Russia, Komi
Republic
At the Eastern borders of Europe,
along the Ural Mountains, there are the continents largest unfragmented
virgin forests. These boreal forests were threatened by clear cutting
and oil spoils in 1994. Park officials didn't receive salary for months.
Greenpeace, contracted by federal government, has worked together with
local group and scientists to prepare the first nominations of Russia
for World Heritage Sites. The virgin Komi Forests was added to the World
Heritage Sites in 1995. Since than, it received donations from Switzerland
and Norway.
The Virgin Komi Forests cover 3.28 million hectares of tundra and mountain
tundra in the Urals, as well as one of the most extensive areas of still
virgin boreal forest in Europe. This vast area of conifers, aspens, birches,
peat bogs, rivers and natural lakes, have been monitored and studied for
more than 50 years. They provide valuable evidence of the natural processes
affecting biodiversity in the taiga.
