living close to forest resources.

The following specific activities and measures envisaged include:

  1. improvement of ground-based forest fire response, and reconstruction, modernization and maintenance of forest fire stations in 3 – 5 pilot regions;
  2. local forest fire brigades will be established and firefighting and communications equipment provided;
  3. inter-regional Forest Fire Centers (e.g., in the Far East, Siberian, and Northwestern Federal Okrugs) will be established and equipped for the detection and suppression of large-scale fire outbreaks, coordination of response between regions and agencies, as well as pest treatment;
  4. public awareness and education programs and products (e.g., brochures, school curricula, posters, radio and TV media, websites, blogs, etc.) will be developed to advocate forest fire safety rules;
  5. early fire detection and response will be strengthened by upgrading the fire danger rating and hazard index system in pilot regions and Protected Areas and expanding the network of ground-based fire services, including fire towers and observation points in key target areas;
  6. fire fighting preparedness in targeted Protected Areas will be enhanced through the upgrading of forest fire stations, constructing and cleaning fire breaks; such activities will be aligned with respective park management plans;
  7. upgrading of communications systems, supply of suitable firefighting machinery, equipment, protective clothing, gear and hand-tools;
  8. forest regeneration, afforestation and carbon sequestration will be improved by (i) expanding the network of laboratories to evaluate forest seed quality and origin through DNA analysis to provide genetically certified seed; and (ii) establishing innovative seed centers to upgrade forest regeneration activities through the construction of facilities and supply of equipment for seed harvesting, storage, growing and transportation and to trial modern techniques of plantation maintenance and protection (from fire and wildlife);
  9. design and implementation of a centralized database with standard geospatial information that will enable all types of forest monitoring (e.g. forest fires, forest inventory and management, forest pathology, among others);
  10. develop a national forest fire management strategy for Protected Areas that takes into account a differentiated approach to forest fire control depending on regional environmental and socioeconomic conditions, the environmental landscape, economic aspects and international experience;
  11. develop standard operating procedures and guidelines for Protected Area zoning by fire protection level; prepare GIS-based fire management plans in the largest Protected Areas most susceptible to fires; and develop respective guidelines and standard operating procedures.

Location. It is expected that the project’s activities will focus on 5 pilot regions (Voronezh Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Kray, Moscow Oblast, Komi Republic, and Khabarovsk Kray) and selected Protected Areas in (15 federal natural reserves/zapovedniks and 11 national parks located in 15 regions –see Appendix 1), which are to be defined based on geographic, economic, and environmental criteria. It may be assumed, that the project’s geographical focus would be on forests with high environmental or economic value which may be situated close to settlements or infrastructure, and where fires would carry the risk of human life loss, severe human health impacts, substantial damage to infrastructure or substantial loss of economic assets or valuable ecological resources (e.g. national parks).

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

In accordance with the Bank’s Operational Policy for Indigenous Peoples, a review was undertaken to screen for the presence of Indigenous Peoples in the areas of project implementation and to assess potential impact of the project on them.

Indigenous Peoples, living in project areas

Initial screening of the Indigenous People presence was held for all 15 regions, where MNRE will implement project’s activities over the territory federal protected areas, namely Vladimirskaya oblast, Ryazanskaya oblast, republic of Karelia, Arkhangelskaya oblast, Republic Mariy El, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Orenburgskaya oblast, Samarskaya oblast, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Cheliabinskaya oblast, Zabaikalsky kray, Krasnoyarsk kray, Khabarovsk kray, Jewish Autonomous Okrug, and also for 5 pilot regions selected by FFA (Rosleshoz) - Voronezhskaya oblast, Krasnoyarsk kray, Moscow oblast, Komi Republic, Khabarovsk kray. The screening identified the ranges of indigenous population in Russia, and analyzed the issue of intersection of habitant areas and project’s areas (also within the territory of protected areas).

For the surveyed regions locations of Indigenous Peoples’ presence intersectional with the project’s areas (federal protected areas) are found only in the Khabarovsk Kray. In other regions Indigenous Peoples are either absent or localized in forest-poor areas, or beyond project’s areas, or do not rely in their livehoods earnings on forests and forest resources due to assimilation. For example, in Krasnoyarsk kray the complete assimilation of the Indigenous People (localized pretty close to project’s areas) with the main Russian-language local population was identified during the social asessment, including lack of any traditional activities, staying in towns and rural settlements and being engaged in current economic life.

Screening of the 5 assessed regions verified significant representation of Indigenous Peoples only in the Khabarovsk Kray.In this region, 8 Indigenous Peoples live; they are:

  1. Nanai people
  2. Negidals
  3. Nivkh people
  4. Oroch people
  5. Udege people
  6. Ulch people
  7. Evens
  8. Evenks

However, Evens live in northern areas of the Khabarovsk Kray with low to moderate forest cover; therefore, they will not be considered herein. In the Khabarovsk Kray, the total population of the 7 peoples, dwelling in forest areas, amounts to 22,000 (1.5% of the region’s population). Profiles of these 7 peoples are presented below.

Nanai people

According to the 2002 census, there were 11,000 Nanai people in the Khabarovsk Kray at that time. They speak the Nanai language, but the Russian language is also widely spread (99.6% of the Nanai people know Russian). Currently, most of Nanai people of the Khabarovsk Kray live in the Nanai, Amursk, Komsomolsk, Solnechny and Khabarovsk Rayons. Over 70% of the Nanai people live in rural areas.

Traditionally, fishing has been of the highest priority for their economy, while hunting has not played a significant role for their livelihoods.

Negidals

Negidals are a people in the Far East; its representatives speak the Negidal language. According to the 2002 census, there were 505 Negidals living in the Khabarovsk Kray at that time, with only 9% of them speaking the Negidal language and 100% speaking Russian. In this region, they live primarily in theUlchi and Polina Osipenko Rayons. The most compact communities of Negidals live in the villages called Vladimirovka (in the Polina Osipenko Rayon) and Beloglinka (in the Ulchi Rayon). Seventy seven per cent (77%) of Negidals live in rural settlements; however, in recent years, they tend to migrate to cities due to mass-scale unemployment in rural ethnic communities.

Traditionally, Negidals have been fishers and hunters; in the 20th century, vegetable gardening became also widely spread among them.

Nivkh people

As of 2002, the Khabarovsk Kray was populated with 2,452 Nivkh people, with most of them living in the Nikolayevsk Rayon. They speak the Nivkh language, but the Russian language is also widely spread (2,444 out of the 2,452 Nivkh people know Russian). Sixty per cent (60%) of the Nivkh population live in rural settlements.

Fishing has been always the most important occupation for the Nivkh people. Hunting, gathering and dog breeding are also of great importance for their livelihoods. Alongside with traditional occupations, farming is emerging as a new trade, with products from most farms being used for sale rather than for their own subsistence.

Oroch people

As of 2002, thepopulation of Oroch people amounted to 426. Their mother tongue is Oroch, but according to the 2002 census, only 4.2% of the Oroch people (18 persons) know the language, with 99.8% (425 persons) of them speaking Russian. Currently, Oroch people live primarily in the Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan Rayons. The largest rural settlements of the Oroch people are the Datta and Uska-Orochskaya Villages in the Vanino Rayon. Individual Oroch families live in the following villages: Novoye Ommi, Dudi and Innokentyevka in the Sovetskaya Gavan Rayon. Sixty five per cent(65%)of the Oroch are rural people.

Hunting is the main occupation of the Oroch people, but fishing is no less important for them. Gathering plays a supplementary role. Today, amateur hunting, fishing and wild plant gathering are the main sources of subsistence means for the Oroch people who are not employed in budget-funded organizations.

Udege people

The native tongue is the Udege language. Compact settlements of Udege people are located in south eastern areas of the Khabarovsk Kray (in the Lazo Rayon). As of 2002, there were 613 Udege people in the Khabarovsk Kray, and 611 of them knew the Russian language. Seventy four per cent 74% of the Udege people live in rural areas.