ACTIVITIES OF ECOLOGICAL CENTER "FENIX" IN SUPPORT OF
PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT IN THE FAR EASTALEXANDER V. SUVOROV
Ecological Center "FENIX", Russia, 113152 Moscow, Zagorodnoe Shosse, 11-2-104

Activities of Ecological Center "FENIX" in support of public environmental
movement in the Russian Far East is aimed at attracting broad public to the solutionof environmental problems, including natural marine resources effective management
and restoration and sustainable development of the Far East coast. At present thisactivity embraces six regions in the Russian Far East: Primorie, Khabarovsk,
Magadan regions, the Sakhalin Island, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Chukotka
Autonomous Region.
Ecological Center "FENIX" has been engaged in supporting public ecologicalmovement in the Russian Far East since 2000, using the following methods of work:•organization of regional and interregional public information actions;•holding of public opinion inquests and collection of signatures underpublic appeals;•publication of materials related to environmental issues in all respective
mass media;•organization of joint complex field trips.
Annually, at the end of March, the initial conference is held in all the six Far
East regions simultaneously to start collecting signatures under the appeal to theauthorities. In September this appeal is presented to the respective local authorities.
As a practical example, we can refer to the overall solidarity action with thepopulation of the Sakhalin Island which was held in 2002. Its participants expressed
their concern with the oil pollution in the shelf area as endangering the bioresourc·epotential and biodiversity in the Sea of Okhotsk and in its coastal zone.
Another example of successful collective action is the participation of publicin the investigation of the effect of deforestation in the basins of salmon spawning
rivers in the Sakhalin Island on the natural reproduction of salmon. Such a study was
carried out for the rivers having similar geological and climatic conditions andidentical physicogeographical characteristics, common features in runoff formationand natural conditions of humpback restoration, but differing in the share of the basin
area occupied with forests. We came to the conclusion that deforestation in the basinsof salmon spawning rivers negatively affected its natural reproduction. For the riverwith 85% of the basin area occupied with forests (as compared to the neighboring one
with only about 24% of the basin area afforested), the efficiency of humpback
reproduction turned to be by 30% higher. To preserve the hydrological conditions
favorable for fish spawning, afforestation of the river basin area can be recommended,with about 40 to 50% of the area occupied with forests.
As a result of the activities in support of public environmental movement in
the Far East, Center "FENIX" put forward an idea of creating a network ofenvironmental monitoring in this region. Such network should contain the following
blocks: interpretation of environmental information for different parties concerned;

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creation of public environmental monitoring centers; and determination of basic
principles of their operation; development of the action plan for public ecologicalorganizations in the Far East.
The paper also presents information on certain practical actions implemented
by Ecological Center "FENIX", which is a non-governmental organization itself,
aimed at the practical realization of the idea of creating the aforementioned
environmental network.

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