For many months society has been resisting this madness, yet unfortunately we are losing the battle for wildlife. Lobbyist circles in power, wielding huge funds and influence, have pushed through a bill allowing the clear-cutting of mountain forests across the country to build resorts! Very soon the refugia—sanctuaries of wildlife, the last havens for animals and plants where they can hide from humans—will be ruthlessly destroyed. The forests will be cleared and the timber sold, and on the ravaged land gigantic tourism clusters will be erected, siphoning off hundreds of billions of state funds.
Yes, during the final day of public discussion society recorded “anomalies” on the bill’s page—almost five thousand votes in just a few hours allegedly “for” the destruction of mountain forests. And yes, we sent statements to the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor-General’s Office and made this public.
But what can be proven when we only see the outside of the legislative-initiative platform while its authors physically control it? What can a fragmented, scattered society without resources and support do?
For half a year we defended the right of the country’s mountain refuges to exist! We managed to stop the first draft of the bill and prevent its adoption. During this time the authors of the initiative gained even greater support in the authorities and duplicated the bill, with strange “anomalies” that openly look like technical manipulation. In essence, officials acting in the interests of big business simply forced their way through the stages at which we could have stopped them.
The bill has now been successfully forwarded to the Government of the Russian Federation for approval, and the chances of it being rejected are virtually zero. Most likely, already this year mountain forests—refuges of wildlife—will start being felled across the country! The attacks on the country’s already shredded protected-area system continue on an unprecedented scale, literally gnawing away at what is left.
Moreover, the scientific perspective is not even considered! The importance of mountain forests is ignored. The breach of seven of the nine planetary boundaries, the destruction of 73% of the planet’s animals in just the past 50 years, every third tree species and half of all plant species teetering on the brink of extinction—all this is consciously ignored.
No one is interested in truth or fundamental scientific data. Everyone cares only about immediate profit, and even nature reserves today are viewed solely as “land banks” for future development.
We have reviewed how we might still influence the bill; unfortunately, there are practically no mechanisms left! Even our allies within the government have told us that the chances of stopping this madness at this stage are almost nil.
I am told that if a million people in Russia were to stand up and demand the bill be stopped, we would succeed. But while millions amuse themselves with politics, a handful are fighting for all of us!
Thus, in the coming years irreparable damage will be inflicted on the last refuges of wildlife, and we will have to chase every one of thousands of cases in an attempt to protect these fragmented protected lands.
I also remind all comrades that we are now deliberately building the struggle for wildlife around our Concept of Territories of Ecological Peace and Tranquility (TEPT). We seek to change the existing protected-area system by uniting all remaining patches of wilderness into single conglomerates under absolute protection—in other words, by compelling the creation of wildlife refuges.
The bill now being adopted on clear-cutting mountain forests nullifies any effort to protect ancient forests made in recent years and is directly opposed to everything we are fighting for and striving to achieve.
SCIENTIFIC DATA
I understand that officials are not interested in scientific justification and real evidence of the importance of protecting refugia. Nor are they interested in public opinion—we saw this ourselves in the form of technical “anomalies” surrounding the bill.
But I know that among us are many people who fought for the mountain forests and continue to support this greatest Mission on the planet—our fight for Life! I want to share, using concrete scientific data, what scientists say about the importance of protecting mountain ecosystems.
Mountains occupy only about 20% of Earth’s surface, yet they hold up to one-third of all terrestrial biodiversity and half of the global “hotspots” of plants and animals. These are the points from which biological systems will regenerate in the future—if humanity, or any other cataclysm, destroys everything, the revival of life will start precisely from the mountains.
Thanks to their complex relief, mountains form diverse microclimates and ecosystems that have historically served as refuges for wildlife. Yet today mountains are under immense pressure worldwide: almost 60% of all mountain ecosystems have already been destroyed or are being destroyed right now through logging, grazing, development, or resource extraction.
Let me cite specific scientific studies that prove the importance of protecting mountain ecosystems.
1 — Ski resorts threaten climate refugia for high-altitude biodiversity under current and future conditions in the Alps
Scientific paper, January 2025.
A team of Italian scientists analysed the overlap of climate-refugia zones with ski slopes in the Alps. The authors showed that a third of all active slopes already affect such refugia, and by the end of the century this share will grow critically.
Changes in climate regimes—including through the logging of ancient forests—force the slopes to move higher, increasing the destruction of mountain refuges and obliterating the habitats of animals and plants.
In other words, this scientific study clearly demonstrates the urgent need to protect mountain refugia from any development and mass tourism. Animals and plants have nowhere else to move! The scientists studied precisely the problem that is now being presented to us as a “social good” and is being hastily adopted at the federal level: clear-cutting mountain forests.
2 — Exposure of the world’s mountain areas to drivers of global change
Scientific paper, April 2024.
An international team of scientists carried out a large-scale analysis of climatic and anthropogenic pressures on mountains across all continents. They found that the mountains of tropical Africa may not cope with the strongest multi-factor pressure by the middle of the 21st century, whereas the mountains of Europe and North America have a chance to become local climate refugia.
The scientists emphasize that for mountain refugia to function effectively they must be STRICTLY PROTECTED: any economic interventions (logging, tourism expansion, infrastructure) must be prevented.
The authors also stress—like the scientists in the previous study—that 60% of all mountain areas are already degrading due to human activity.
3 — Topography and anthropogenic pressure on mountain ranges shape expected species responses to climate change
Scientific paper, April 2020.
In this study scientists combined data on landscape change and human pressure in mountain ecosystems to find out how climate change will affect mountain species. The authors discovered that 60% of mountain areas are already under strong human pressure, especially at lower elevations and foothills. Consequently, animals and plants are forced to retreat ever higher—where ski projects worldwide are now following, ultimately expelling species and destroying their habitats.
The scientists state that high-altitude areas can serve as refuges from humans if they are protected! This study objectively confirms the importance of safeguarding mountain ecosystems and shows scientifically how people threaten wildlife refugia.
4 — The role of mountains as biodiversity refugia in Brazil’s Caatinga: conservation implications
Scientific paper, January 2020.
Scientists in Brazil studied mountain ecosystems in the Caatinga and urgently call for their protection as wildlife refuges. Field research found that the summits of low mountains contain significantly more tree species and higher biodiversity than the surrounding plains.
The specialists concluded that mountainous massifs in Brazil possess important microclimates and serve as refuges for endemic and rare plants, whereas human activity on the plains leads to biodiversity loss.
The researchers recommend promptly declaring these areas protected! Mountain ecosystems, wherever they are—from South America to Siberia and the Far East—are analogous systems with regional species differences, so the study fully applies to any mountain refugia.
5 — Climate change impacts on biodiversity of the Terai Arc Landscape and the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape
Scientific paper, 2013.
I examined an extensive study by a Nepalese group of scientists who modelled climate-change impacts in the Eastern Himalayas. They report that ancient lowland forests in mountain ecosystems are already extremely vulnerable to climate anomalies, whereas forests near the headwaters are more stable and can become REFUGIA for animals and plants in the most difficult times—if they are not destroyed. The study shows that relatively large (over 500 ha) intact forest blocks that humans have not yet disturbed will remain as “climate micro-refugia” with the highest biodiversity.
The report explicitly recommends preventing economic destruction of these areas, as they must become centres for conserving Himalayan biological resources. Smaller patches of mountain forest in the low belt should be identified and restored, but priority lies with the large mountain “refuges” over zones of intensive human impact.
6 — Accelerating global loss of mountain forests threatens biodiversity hotspots
Extensive scientific study, 2023.
A Chinese-British-American team conducted the largest analysis of mountain-forest loss worldwide. They found that between 2001 and 2018, 78.1 million ha of mountain forest were lost, and the rate of loss increased 2.7-fold compared with the start of the 21st century.
The main drivers were commercial logging, agricultural expansion, and fires. The greatest losses occurred in tropical biodiversity “hotspots” (e.g., the Andes, Southeast Asia).
The scientists note that even in these regions protected mountain areas lose forest SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SLOWLY than unprotected areas. Therefore, expanding reserves and protected zones in mountains is essential to conserve the remaining mountain forests and the species that inhabit them.
7 — Tourism can threaten wildlife disease refugia
Scientific paper, June 2022.
Scientists studied mountain ecosystems in South America and found that these biomes act as refuges from diseases—yet they are rapidly being disrupted by mass tourism! The researchers discovered that many diseases are already entering previously isolated biotopes precisely because of the proximity of tourist trails and infrastructure. Thus, the “immunological refugia” of endemic species are being destroyed.
The authors state that any form of economic or tourist access to isolated wildlife refuges (mountain ecosystems) MUST BE LIMITED! Otherwise unique species could be lost to epidemics.
CONCLUSIONS
I could go on much longer, and I repeat: these are objective scientific data—numerous and from all over the world! Hundreds and thousands of scientists unanimously say that mountain ecosystems are wildlife refuges and we must protect them by any means. We are obliged to do so!
And what do we see now? Our federal agencies openly invade mountain ecosystems, legalising CLEAR-CUTTING OF PROTECTIVE-CATEGORY FORESTS. This is not even about whether to log forests outside reserves—it is about destroying ancient untouched forests within protected areas of the highest conservation category.
In our struggle, comrades, we rely precisely on scientific data—on fundamental justification. We are not demanding anything extraordinary. Our fight is not an emotional impulse but a strictly balanced OBJECTIVE approach.
It is not only wildlife that is being destroyed; our own habitat is being destroyed. And if we do not protect mountain ecosystems—the refugia of wildlife—today, the real blow and consequences will fall on our children and grandchildren.
We demand that the bill on clear-cutting protective forests be rejected! And we will continue to strive for this. Please help in our struggle. Spread the word.
We need incredible strength.
And nothing is more important than this Mission.
© PAVEL PASHKOV
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