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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MOSCOW 002211 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI, EUR/ACE, EUR/RUS, EUR/PGI 
AIDAC STATE FOR USAID/E&E 
COPENHAGEN FOR ERIK HALL 
ASTANA ALSO FOR BRUCE HUDSPETH 
INTERIOR PLEASE PASS TO NPS AND USFWS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV ECON EAID SOCI PGOV KCRM KDEM PREL RU
SUBJECT: RUSSIA'S ALTAI REPUBLIC FACES ECONOMIC PROMISE AND 
ECOLOGICAL THREAT OF TOURISM 
 
MOSCOW 00002211  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Rising tourism presents an economic opportunity for 
the Altai Republic's mostly rural population, but also threatens its 
unspoiled wilderness.  Threats include desecration of ancient 
cultural sites, poaching of endangered wildlife, and, to a lesser 
extent, illegal logging.  Development assistance, led by the UN 
Development Program (UNDP) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), has 
helped integrate local farmers into the tourism economy in 
environmentally sustainable ways.  It has also helped strengthen 
park management and created models of productive cooperation among 
businesses, government, NGOs, and local residents.  Although the 
regional government lacks financial resources, small-scale 
partnerships with the private sector have advanced environmental 
protection and green development.  END SUMMARY. 
 
TOURISM'S PROMISE... 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Embassy representatives visited the mountainous Altai 
Republic in Russian Central Asia July 11-16 to study ecological 
challenges facing the region.  Altai's unspoiled wooded wilderness 
has drawn a rising wave of tourists in recent years.  (Note: The 
Altai Republic should not be confused with the neighboring Altai 
Krai.  End note.)  Its population of approximately 205,000 is 
scattered across a territory about the size of Maine, predominantly 
in villages of less than 1,000 inhabitants devoted mostly to 
subsistence livestock farming.  There are no railroads and virtually 
no heavy industry.  Nearly one-quarter of the republic is designated 
as protected territory of different types, from two strictly 
controlled federal nature reserves ("zapovedniki"), where tourism 
and all other economic activity is prohibited, to six poorly funded 
nature parks under regional jurisdiction that are protected more in 
theory than in practice.  Ancient Scythian and Turkic civilizations 
left a wealth of cultural artifacts here, including burial mounds 
and petroglyphs up to 2,500 years old. 
 
¶3. (U) The Altai Republic is one of Russia's poorer provinces.  As a 
"recipient region," it receives federal subsidies at the expense of 
more prosperous territories.  With no major deposits of mineral 
wealth and a sparse population, tourism is among the few economic 
stars to which Altai can hitch its development wagon.  Up to 75 
percent of tourists come from neighboring regions by car; their 
vehicles, tents, and barbecue grills line the Republic's riverbanks 
and lakeshores in summer.  Rustic lodges and family resorts are 
proliferating.  In villages large and small, families provide 
traditional yurt-like dwellings ("ayils") for tourists, and operate 
craft studios and souvenir shops.  Roads, even in remote and 
mountainous areas, are generally in excellent condition.  And in 
marked contrast to heavily trafficked tourist destinations in other 
parts of Russia, roadside litter is rare. 
 
¶4. (U) Basing economic growth on tourism is a risky venture, as 
discretionary tourist spending is usually among the first victims of 
an economic downturn.  However, according to Igor Kalmykov, Director 
of the Altai Zapovednik, tourism has not suffered in the past two 
years, judging by the number of visitors to the lakeside attractions 
bordering on the reserve.  (COMMENT: Tourist traffic might have 
remained strong in the current crisis simply because most tourists 
come short distances and spend little money during their visits. 
But Kalmykov's measure is also a tiny sample of the total tourist 
trade.  END COMMENT.) 
 
... AND THREAT 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The most widely publicized threat to Altai's environment is 
the poaching of endangered wildlife.  The problem made national 
headlines this year when a helicopter crashed into a mountainside 
near the Mongolian border on January 9, killing several high-ranking 
federal and regional officials who had been on a hunting expedition. 
 The victims included Alexander Kosopkin, President Medvedev's 
permanent representative in the State Duma, and Viktor Kaimin, 
Chairman of the Altai Republic's Wildlife Protection Committee, 
 
MOSCOW 00002211  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
which is responsible for issuing hunting licenses.  Photos in 
national newspapers showed the wreckage surrounded by the carcasses 
of endangered Argali sheep, highly prized among trophy hunters, 
which had clearly not been killed by the falling helicopter. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Alexei Vaisman of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) told the 
English-language "Moscow Times" newspaper in a January 23 article, 
"Over the last decade, Altai has become a place where helicopter 
hunting has become rather common...  It's popular among high-level 
officials and so-called New Russians, who think they are above the 
law."  A reporter for the national newspaper Novaya Gazeta told us 
that such VIP hunting trips are common knowledge in Altai.  Igor 
Kalmykov told us that local environmental protection officials and 
the public particularly resent this phenomenon, because Moscow 
officials often coerce local bureaucrats to violate environmental 
laws in facilitating the expeditions.  A local administration head 
told us that because of public outrage over the incident, the 
federally appointed governor, Alexander Berdnikov, may not be 
reappointed when his current term of office expires next year. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Small-scale poaching and illegal logging by local residents 
also threaten wildlife and habitats.  Kalmykov told us that locals 
turn to poaching in depressed economic times to supplement meager 
incomes.  He explained that commercial logging is rare in Altai 
because, although Altai borders China, mountainous terrain and the 
absence of railroads make timber export difficult and unprofitable. 
He added that uncontrolled timber harvesting by locals for home fuel 
and building materials poses a greater threat.  One livestock farmer 
in central Altai corroborated Kalmykov's statement, but he 
complained that so much of Altai's forest land is restricted for 
ecological reasons that it is difficult to obtain wood legally. 
 
¶8. (U) Like elsewhere in Russia, Altai's environmental protection 
efforts are hampered by a lack of government resources and weak 
regulation.  While Altai's federally funded zapovedniki benefit from 
a strong cadre of wardens and a complete ban on tourism, the six 
nature parks under regional jurisdiction have virtually no effective 
protection.  The republic budget provides for only a handful of 
salaried staff; the Uch-Enmek Nature-Ethnic Park in central Altai 
covers 250 square miles and has only five employees, one of whom is 
responsible for park security.  We saw ancient petroglyphs defaced 
by graffiti in this and other parks, with staff powerless to 
regulate public access or prevent vandalism.  Park director Daniil 
Mamiyev told us that, despite laws providing for park protection, 
there is no implementing legislation that authorizes park staff to 
enforce the law. 
 
PROMOTING ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY GROWTH 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Throughout Altai we found evidence of, and praise for, the 
work of international development and environmental organizations, 
most prominently the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the World 
Wildlife Fund (WWF).  UNDP is managing a portfolio of ecology and 
development projects through its six-year, $16 million program, 
"Biodiversity Conservation in the Russian Portion of the Altai-Sayan 
Ecoregion," the current phase of which ends in 2010.  The program 
has funded new visitor centers for nature parks, training and 
equipping of park rangers to deter poaching, and developing of 
teaching materials for schools.  One example of UNDP's support is an 
innovative anti-poaching system, now being deployed in the Altai 
Zapovednik, in which remote hidden sensors detect the tell-tale 
vibrations of human activity and transmit alerts via satellite to a 
central computer system, thus giving wardens a new rapid-response 
capability.  At the Kalbak-Tash petroglyph complex in the Argut 
Nature Park, a UNDP grant made it possible for staff to build wooden 
barriers to help protect the ancient Scythian rock carvings at the 
site.  In 1998, WWF initiated a similar program, which is now 
prominent enough to merit a page on the Altai Republic's official 
website. 
 
¶10. (U) Travel programs have shown similarly encouraging results. 
The Fund for Sustainable Development of Altai, a nongovernmental 
partnership managed by U.S.- and Altai-based coordinators, has 
 
MOSCOW 00002211  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
facilitated exchanges with U.S. park managers, including at 
Adirondack Park in upstate New York and in Massachusetts.  The Open 
World Leadership Center of the Library of Congress has included 
several Altai environmentalists in its exchange programs.  Daniil 
Mamiyev of the Uch-Enmek Park, who has visited the United States 
under the auspices of both organizations, has since developed a 
comprehensive park management plan inspired by those of the U.S. 
National Park Service.  Ruslana Toptygina, director of the Chuy-Oozi 
Nature Park and an Open World program alumna, told us she was 
inspired by the logo souvenirs of U.S. parks to start a branding 
campaign of her own.  Svetlana Shchigreva, the Altai Zapovednik's 
director of public outreach, who traveled to Vermont on an Open 
World program in 2005, said she was particularly impressed with New 
England's public hearings and town hall meetings.  She brought this 
example to her work with the Lake Teletskoye Community Council 
(para. 12). 
 
¶11. (U) UNDP's program includes training, micro-grants, and 
micro-loans to encourage environmentally sustainable alternative 
livelihoods.  Natalya Olofinskaya, head of UNDP's environmental 
protection program in Russia, told us that UNDP has not encountered 
any more fertile ground for this type of community development than 
in Altai.  Livestock farmer Tonskoy Todukov proudly showed us his 
new guest cabins and visitor center on the banks of the Katun River 
near the village of Inegen, whose construction was financed by a WWF 
grant.  On the property, Todukov is also cultivating medicinal herbs 
for sale, with seedlings provided by the Central Siberian Botanic 
Garden in Novosibirsk.  UNDP and WWF have also nurtured a folk art 
industry that has sprung up to serve the tourist market.  Examples 
include three craft studios we visited, which are housed in wooden 
cabins in villages in northwest Altai's Chemal District.  Rimma 
Anchibayeva, head of the Inya Village Administration in central 
Altai, told us that schools have begun teaching folk crafts to give 
students marketable skills and an appreciation of their culture. 
WWF grants in Anchibayeva's district have also enabled farmers to 
establish workshops to manufacture marketable products from 
goatskins. 
 
COMMUNITY COUNCILS: AN EXPERIMENT IN LOCAL DEMOCRACY 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶12. (U) Development organizations have also spawned an innovative 
experiment in local democracy at Teletskoye Lake in northeast Altai 
that has already brought practical benefits to the community and the 
environment.  Teletskoye is a slender mountain rift lake, one of 
Russia's deepest, bounded on its eastern shore by the Altai 
Zapovednik.  The area is popular among Russian tourists, many of 
whom cruise the lake in expensive powerboats.  In the lakeshore 
communities we spoke with several members of the Teletskoe Lake 
Community Council, a non-governmental association registered in 
April of this year.  The council is not intended to supplant 
official elected bodies; in fact, the village council itself is a 
member of the Community Council, along with local businesses, the 
managers of the Altai Zapovednik, and other stakeholders.  The 
group's task is to promote ecological and socio-economic development 
through public-private cooperation. 
 
¶13. (U) Igor Kalmykov, director of the Altai Zapovednik, is a member 
of the Community Council.  In his brief tenure he has distinguished 
himself from his predecessor in taking a more liberal approach to 
visitor access and community involvement.  Soon after taking office, 
he negotiated an agreement with local tour boat operators, 
facilitated by the Community Council, to allow controlled public 
access to the popular Korbu Waterfall on the edge of the lake.  The 
agreement ended a violent impasse that had begun when the previous 
park director raised access fees to prohibitive levels, choking off 
the tour operators' business and livelihood.  The Community Council 
also claims credit for the remarkably clean and litter-free state of 
the roads and lakeshores.  The head of the council, a young 
entrepreneur named Ivan Yuzhakov, recounted how the Council 
organized a cleaning spree lasting several months, in which 
schoolchildren gathered and bagged garbage from public lands around 
the lake, and tour boat operators hauled the bags to a central 
location for transport to a landfill. 
 
MOSCOW 00002211  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
 
CULTIVATING GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Our interlocutors in Altai agreed that, while park 
managers have traveled often to the United States on technical 
exchanges, more government officials should participate in these 
trips.  At present, some highly placed officials are largely unaware 
of such programs.  A case in point was Governor Berdnikov's 
assistant Dmitriy Shepel, a career civil servant who accompanied us 
for two days of our visit and admitted that our meetings with park 
managers gave him a new understanding of environmental issues.  On 
the other hand, officials who are aware of development programs and 
community initiatives tend to support them.  Rimma Anchibayeva, the 
popularly elected head of the Inya Village Administration, actively 
recruits participants for conferences and seminars organized by WWF 
and UNDP.  Local contacts told us that she won re-election last year 
based in part upon her record of enthusiastic involvement in 
sustainable development initiatives. 
 
COMMENT: ALTAI REPUBLIC - AN EXCEPTION WORTH STUDYING 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶15. (U) The Altai Republic is known throughout Russia for being 
among the most pristine, thanks to its remoteness and its lack of 
industry.  We saw no evidence of federal or regional environment 
monitoring, but residents clearly treasure their environment and are 
active in preserving it.  Although federal nature reserves had 
adequate staff to protect them from encroachment, regional protected 
lands were essentially unprotected - both by people and by the law. 
WWF and UNDP's small-scale micro-lending programs have given a vital 
impetus to local entrepreneurship and guided local businesses to be 
sensitive to environmental needs.  As these grants diversify rural 
economies away from an exclusive focus on farming, they also 
ameliorate the problems of poaching and illegal logging.  Exchange 
programs, particularly those with Native American tribes, have been 
especially useful for Altai's indigenous communities to preserve 
their cultures while safeguarding their environment.  Most important 
to successful conservation, however, was the engagement of local and 
regional officials with the private sector. 
 
BEYRLE