In Krasnodar, ecologists to hold protest action in defence of Utrish

On December 28, in Krasnodar, the Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus will hold a protest action "In Defence of Utrish Unique Nature Complexes".

According to Andrei Rudomakha, coordinator of the Ecological Watch, the picket will be held from midday till 2:00 p.m. It is planned to organize it near the buildings of the Department of Forestry of the Krasnodar Territory and the Department of the Federal Agency for Nature Supervision ("Rosprirodnadzor") for the Krasnodar Territory.

"The choice for the place of the action is not random, since it is called to express indignation of the ecologists and Kuban residents with criminal acts of the authorities of the Krasnodar Territory and passiveness of the federal nature protection bodies," said Mr Rudomakha.

"The aim of the picket," he has added, "is to attract the attention of broad public to the criminal plans of economic development of Russian unique and virgin territories of Mediterranean type subtropical forests, located between the villages of Bolshoi and Maly Utrish (city-resort of Anapa)."

According to ecologists, under the order of the Department of Forestry of the Krasnodar Territory, upon the consent of the Department of Biological Resources and Environment Protection and the Department for Emergencies and the State Ecological Supervision of the Krasnodar Territory, in late November 2008, an illegal construction of the Sukko-Utrish Highway was launched.

"Officially it is named as 'fire-prevention road'," Mr Rudomakha has noted. "The real aim of this highway is to ensure access to the elite recreational complex, which is planned on the coast of the Black sea, in the most valuable section of the State Nature Reserve "Bolshoi Utrish".

According to the data gathered by the public, the highway construction has caused an irreplaceable damage to the unique nature of Utrish; thousands of trees have been illegally felled, including plenty of pistachio trees and several varieties of juniper included into the Red Book of Russia, destruction of which is strictly forbidden.