[ VO ] 2021 has, once again broken an abysmal record.
More than 17 million hectares of forest have been destroyed by fire.
And for the first time ever,
smoke drifted as far as the North Pole, as recorded by satellites.
[ Kuksin ] This is the 5th year in a row, we've had record fires in terms of area
But we're forced to destroy the most productive,
fastest-growing forest - this is a paradox
[ Sovetnikov ] There are fly-by-night companies
[ Isakov ] With an access permit, you can take whatever you want
They take the merchantable wood and leave the poor stuff
[ Custom officer ] Trains leaving for China are formed here
[ Yaroshenko ] It's just a habit to treat the forest like a lumber warehouse
[ VO ] Russia has the largest number of preserved forests in the world.
However, illegal deforestation, contraband forest product exports and wildfires,
have all cost the country up to $13 billion dollars a year
and, even worse, the loss of unique natural resources – old-growth forests.
[ Grigory Kuksin, Head of Greenpeace Volunteer Firefighting Team, Russia ] If we didn't burn grass and wood chips, if not for bonfires and cigarette butts,
we'd be talking about something else, I'd be working as a special ed. teacher
[ Man 1 ] So, forest firefighter Grigory Kuksin is on the obstacle course!
The finish line
[ Man 2 ] Grigory, leave it here [ Man 1 ] The victory ceremony
[ Kuksin ] You don't need to run in real life
In peace, it makes you laugh - in war, you panic
Yes, it's physically challenging, but it could be worse
It's been a tough year, we started in Khakassia
It was complicated because we had to manoeuvre so as to protect settlements
but not allow the fire to reach a nature preserve
WILDFIRES
[ Kuksin ] We've often come to places where villages have burned
Horrific scenes where pets were left behind, like a dog that had been tied to a post
A massive number of cows and horses died in Transbaikal
Many died from smoke burning their lungs as they were standing there
Nothing can be done about it
Volunteer firefighters see this less, as their
job is to extinguish the blaze at an early stage
Prevention is crucial because 9 of 10 fires are caused by people
As we're putting out fires, everyone else is lighting them
Villagers think you have to burn the grass,
but this is ancient slash-and-burn agriculture
It's the 21st century, we're already flying to space
We've ended cannibalism and human sacrifices, it's time to get rid of mass arson too
[ VO ] One man can spark a chain reaction.
Tree felling causes wildfires and deforestation.
A wildfire doesn’t just leave burnt out desolation for many years,
they also force pests to migrate huge distances to attack healthy forests.
And woodland being attacked by parasites is often an excuse for further felling.
ILLEGAL FELLING
[ Ali Isakov, director, Green Shield of the Caucasus ] You shouldn't cut trees here because the land will slide down,
which will be disastrous for everyone living downstream
[ Elena Cherkasova, Senior Project Coordinator ] Law enforcement officers come here often
Of course, they don't punish the person who organised and approved the logging,
but some worker who was just chopping down trees when they found him
These cases are usually closed
[ VO ] Clear-felling is prohibited in the North Caucasus.
These are all bank-protection forests that prevent landslides and soil erosion.
Yet, the WWF found 405 cases of illegal felling in the area,
which resulted in 30 criminal cases.
And that is only what has been found in the first four years
of the North Caucasian Forest Monitoring programme.
[ Isakov ] We're in the Aksaut River gorge
Note, this is the first sign of illegal logging:
the road is blocked
When they left, they used their equipment to block the road so no one could pass
They had a permit to log one sector only
But, look, we can see logging residues both here and over there
[ Guide ] So, they could cut there, but not here? [ Isakov ] All you need is an access permit
Then you can take whatever you like
[ Cherkasova ] These marks were left to make the logging look legal
These marks are for an inspector who might think they mean they had the necessary permits
But, in fact, no one would imagine there would be an inspection here
[ Isakov ] The whole slope in front of us is just stumps
There's logging residue all over the place,
so there will be landslides and gullies here
Guys from our organisation inspected this gorge
We climbed up and saw about 30 beeches that had been cut down
The police reacted and nabbed the logger
They later wrote to say a criminal case had been
opened with respect to 4 illegally cut trees
But why 4? More than 30 had been chopped down, it was on a large scale
On closer examination, the Investigative Committee found the following scheme:
the forester had signed contracts on behalf of four people who knew nothing about it
This scheme is widely used here
[ VO ] The World Wildlife Fund estimates that one tenth of all logging in Russia is illegal.
An example of one common fraudulent scheme,
this is the edge of a nature reserve and where
a so-called “businessman” made money twice.
First, he received a state subsidy for a so-called “tending felling”.
But, instead of chopping down dry fallen unhealthy trees, he had the best cut down.
[ Isakov ] Now, we'll climb to the plot to see how this so-called 'tree thinning' was carried out
We can see how the Forest Fund has been degraded after such activities
According to documents, merchantable wood was cut here and exported for several years
Well, here we are in a sector where cubic-metre stumps are cleared
You can see the stump is bigger than the pole, so more than a metre in diameter
There are a lot like that
We see dead wood and snags, which, in principle, should have been removed
This poses a threat, as it becomes a breeding ground for pests
So, it's the opposite of what was intended:
they take the merchantable wood and leave the poor stuff
Then they just leave everything like this
[ VO ] Russia has long been the world’s biggest exporter of round timber,
the lion’s share of which was transported through far Eastern border checkpoints.
Much is set to change in 2022.
FOREST PRODUCT EXPORTS
[ Evgeny Danilov, Head of Khabarovsk Border Checkpoint ] Exports may have increased due to the upcoming ban
Starting from 2022, there will be a complete ban on exporting round timber
The state's main goal is probably to increase added-value wood processing domestically
I can't say that's thriving here in the Far East
Maybe that's why the decision was made to impose some kind of ban on roundwood
I believe logging should be regulated somehow
[ VO ] The implementation of the unified e-system in 2021
is expected to help track each log on its way from the felling site to the wood processing plant.
Many loggers, though, are still attempting to circumvent it.
This company has been exporting wood using falsified documents that conceal its true value.
It is estimated to have caused damage amounting to several million dollars.
[ Danilov ] The barges form caravans in front of the checkpoint
before heading up the Amur to China
The captain is checking the vessel's draft volume
That scale shows how deep the vessel has sunk into the water
From the density, we can calculate the approximate cargo volume
and see if they are trying to evade paying duties
If it's much more than 150-200 tonnes, we should stay alert
[ Inspector ] Coffee, tea, pastries? [ Danilov ] No, thanks
[ Man ] What's the approximate weight of the barges? [ Inspector ] 6,300 - 6,400 tonnes
[ Man ] We'll go have a look [ Inspector ] No problem!
[ Danilov ] The most common way to avoid paying customs
is to declare expensive goods as if they were cheap ones
Or they may not declare all of the load
If we see all the signs that this might be the case,
we are inclined to demand that the barge be unloaded
Each log is then unloaded and measured separately, and the true volume is determined
If we find something, we confiscate and store the excess goods
Then our law enforcement units begin to sort it out
Currently, smuggling timber worth over $1,000 is already a criminal offence
[ VO ] Mammoth tusks,
the skins of animals on Russia's Red List of endangered Species,
ginseng, or caviar.
Such contraband concealed between logs comes as no surprise to customs officers in Russia’s Far East.
This is the largest batch, that smugglers had intended to send to China,
it’s being loaded onto a tug.
These tightly packed animal pelts are worth more than $100,000.
These 525 bear paws are valued at $300,000.
LOGGERS USE A GRAPPLE TRUCK TO PULL OUT A HIMALAYAN BEAR THAT IS ABOUT TO HIBERNATE
[ VO ] This infamous footage of loggers pulling out and trying to catch a bear.
[ Man ] It ran away
[ VO ] Insomniac bears and other wild predators that have not fallen into hibernation
and that are deprived of their habitat are straying into villages and even cities more and more often.
This bear that wandered into a Khabarovsk shopping mall, had to be shot.
[ Woman ] Andrey! Drive off! Drive away!
Andrey!
[ VO ] Barbaric deforestation and poaching have pushed this forest giant species to the brink of extinction.
Having outlived mammoths and the Last Glacial Period,
the Caucasian bison is now extinct in the wild.
[ Pavel Vaynberg, Senior Research Scientist, North Ossetia Nature Reserve ] A species that's virtually extinct...
ousted by humans
[ Zaurbek ] Without bison, the forest would get mostly overgrown
They have a huge impact on the forest
[ VO ] The bison population has partially been restored thanks to animal shelters and zoos.
Butt it turns out that this forest giant has nowhere to live in the wild.
FOREST GIANT (STATUS: REFUGEE)
[ VO ] The North Ossetia Nature Reserve takes pride in its wild bison.
They have learnt to survive without people. But that makes it hard to estimate bison population.
It is not easy to count wild animals that prefer not to be seen.
[ Vaynberg ] Let's get out!
This is Kartsinsky Ridge. From here we start counting the bison population from Day 1
There will be between 15 and 20 doing this work here
[ Chermen Agnaev, Tallyman North Ossetia Nature Reserve ] Pavel, should I go to their watering hole alone?
[ Agnaev ] If they're not there, I'll come back... OK? [ Vaynberg ] Fine! Go!
[ Vaynberg ] Chermen was one of the most skilled and active poachers in the republic
when he was younger
But as he got older, he realised it was a rather bad practice
We tried persuading him to come here
He refused for ages
In the end, he was persuaded, almost at the age of 60
[ Agnaev ] They're there... tracks!
[ VO ] Cherman is now over 70 years old.
He’s one of the most experienced and, what’s more, longest standing tallymen.
With no one for company, he follows his daily patrol of the reserve,
which covers many kilometres.
[ Agnaev ] Fresh tracks, from yesterday
They were here and went down there
Are there bison there?
[ Man ] No, there are a lot of tracks, but I can't see any
[ Man ] Copy? [ Agnaev ] Roger
[ Zaurbek Dzutsev, Research Scientist, North Ossetia Nature Reserve ] Follow the tracks, and you'll get to their places
You can then total up the numbers, including calves in the group
Naturally, a calf's size differs from an adult's
There must have been two adults here
The bison story is interesting:
about 40 bison were brought to the republic in the '60s
By the '90s, there were almost 300
But in the '90s, during Perestroika...
uncontrolled poaching, a couple of snowy winters, and the number of bison went down
Then we got two deliveries of bison. Their number has increased to 110
[ Agnaev ] There's one more trail. Let's check whether they've crossed it
[ Vaynberg ] Let's follow their tracks
I think there are 6 or 7
Even more! More, more...
They're going up. Be quiet!
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27...
28, 29, 30... More than 30 of them there!
[ Vaynberg ] Now we use a special term to describe the bison:
Species Refugee
There's no place for bison
Even national parks and nature reserves in Europe are too small for the bison
[ Dzutsev ] ] We're their only hope
[ Vaynberg ] We are, indeed! There is, in fact, enough space for bison here
It won't go there. Let's go
REFORESTATION
[ VO ]Russia exports more than 200 million cubic metres of wood each year.
If nothing changes, in 20 years, there might be no forest left in Arkhangelsk region,
or in 50 years in Siberia.
The federal project is intended to ensure equilibrium between deforestation and reforestation by 2024.
In theory, loggers should compensate for any environmental damage they cause
by planting as many trees as they cut down.
However, these measures don’t go far enough.
Seedlings need to be cared for, otherwise, won’t be able to survive.
[ Aleksey Yaroshenko, Head of Forest Department, Greenpeace, Russia ] Logging here's been disgraceful
If you neglect the forest after planting,
the result is the same, whether costly seedlings are planted from greenhouses,
or cheaper ones from a nursery, or not planted at all!
This is part of the Elk Island National Park: Alekseevsky Forest Park
Here, in 2010-2012, there was a big increase in the number of bark beetles
Under the pretext of combating it, continuous sanitary logging was done
But they did it very badly, as if it were just some kind of industrial forest
There were a lot of linden, maple, oak, and elm, which the bark beetle doesn't damage
They could've cut selectively, or developed a special logging program,
given this is the closest national park to people in Russia
Moreover, the park's not poor. We have technologies here and ways of working...
They're all focused on making cutting down and planting easier
Now we'll see what happens. This area's been planted with pine trees
This is a representative area, fenced off, so that moose don't graze
The pines were planted expertly with great care 5 years ago
We can see the growth. But here, on a huge territory of hundreds of hectares,
where pine trees were planted,
we can now only find dead ones,
because pines don't survive in the shade of a birch tree
If all this growth around isn't removed now,
then in 2, 3, 4 years, it'll be overgrown same as if it hadn't been planted at all
It's been a huge effort to plant pine trees here, but almost nothing will come of it,
with the exception of one tiny demo plot behind a fence
Sanitary logging is a sore point
Ten years ago, it accounted for about 20% of total timber harvesting in the country
Moreover, it was mostly fake sanitary logging:
forest pests were used as a pretext to get the right to produce timber
[ VO ] Illegal logging masquerading as lawful “sanitation logging” or land clearance
causes more economic damage than the black market loggers.
[ Yaroshenko ] This place is well known as Europe's largest undivided cutting area of 2018
The Investigative Committee counted over 800 million hectares
Why is the committee looking into all this?
Because a criminal case has been launched here
This isn't ordinary logging. It's land clearance!
There's a scheme by which a former state farm forest
is taken from the Forest Fund and redesignated as agricultural land
Then it becomes private property and felling begins without any rules or regulations
Rules are needed here
because all the rain that falls here eventually ends up in Moscow,
so Russia's largest city gets its drinking water from here
The problem is that there are about 40 million hectares of forests in the country,
which are caught between agricultural use and the Forest Fund
They cut trees here for lumber,
but on densely forested, neighbouring farmlands, they're forced to burn the forest
First, they'll be fined for this and then the land is confiscated
[ Yuriy Bokarev, Farmer ] My name is Yury Bokarev
I have a small eco-farm. We cultivate...
organic potatoes and vegetables
That's without using pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, and so on
This is my arable land. The whole area should be tilled according to land usage laws
There are birches. They have to be removed,
uprooted, and the land ploughed
I don't know why I do this
I'd set up an apiary there
Animals need somewhere to rest in the shade. They need space too!
But they make us remove everything
The Mozhaysk district administration told me to put things in order...
all these fields! So they could be ploughed
Environmentalists could fine us for cutting wood in agricultural fields
[ Yaroshenko ] So, you get fined no matter what! [ Bokaryov ] Yes, it can happen
[ Yaroshenko ] It's disgraceful, of course
According to the President's Instruction and Article 123 of the Forest Code,
it's not prohibited to preserve forests on agricultural land
They needn't be transferred to the Forest Fund
Why? Because, by law, forests can only be owned by the Russian Federation
Yet, people need forests at a local level
It's important to ensure access to forests for locals. Some need firewood, others jobs!
[ VO ] Meanwhile, instead of being put to profitable use,
many millions of hectares of forest on agricultural land is to be destroyed.
To avoid the high cost of tree clearance and wood disposal,
which the farmers do not have the right to sell,
they simply burn forests down.
[ Kuksin ] Fires just aren't dealt with! It's not clear who should do it and who should pay
A lot of forest isn't in the Forest Fund,
so professional firefighters can't do it,
as it would be misappropriation of the budget
We get wood as a non-renewable resource
We invade the taiga, disturb it, and cause fires. We have catastrophes every year!
Fires start near logging sites
So, we cause fires and deforestation,
despite logging being low-yielding, with expensive delivery and low profits
We're depleting resources while destroying productive forests near us,
where roads don't need laying, where people need jobs
This is what we're destroying here. It's a paradox!
[ VO ] Experts say the forests’ ability to consume carbon dioxide and generate oxygen could be tripled,
along with their value.
Achieving that requires changes in forestry accounting, protection and management.
Meanwhile, the industry has broken another record, a terrible one:
in Russia, 18,200,000 hectares of forests have burned this year.
[ Ivan Sovetnikov, Head of the Federal Agency for Forestry ] We're changing: from 2022, we'll have full financing for extinguishing wildfires
There'll be a huge budget increase next year, from $80 mn to $200 mn,
so we can hire an extra 1,500 workers,
arrange aerial surveillance, and provide transport to places where fires might start
Next year, we'll have six helicopters, based in the Siberian Federal District
for fast deployment of firefighting resources
[ VO ] But experts say that even these crucial steps are not enough,
unless the number of conservation officers is doubled.
Russia currently has about 20,000, but at least 40,000 are needed.
[ Isakov ] We recently faced problems with forestry workers not being paid for several months
There were no funds for fuel, and their salaries are very low
So, it turns out that the fox was put to guard the chicken coop!
[ Kuksin ] The problem is lack of funding for the regions
When transplanting forests,
if you have the right people and equipment, it's possible to protect them
It's like a huge powder keg
People should be guarding it 24/7, like any other facility
With life, forestry, and sustainability, protection's possible
The budget needs upping from $400 mn to at least $1 billion a year,
according to the Federal Forestry Agency
[ VO ] Forests account for one third of the Earth’s land surface.
That seems a vast area until you realise that, by the early 21 century,
humans had already destroyed half of our planet’s forests.