BASIC TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOREST INDUSTRY ALONG THE BAYKAL-AMUR MAINLINE

The zone served by the Baykal-Amur Mainline is expected ultimately to contribute roughly one-tenth of the Soviet Union's timber products, which would represent one-fourth to one-third of the freight traffic of the railroad in some segments. Total removals of roundwood are now roughly 15 million m³ in the zone to be served by the BAM, including 11 million in the inner zone (total Soviet roundwood removals now run 380–390 million m³ a year). In the foreseeable future, removals in the BAM zone are expected to reach 30 to 35 million m³, including 20 million in the inner zone. Projections for 10 logging districts suggest that most of the logging activities will be concentrated at the two extremities of the BAM—the Upper Lena district (34% of projected removals) and the Komsomol'sk district (39%). Timber processing complexes will also be concentrated in these two areas.     

Geographical Problems in the Development of Machine-Building in the Ob'-Irtysh Complex

The machinery manufacturing industry in the Ob'-Irtysh complex, as in other economic regions of the USSR, works mainly for the national market. Only a fraction of most machinery needs of the Ob'-Irtysh are being met by local production, concentrated at Tomsk, Omsk, and Tyumen'. In view of the current oil and gas development program in the region, it is suggested that plants for the manufacturing and, especially, the overhauling of oil and gas equipment and drilling rigs be constructed at Tyumen' as well as at Tobol'sk, which is closer to the oil and gas fields. At the present time more than 90 percent of the oil equipment and drilling rigs are supplied from outside the region. A number of regional centers are found suitable for expansion of machinery manufacturing. In the future the region's machine-building industry is expected to perform the dual function of supplying the eastern zone of the Soviet Union and of satisfying local machinery requirements to a greater extent, particularly the needs of the oil and gas industries.     

Geographical Requisites in the Selection of Areas for Economic Development in the Middle Ob' District

Development potentialities of the Middle Ob' district are analyzed in terms of three natural areas. The well-drained terraces on the margins of the Ob' valley are found to be most suitable for town development. The left-bank area offers additional land for economic development, but the extensive swamp cover of the right bank imposes serious obstacles. Because of the southward orientation of the Middle Ob' oil district, it is recommended that priority be given to town development and transport routes on the left-bank margins of the Ob' valley. This is contrary to the present tendency of developing towns on the right-bank margins of the valley.     

Somaliland

The changing pattern of land‐use in the Forest of Abernethy, Inverness‐shire in the period AD 1750 to the present is examined, using information from records and a number of maps and surveys. It is shown that the forest has a long history of exploitation for timber and the grazing of livestock, and that by the mid‐eighteenth century a pattern not markedly different from that of the present had already emerged. Evidence for the widespread formation of heathland in Dark Age times, and the fact that almost every part of Abernethy has been felled for timber at least once, modifies the concept of the forest as a “native Pinewood”.     

Transport Development of the Middle Ob'oil District

Two basic alternative transport systems are analyzed for the new oil-producing district along the Middle Ob'valley in West Siberia. One is the construction of a railroad parallel to the Ob' River; the other is the use of the waterway itself. Comparative cost analysis suggests that the railroad would be economical only for very large traffic volumes, not expectable in the foreseeable future. By 1980–1985, expected freight flows may justify construction of the western section of the proposed railroad in the oil district itself. Instead of an eastward extension, the author advocates a continuation toward the rich gas and possibly oil prospects in the northern part of the West Siberian plain, and ultimately to Noril'sk. The paper was published before the Soviet Union announced, in early 1970, that the accelerated development of the oil district required construction of the western section of the Ob'valley railroad in the 1970s.     

Changes in Wildlife Populations in the Sos'va Section of the Ob'basin as a Result of Human Activity in the Tayga

The impact of the penetration of the lumbering industry on the beaver and sable population of the Konda-Sos'va region of Western Siberia is analyzed. The development of the industry along the newly built Ivdel'-Ob' railroad, the increasing cut-over area, frequent forest fires and the expansion of populated settlements have led to excessive trapping and poaching among the local beaver and sable populations. Because of their limited reproductive capacity, the two species are threatened with extinction unless the present hunting prohibition in the area can be enforced. A useful step, in the author's view, would be the restoration of the Konda-Sos'va reserve, which was abolished in 1951 before the penetration of human activities into the region.     

On the Question of Diverting part of the Unused Runoff of Northern and Siberian Rivers into Regions Suffering from a Shortage of Water Resources

An advocate of the diversion of Siberian water to Central Asia presents the latest thinking on such a project and recommends a combination of the diversion of water from the upper Ob' for irrigation of Northern Kazakhstan and the diversion of water from a small lower Ob' reservoir southward across the Turgay divide into the Aral Sea basin.     

Russian Roundwood Exports: The Effects of Tariffs on the Finnish Border Economy

Two economic geographers based in Finland use time series analysis and an inputoutput model to evaluate the economic effects of tariffs imposed on Russian roundwood exports on the economy of a Finnish border region heavily dependent on Russian timber supplies. The authors demonstrate the serious economic consequences of the possible cessation of Finnish imports after 2009, by analyzing the depths of the impacts on the regional economy, and options for compensating for the loss of supplies through increased domestic timber harvesting. They place the impacts of the protectionist Russian policy in the broader context of the dynamics and vulnerabilities of border economies, particularly those dependent on imported raw materials. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F13, F14, L70, L73, O18, R10. 4 figures, 6 tables, 48 references.     

Regional Peculiarities in the Formation of Industrial Nodes in the Middle Ob' Region

Limiting environmental conditions in the construction of industrial nodes in the new oil district of the Middle Ob' are the rigorous climate, extensive swamp cover and absence of ground transportation. These adverse factors are compensated to some extent by the shallow depth of oil deposits, favorable geology and the availability of groundwater that can be injected to maintain oil-reservoir pressures. The basic problems in the development of the oil district are the shortage of housing, services and local foodproducts and consumer goods as well as the high cost of construction of transport routes. Greater investment in services is urged to help reduce the high turnover of labor as migrants are reluctant to settle permanently in the region.     

Settlement in Lumber-Industry Regions of the USSR

About 80% of the population in Soviet logging and rafting areas is non-urban and lives in 6000 lumbering settlements assigned to the rural category. The majority of these places are small, crude settlements without adequate services that exist for periods of about 20 years until the surrounding timber stands have been depleted. It is suggested that area planning and diversification of forest utilization can improve the settling pattern, working and living conditions and the provision of services through the concentration of population in larger, modern central settlements supplemented by mobile dormitory camps in timber-felling areas situated beyond an optimal commuting distance. Existing and proposed settling patterns are illustrated with particular reference to a logging area in the western Urals.     

Revealed by Waves: A Stratigraphic,Palaeoecological, and Dendrochronological Investigation of a Prehistoric Oak Timber and Intertidal Peats,Bay of Ireland,West Mainland,Orkney

An oak timber was discovered in 2013 within intertidal peats at the Bay of Ireland, Stenness, Orkney, representing a unique archaeological find. Subsequent excavation and rescue of the timber took place in 2014 to investigate its stratigraphical relationship before further eroding. Dendrochronological and morphological study identified the timber as a possible radially split log, c. 150 years of age when felled. No dendrochronological match was possible, and a wiggle-match date obtained provided a Later Mesolithic felling date of 4410–4325 cal BC. This timber is the first and only evidence so far for the use of oak in Mesolithic Orkney. The timber is significant palaeoecologically, suggesting oak may have been indigenous to Orkney. This adds to a growing argument for the existence of areas of “true woodland”. Pollen evidence shows the timber was deposited within reedswamp, fringed by willow-birch carr-woodland, with oak unlikely to have been growing in the immediate location. High microscopic and macroscopic charcoal values indicate Later Mesolithic communities exerted influence on this wetland using burning as a tool for landscape modification. It is unknown what the timber represents; it may have been for construction purposes or as a marker/possible landing place showing the path to the Loch of Stenness.     

History of Deforestation and Reforestation in the Dinaric Karst

The term karst derives from the Kras plateau, which is in the northwestern part of the area now known as the Dinaric Karst. The landscape consists mostly of Mesozoic carbonate rocks and stretches along the Adriatic Sea coast for a distance of 600 km. Although the region lies parallel to the sea, the Mediterranean temperature influence is limited to a narrow coastal belt, except for the amount of precipitation, which can reach 5000 mm yr^?1. Forests belonging to the Mediterranean and Euro‐Siberian – North American region, covered the primary Dinaric Karst. Human deforestation of the Karst began during the Neolithic period, 6500–6000 BC. Throughout history there have been two main reasons for deforestation; economic (the requirements of new land, pastures, timber use and trade), and social (local increases in population, mass migration, wars, raids). Mankind's perception of forest protection and preservation can be traced through documents going back to the 12th century. Reforestation is mentioned in some of them, but successful reforestation did not begin until the 1850s. Nowadays dense natural forests, extensive forest plantations, dry karst shrublands and also completely barren karst areas can all be found on the Dinaric Karst.     

Medical-Geographic Study of the Formation of Population of the Ob' River Region

A joint study by population geographers and medical geographers of the expanding oil industry of the Middle Ob' valley in Western Siberia seeks to establish a set of recommendations for regulating the influx of population from various parts of the Soviet Union. The recommendations, based on an evaluation of medical-geographic contrasts between places of origin and places of settlement, are intended to minimize the adaptation problems resulting from great regional contrasts.     

Balancing Preservation and Logging: Public Lands Policy in British Columbia and the Western United States

Both the United States and Canada have made fundamental changes in their policies regarding natural resources. The province of British Columbia made major revisions to its forest policy in the earlyto-mid-1990s; in the western United States, policy efforts have been stymied by conflicts between state and federal officials and between conservationists and resource developers. The different structures of federalism in the two countries result in two different approaches to policymaking that are discussed here. However, the ultimate test of natural resource policy, I argue, should be their consistency with the goal of sustainable ecosystems and preservation of biodiversity. From the perspective of ecological science, neither country has been particularly successful in policymaking for public lands and for logging in particular. Both nations have failed to give priority to protecting old-growth forests and largely have rejected the idea that ancient forests are much more valuable than simply sources of timber     

Loggers,Development Agents and the Exercise of Power in Amazonia

Many believe that Amazonian communities could benefit from the growing market for timber through self‐governed approaches to forest management. However, there is no clear understanding of how communities are to develop such approaches given logging frontiers that are characterized by informal negotiations with loggers and community forestry initiatives that are promoted by development agents. This article reports on research from four study areas in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru which reveals that external players exercise considerable power over communities. First, loggers and development agents impose forest management schemes directly on communities, hindering them from developing their own approaches. Second, paternalistic relationships with loggers and development agents prevent communities from identifying common interests and expressing these through their representative organizations. Finally, loggers and development agents use powerful discourses to shape acceptable schemes in forest management, silencing communities’ voices in debates. Through these different power mechanisms, external agents thwart the emergence of self‐governed community management approaches.     

Trans-border Exchange between Russia and China: The Case of Blagoveshchensk and Heihe

Two Russian-trained geographers investigate the multiple and largely informal and illicit forms of exchange between two provincial cities of roughly similar size located on opposite banks of the Amur River, namely Blagoveshchensk, in Russia's Far East, and Heihe, in neighboring northeast China. The study is based on interviews and field observations from 2002 to 2009 in Blagoveshchensk, as well as official statistics from the relevant Russian and Chinese provincial governments. Particular attention is focused on the activities and treatment of Chinese guest workers comprising a material component of the labor force in Amur Oblast (e.g., in construction and agriculture), unregistered Chinese entrepreneurs in retailing and catering, and trans-border logging operations of Chinese timber/wood products companies. Also covered are the activities of visiting Russian nationals in Heihe and the extralegal activities of Russian entrepreneurs and bureaucrats. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F20, J61, O17, O18. 5 figures, 1 table, 50 references.     

The Transport use of Lake Ladoga and its Outlook

Lake Ladoga is significant mainly as a transit waterway, with a relatively small share of freight traffic originating or arriving in lake ports. Local traffic also tends to be limited. About 70 percent of the freight movements consists of timber and construction materials, followed by coal, ores, oil products and steel. In passenger traffic, lake originations and destinations play a significant role (70 to 80 percent), mainly because of tourist excursions from nearby Leningrad. A comparison of Lakes Ladoga and Onega shows that Onega is being used more intensively for transportation, both because of more developed local traffic and because of the heavy flow of transit concentrate from the iron mines of Murmansk Oblast to the Cherepovets iron and steel mill.     

Cartographic Evaluation of the use of Timber Resources in Irkutsk Oblast

The northward shift of logging operations in Irkutsk Oblast is plotted both on a grid of equal-area squares and by the centrographic technique. Over the 30—year period 1938–68, the center of logging has moved downstream along the Angara River, largely in connection with the clearing of the future Bratsk reservoir bed and the construction of the Tayshet-Lena railroad. The present trend is for a gradual closing of the gap between the center of logging operations and the center of timber resources. However, a widening gap between the center of settlement and the center of logging suggests that the lumber and wood-products industry, as a pioneering activity in new development areas, has been poorly integrated with other economic activities.