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In 1998, UNESCO listed the Golden Mountains of Altai as a World Natural Heritage Site. We understand why this region is important for our country and the world and what development paths it has
On October 1, 2021, representatives of scientific organizations in our country, leaders of the Altai Republic, experts and public figures met at the Altai Environmental Forum. The topic of the meeting is the civilizational mission of the region, the experience and prospects of international cooperation in the field of ecology and the ways of economic development. Trends collected the most interesting theses from the discussion.
What is “Altai civilization”
The term “Altaic civilization” is based on the concept of “Altaic language family”. According to Russian experts, it includes the languages of the territory of Eurasia – from Yakutia to Turkey and from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean. It is assumed that the inhabitants of these regions are united not only by language, but also by a common origin and culture. Based on this commonality, the leadership of the region plans to develop international cooperation and promote new approaches to ecology.
Ivan Belekov, Head of the Altai Regional Branch of the Commission for UNESCO:
“Altai is not so much a geographical as a spiritual and civilizational concept. Today, the term “Altai civilization” appears in political life. At one of the press conferences, the President of our country noted that Altaic is one of the most ancient languages and is the base of the rest of the Turkic languages. We will continue this line.”
Why Altai is a unique ecological center
The borders of four countries converge in Altai: our country, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. In 1998, for the first time, conversations began about the need to unite efforts in the field of ecology. Then, at an international conference in the city of Urumqi (China), representatives of regional authorities and environmental organizations agreed to create a transboundary biosphere reserve.
A biosphere reserve is a multifunctional protected natural area, which consists of three zones: the core, the buffer zone and the cooperation zone. The core (central part) preserves landscapes, ecosystems, sacred objects, biological species and genetic variations – human activity is prohibited or severely limited there. The buffer zone is used for scientific research, monitoring, environmental education and enlightenment. It is allowed to farm in the cooperation zone, but only in accordance with the principles of sustainable development – for example, use alternative energy sources – solar panels.
Igor Kalmykov, Director of the Altai Biosphere Reserve:
“Nature conservation and human development are not mutually exclusive. This is the main idea of the concept of biosphere reserves. I would compare the practical significance of these territories with weather stations. Everyone needs them, from a shepherd who lives in a remote parking lot to an agricultural organization that needs weather forecasts. Even for the state in the defense sense. The same is true for biosphere reserves.
In 1998, it was not possible to create a biosphere reserve that would be within the borders of four countries: it was not clear how to organize such a territory and how to control it. Only in 2011, the governments of our country and Kazakhstan signed a formal agreement on the formation of the Altai transboundary reserve with a single governing body. In 2017, the Great Altai became the first UNESCO transboundary biosphere reserve in our country.
Tatyana Yashina, Deputy Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Katunsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve:
“UNESCO requires from us, as a biosphere reserve, an integrated approach to work. Together with Kazakhstan, we have developed a development strategy until 2030 in ten areas – from joint nature protection to environmental education.
For example, we have developed a sustainable livelihood program that will allow local residents to earn money from sustainable uses of nature. This is due to the fact that there are practically no industrial enterprises in the region. The standard of living of the rural population is extremely low. As part of our work in the reserve, we understand that if we want to preserve nature, then people also need to create alternative sources of income. First of all, this is due to the development of ecotourism.”
How should the region’s economy develop?
Altai is one of the five poorest regions in our country. One of the reasons is the closure of mining enterprises. Electricity is too expensive and the fields are far from transport routes, so companies cannot cover production costs and are gradually losing working capital.
Elena Kholod, Deputy General Director for Development and International Relations of VNIMI JSC:
“Protecting nature does not mean restricting all industrial activity. In the context of existing geopolitical restrictions, the formation of gold reserves and gold mining are very necessary for the state. We can get access to environmentally friendly technologies.
It is necessary to see the goal in which the interests of environmentalists, residents and leaders of the region intersect. The people living here also need a perspective to take place and find realization. If the region’s economy remains at the same level, Altai will not attract large companies willing to invest here.”
The leadership of the republic has already taken the first steps towards sustainable development: in 2016, they created the ecological and economic region “Altai”. In this area, work was carried out to reduce carbon emissions, introduced solar energy technologies, reconstructed the airport and developed principles for protecting the forest in the nut harvesting areas. The experts found that over ten years the revenue base of the Altai budget has grown 1,8 times, and investments in the region – 2,6 times.
Mikhail Zotov, Deputy Head of ANO “Development Center of the Republic of Altai” for innovation and scientific and technical development:
“The analysis showed that in ten years about ₽313 billion came to the Altai Republic. At the same time, it turned out that the current model of socio-economic development has exhausted itself, because the level of own revenues of the Altai Republic’s budget fluctuates around the same value – 20 %. No matter how much we now invest in the economy, if we do not change the development model, we will not get a significant increase in the revenue side. We will simply scale the budget, and the proportions will remain the same.”
According to Zotov, the main mechanism of structural changes in the Altai economy is the creation of an innovative scientific and technological center that would ensure the dissemination of investments, technologies and scientific knowledge.
Altai and scenarios for the future of the regions
In March 2021, the governments of our country and Kazakhstan developed a cooperation program for the development of specially protected natural areas. The objectives of the program are to increase the efficiency of environmental work, develop a unified system of environmental monitoring and create an international scientific center on the basis of a transboundary reserve.
Kirill Chistyakov, Director of the Institute of Geosciences, St. Petersburg State University:
“In Altai, a system has developed that allows us to hope for a balanced use of territories both for the preservation of its wealth and for development. Let’s decide for ourselves what we want to see in Altai: a frozen nature reserve, a priority development area, or a balance between all these elements?
It seems to me that in order for such a discussion to give constructive results, it is necessary to create a platform in Altai itself for discussing and studying these problems. If a center appears in the near future, where it will be possible to implement a biospheric approach to the study of the territory, where it will be possible to consider the problems of nature stability, traditional types of nature management and innovative solutions, this will give success in the further development of the region.”