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Press
release
September 17, 1998
Serious
violation of the Karelian old-growth forest logging moratorium
- Road being built into the Paanajärvi wilderness
Helsinki
/Moscow- The Paanajärvi area is one of the largest "moratorium
areas" in the old-growth forests in the republic of Karelia in
northwestern Russia. Several Scandinavian forest companies have joined
the logging moratorium in last years. Finnish forest giant ENSO is
the biggest western customer of the Pjaozero Leskpromhoz.
The environmental
organisations will consider further wood purchases from the Pjaozersky
lespromkhoz a violation against the moratorium.
Five
Finnish and three Russian environmental organisations informed yesterday
the Finnish forest companies about the new situation. See
the letter to the Finnish forest industry from Russian and Finnish
NGOs September 16th 1998
Pjaozero
Leskpromhoz started road construction on the beginning of September
1998. The short term plan is to build 14 kilometres of road into the
one of the largest and most natural wilderness forest area in northwestern
Europe. Long term plan of the Russian forest service is to connect
this forest road to the older roads in the northwestern side of the
Paanajärvi National Park close to the Finnish border (please see the
map down below).
More
information:
Helsinki:
Mr. Otso Ovaskainen, Finnish Nature League, phone +358-(0)400-215
115
Moscow:
Mr. Vlamir Tchouprov, Greenpeace Russia, phone +7-095-257 4118
Mr. Dimitry Aksenov, Biodiversity Conservation Center, phone +7-095-482
1888
At the
internet:
Paanajärvi
site http://www.luontoliitto.fi/forest/russia/paanajarvi/index.html
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