to sino- russian

PREFACE
In the Eastern part of Russia the effectiveness of measures
relating to the protection of air and water quality,
forests, wetlands, wildlife and their habitats increasingly
depends not only on domestic factors within the
relevant Russian regions, but is also subject to a wide
spectrum of factors emanating from China. Political,
economic and social aspects of both Russia’s and
China’s domestic policies, as well as trends of Chinese-
Russian cooperation in their border regions, contribute
to the way in which environmental protection measures
are taking effect in the region. In particular, it appears
that (i) impacts resulting from China’s development
policy have increasingly become a major factor exposing
the ineffectiveness of environmental protection
measures taken in the Eastern Russia, and (ii) China’s
development policy does not ( and unilaterally cannot)
fully take into account the economic, social, and environmental
effects it has on Russia.
Development strategies vs.
environmental policies
Many environmental protection measures within the
RFE and Siberia regions, which were once effective
have now become ineffective due to the emergence of
transboundary environmental problems which cannot
be resolved merely from within Russia but require multior
bi-lateral attention. Some environmental problems in
the Eastern Russia can be attributed to transition difficulties
associated with the integration into the economy
of the Asia-Pacific Region. However, most of the environmental
damage is due to the lack of a regional system
which ensures consistent environmental (as well as
social and economic) security in the border regions of
Far East and Eastern Siberia. This results from the
absence of a well-balanced socio-economic development
strategy in Russia as a whole, which is substituted
by a tactics to live off natural resource exports without
development of any diversified economy and social and
political institutions of self-government in the remote
regions. Unfortunately programs and strategies adopted
by Russia in 2009 could potentially aggravate the existing
environmental situation even further.
Unlike Russia, China has a clear development strategy
for its Northeastern border provinces. This strategy
includes well-aligned domestic and transboundary
components. It is backed by administrative and diplomatic
support, as well as by a program of out-ward
expansion of Chinese resource extracting sectors. This
program is aimed at providing resources for the economic
development of the Northeast China (‘NEC’).
Its aim is to reduce the pressure of environmental and
social problems in the NEC, which in some areas of
China have reached a severity and scale (fortunately)
not yet experienced by Russia. For example, National
Natural Forest Restoration Project, that due to its success
was prolonged for another 10 years in 2010, explicitly
links ability to reduce domestic logging with
prospects to increase and secure timber imports from
Russia and other adjacent countries. Naturally, given the
magnitude of demand, such policies stimulate overharvesting
and may exhaust resource base and lead to environmental
degradation in Eastern Russia. However,
compared to some forest areas inside adjacent China,
that experienced decades of unbearable pressure, the
impacts achieved to date could be considered moderate
and justifiable by some experts. Therefore mismatch in
baseline situation and associated expectations related to
quality of the environment is also part of this transboundary
conundrum.
China’s consistency and ingenuity in implementing its
development policy in the NEC deserves admiration
and perhaps emulation — however, Russia unfortunately
shows growing incapacity both to use elements of
the Chinese strategy to its benefit and to protect itself
from its adverse consequences.
Small Khingan — mirror of big
problems
Russia’s current incapacity to use elements of Chinese
development strategy to its benefit is particularly exemplified
by the situation existing in the Khingan Gorge,
which is the most scenic section of the Amur River
valley along the Russian-Chinese border, where the
mighty river cuts through Small Khingan Mountains.
The circumstances existing in the Khingan Gorge displays
the contrasting approaches taken by Russia and
China towards natural resources management and
exemplifies the paradoxes of Russian-Chinese transboundary
cooperation.