Bikin National Park

Stewardship of vital ecosystems

The Sikhote-Alin is a mountain range in Primorskii and Khabarvoskii Krais (territories) in Russia’s Pacific Far East. It contains one of the largest unmodified temperate forests in the Northern hemisphere and, as the UNESCO states, its protected areas are “considered to contain the greatest plant and animal diversity on the north-western coastline of the Pacific Ocean”. One of its more dramatic features is that the area is the largest contiguous habitat of the Siberian tiger. Apart from this, it constitutes a unique biogeographic "mixing zone", which has remained largely intact and is 95% covered with forest.

Primorskii Krai shares international borders with China and North Korea. Its capital Vladivostok is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Thus this region of Russia is surrounded by East Asia’s economic powerhouses, with their ever increasing demand for raw materials. The main danger facing the region’s environment is commercial logging, mainly driven by the demand from neighboring China, Japan and Korea.

The Bikin River is a 560 km long tributary of the Ussuri originating near the main ridge of the mountain range. The territory of the Bikin River basin is sometimes referred to as the "Russian Amazon''. This territory is inhabited by the indigenous Udege people as well as by the Nanai and Orochi peoples.

Their traditional areas, occupied over the centuries by Manchurians and then Russian Cossacks, now face rapid expansion of logging, hunting, salmon fishing, mining and industrial development. As a result, the Udege communities, traditionally dependent on wildlife, fish, wood and non-timber forest products are suffering from strong competition over the resources that sustain their livelihoods. Meat and fish play a key role in the diets of the Udege, and their traditional use for Udege livelihoods is recognised as being environmentally sustainable in Russian policy and law.

Udege people are one of the recognized tribes by the Russian government, they are located in the Russian Eastern Siberia and are one small indigenous people tribe, with a total population of 1,600 left.

Living in two Russian regions (Primorskii and Khabarovskii Krais) Udege means in native Udege language “Forest People”, so they are community completely dependent on the forest and they still keep a huge untouched pristine forest territory which is rich on biodiversity, but under particular pressure from timber production, illegal logging, poaching, overfishing and the timber industry.

Their religious beliefs include animism, animal worship and shamanism. The Udege are mainly engaged in hunting, fishing, and ginseng harvesting. They are one of the closest ethnic groups to the Manchu and Nanai, and are possibly of Jianzhou Jurchen origin.

Stewardship

The Centre for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North (CSIPN) led the top level negotiation between the Udege community and the Russian government under the creation of Bikin National Park process during 2013-2016 to protect and promote the indigenous rights and the Udege's full involvement in decision making. 

The Bikin National Park was established in 2016 based on a co-management approach and the respect of indigenous rights and traditional knowledge. 

The park territory is more than 1,5 million hectares of pristine boreal forest. It is one of the largest national parks and conservation areas in the Russian Federation.       

The story and case of Bikin National Park is a CSIPN successful and unique lesson learnt in modern Russia due to the high level of negotiation between Moscow/Kremlin administration and the remote community in the Russian Eastern Siberia based on a free prior and informed consent, strong partnership with environmental organizations and trust building. In 2018, the Bikin National Park’s territory was granted the UNESCO World Heritage status. The role of Indigenous Peoples keeping the sustainable way of forest management for centuries is still vital and visible, respected and recognized by the global community and UN officials.   

Bikin National Park is the guarantor of the conservation of vast areas of primary forests in the valley of the Bikin River, the Amur tiger and the traditional nature management of indigenous peoples. On November 3, 2015 this Special Protected Natural Area (SPNA) was created on the initiative of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. In March 2016, the federal state budgetary institution “Bikin National Park'' was established. Over 1,16 million hectares of forests - the historic home to the Udege people and the Amur tiger - are now under protection. On July 2, 2018, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the Cultural and Natural Heritage officially announced that the Bikin Valley had been declared a part of the "Central Sikhote-Alin" UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

This is the largest SPNA in the south of the Far East and one of the largest national parks in Russia, where 51 species of mammals have been identified. Bikin National Park is one of the key habitats of the Amur tiger and is home to about 10% of the population of this subspecies. The list of birds includes 194 species, including at least 9 listed in the Red Book of Russia (endangered species): black stork, scaly-sided merganser, Blakiston’s fish owl, etc. Also, 10 species of reptiles, 7 species of amphibians and 26 species of fish have also been recorded. The main populations of the scaly-sided merganser and the Blakiston’s fish owl also nest here, the most remote spawning grounds of the salmon basin of the River Ussuri.

Strong governance systems

In Russia there are three direct Federal laws on indigenous peoples' rights protection and recognition. One of the laws called “Territories of Traditional Nature Use of the Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation”, was approved by the government in 2001, but since that time not one territory was established, in terms of land rights of Indigenous Peoples respect and recognition. In 2013, the Russian government decided to create a national park at the Udege territory instead of a Territory of Traditional Nature Use according to the Federal law. It took three years of top level negotiation between the Udege community, the regional government and Moscow Federal officials to start the process and discuss the National Park establishment. The Udege community and Federal government have come to agreement based on the innovative and new concept of co-management approach, as to share control over the natural resources and forest jointly with the Udege people and including their traditional knowledge and customary law.

The Permanent Council of Indigenous Peoples has been established under the National Park management to lead and consult all issues related to Indigenous Peoples and their rights in the National Park, as advisory board and self-governance entity.

The Chair of the Council is acting as deputy director of the Park, in charge of indigenous issues and traditional activity. 70% of the Park hired staff are indigenous representatives and 70% of the National Park's territory is reserved for traditional activity like hunting, fishing and non-timber forest production.

Bikin National Park is one the biggest parks in Russia with more than a 1 million and half hectares, with a total staff of 120 people including 70% indigenous staff.

The Permanent Council is a new and unique phenomenon in the framework of Russian protected areas to recognize, respect and protect Indigenous Peoples' rights, because the Federal law on protected areas, such as national parks, is entirely oriented towards environmental protection, with no reference to the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The case of Bikin National Park is quite unique, because the national park chapter was approved with the inclusion of very strong articles to protect and respect the rights of indigenous peoples and their traditional knowledge. In addition, a council with indigenous peoples was established as a legal tool to promote this chapter and its articles, because all issues related to indigenous peoples in terms of decision making are included in the agenda of this chapter of the national park management.

The Council consists of 12 indigenous members including hunters, elders, women and youth. They have meetings every week to discuss all the relevant issues related to traditional activities, like hunting and fishing regulation, traditional knowledge and the promotion of ecotourism.

Right to self-determination

Seventy percent of the territory of Bikin National Park is reserved and protected as a traditional nature use area for hunting, fishing and gathering of non-timber forest products. In the past, the Udege had to fight for its protection every year, because of the rich value and vulnerability of the forest due to timber production. Even in the early 90s, they had a big joint campaign with Greenpeace for the first time in the post-Soviet era and were successful in terms of the international campaign, but since then they continue to struggle because they have no legal status. The Federal law on traditional lands has never been implemented, nor has a single territory been established under this law.

It took 3 years of negotiations to create the co-management approach and the new legal framework. The fundamental reason the Udege people have accepted the idea of the national park has been to stop massive illegal logging, large-scale commercial timber production, poaching and overfishing in the Bikin River basin. After struggling for more than 25 years, the Udege people decided to create a more stable and secure situation, which is why it took 3 years of difficult and high-level negotiations with the federal government, which ended in the acceptance of most of the Udege demands, based on Free, Prior and Informed Consent and the co-management approach. The Permanent Council creation, 70% of the personnel hired being part of indigenous peoples and the respect and recognition of traditional activities like hunting, fishing and non-timber activities are recognized are a substantial part and indicators of compliance with the Udege's rights to self-determination and self-management of their traditional territory to achieve sustainable management of natural resources. In this way, forest and land management is a shared responsibility between the national park and the Udege people. 

Co-management is a new platform and possibility to work together. The ordinance of Bikin National Park states: "The territory of traditional natural resource use of the Udege under the national park can never be reduced, it can only be increased". At the moment, it corresponds to 70% of the total area of the national park, reserved and used for traditional activity and livelihood. The main traditional activities of the Udege are fishing and hunting for family and community subsistence, but also include fur trapping for trade, as well as the collection and subsequent sale of nuts, berries, mushrooms and different types of herbs and tea for traditional medicine. So far, the community together with the Council and the National Park are developing a broader market and a new development strategy to initiate activities of a different kind, such as cultural tourism and ecotourism.  The types of economic activities, in addition to the traditional ones, will include the production of souvenirs, home gardening and beekeeping.

The Udege community controls and leads its own development and future based on its own vision and values to manage the sustainable use of forests and natural resources.  

Preservation is very important to the Udege community. It is a truly unique situation in terms of the rights of indigenous peoples, a new page on respect and recognition of their traditional knowledge.

Many indigenous peoples around the world face two trends and scenarios: industrial development based on the exploitation of natural resources, leading to land degradation and land monopolization, and, on the other hand, conservation policies, such as the creation of national parks, which lead to the limitation of traditional activities and lifestyles, as well as conflicts over protected areas with the environmental community.

The co-management approach is feasible and achievable, based on completely new principles and the right approach: free, prior and informed consent; the principle of dialogue; negotiation; respect for the rights and traditional knowledge of the Udege. This represents a good practice for work at the global level.

This is a good example of how the government and indigenous peoples can work together to promote shared management and a sustainable environment for Boreal forest biodiversity.

Cultural continuity, spiritual values and intergenerational transmission

UNESCO declaration of Bikin National Park as a World Heritage Site was one of the best and most significant moments in the promotion of the national park in terms of richness and uniqueness of flora and fauna species, recognized by international experts in Russia and many other scientists abroad, as well as by the Russian government. UNESCO world heritage status provides the highest level of environmental protection and at the same time allows obtaining additional monetary support for protecting the nature and culture of the Udege heritage.

One of the key principles and approaches of CSIPN is to cooperate with elders and youth to ensure generational linkages and knowledge transmission. This is becoming increasingly important and urgent due to the assimilation process and the migration of young people to urban areas. In every CSIPN activity, elders and youth are invited and cultural and spiritual events are always held. 

So far, the national park and the Udege community are encouraging young people to study and become economists, lawyers and tourism managers, which is a whole new driving force for local government and sustainable development. 

A big challenge is the internal migration of young people to the urban community to get an education because they prefer to stay in the cities due to the lack of relevant positions in the forest area. But currently the situation has changed because the national park needs more qualified and trained personnel. Young people are returning to the community and are hired by the national park to work in the park. This is a very clear sign of how the younger generation can return and contribute to the community.

Language is still a big challenge, as most people during Soviet times went to boarding schools/residences and were forbidden to speak their own language. Now the Udege are making many efforts to revive and recover their language, starting with schools and kindergartens. Maintaining their mother tongue remains a challenge not only for the Udege, but for all indigenous peoples of Russia.

There are still elders in the community and this is the last hope to revive the language, as only this generation can understand and speak their language. That is why the elders are invited to support the development of a language program. Now is a very good time to try to keep their language and culture alive, because now we have more resources and internal mobilization.

Cosmology

The Udege practice animism and shamanism. They believe in nature, the forest, trees and sacred places. Their basic traditional knowledge and worldview say that "the forest does not belong to us, we belong to the forest". Their sacred animals are the tiger and the bear, of which the former is the most sacred to them. They never hunt the tiger, which is an endangered species protected by the Russian and international Red Book.  

The traditional culture of the Udege, Nanai and Oroch, the indigenous peoples of the region, is based on a close relationship with their ancestral territories, a way of life that relies heavily on an undisturbed environment, a livelihood strategy based on gathering, hunting and other subsistence activities, a collective management of land and resources, a community-oriented mentality and the high relevance given to family, kinship and group relationships within the community.

The traditional use of natural resources and the livelihoods of the indigenous people of Bikin are carried out employing environmentally friendly methods that ensure the conservation of biological diversity.

The spiritual culture of the Udege is the belief in the existence of many spirits that inhabit the world around them. The Udege worshipped the souls of animals and trees, without underestimating the influence of the spirits of their ancestors. Since hunting, fishing and gathering were the main source of food, it was necessary to attract numerous spirits to ensure the success of these activities. According to the animist ideas of the Udege, in each section of the forest there is a guardian who makes sure that people do not take more than their fair share. If anyone broke this rule, they would be punished. To appease the spirits, the Udege sacrificed in specially designated places. 

For modern Udege, there are common abstract spirits: fire, water, trees and forest. Hunters keep faith in the spirit of Taiga: the master of the Taiga tiger. For the Udege the tiger is not only a strong and dangerous animal, in its image several layers of animistic beliefs are combined. All Udege treat the tiger as a powerful patron and protector, to whom one can ask for help and good luck.

Thus, at all stages of history, the Udege people maintained a close relationship with the Bikin River and the territory of their original residence. It was the basis of their material, spiritual and hunting life in the forest. Thanks to the good nature of Taiga and the respect and loyalty given to the forest, the Udege established a unique spiritual, social and economic community and knowledge system. The Udege dominated the Bikin River basin and today they know well all the peculiarities of certain territories, as well as the animals, birds and plants that inhabit them. It is in this ecological niche that they can maintain their lifestyle, develop their culture and their ideas for the future of the people. For the Udege, the Bikin National Park and its forest continue to be essential as the only source of spirituality that gives them life.

Willingness and ability to share and collaborate

The case of Bikin National Park is unique and exceptional in the Russian Federation. But CSIPN has disseminated this lesson and this case through different networks and has organized a series of seminars and conferences to promote the Bikin Park example to other Russian protected areas, indigenous communities and regional governments.