Excerpt pp. 12-14: 'Proceedings of the World Heritage Boreal Zone Workshop' (Held in St. Petersburg, Russia, 10-13 October 2003)
B. The St. Petersburg Statement
Recommendations of the World Heritage
Boreal Zone Workshop
St. Petersburg, Russia
12 October 2003
With support from the World Heritage Centre, IUCN convened a workshop from 9 to 13 October 2003 in St. Petersburg, Russia, bringing together 33 governmental, NGO and academic experts from four boreal countries to discuss priorities in boreal forest conservation and to identify gaps within existing networks of protected areas as well as on the World Heritage List.
The workshop recognized that the boreal zone contains several features of outstanding universal value such as unique forest and wetlands ecosystems and species assemblages, habitats for rare and endangered species, the world's largest intact frontier forests, geologically and geomorphologically unique territories, and areas of superlative natural beauty. The workshop also recognized another feature of outstanding value in the unique cultural heritage representing the diverse lifestyles of several indigenous peoples and ethnic sub-groups that have inhabited the boreal forest regions for thousands of years and maintain their traditional lifestyles. The boreal forests and associated wetlands are also globally important freshwater resources and carbon sinks for the world.
This heritage is currently under great threat of disappearing due to extensive industrial activities and climate change. The workshop emphasized the high urgency to take immediate measures to conserve the natural and cultural heritage contained in the boreal zone.
The workshop noted that within the boreal zone there still are large intact areas of frontier forests to be found. These are the last such large intact areas remaining on earth and therefore the countries with those areas, as well as the international community as a whole, have a great responsibility to protect them. The workshop also determined that the designation of additional sites of universal significance is required as a catalyst to foster international understanding of the global importance of the boreal zone.
Bearing the above in mind, the participants of the workshop endorsed the following recommendations.
To the World Heritage Committee, that it:
- Recognize the importance of conserving the outstanding manifestations of the boreal zone through all instruments available to the Committee, e.g. funding preparatory activities, encouraging further studies, supporting boreal zone nominations that fulfill World Heritage criteria, continuing support of the World Heritage Forest Programme.
- Consider exempting natural site nominations from the rule of one nomination per year per country, in the light of the high urgency of protecting the natural and cultural heritage identified in the boreal zone and due to the fact that most of this heritage is situated only in two vast countries.
- Endorse the framework developed at the workshop for considering the establishment of future World Heritage sites and protected areas in the boreal zone.
- Recognize the complex and unique interactions between indigenous cultures and boreal forests, and ensure support for nominations featuring the history, culture, traditions, and roles of indigenous peoples within the boreal zone.
To the States Parties with boreal forests, that they:
- As a matter of high urgency use all available means, including the World Heritage Convention, protect the intact frontier boreal forests and other areas of the boreal zone that are of high conservation value. Special attention is to be paid to preserving forest clusters in the zones of highest threat of fragmentation and disappearance, e.g. in Eurasia where remaining large clusters are found in Karelia and Arkhangelsk regions, and in Canada within the northern part of the commercial boreal forest region.
- Complete assessments of potential World Heritage sites, update their tentative lists accordingly, and consequently prepare and submit those nominations to the World Heritage Centre.
- Ensure involvement of indigenous and local communities in further efforts to identify and prioritize values to be represented on the World Heritage List.
- Facilitate national and international networks in support of sustainable management of existing and proposed World Heritage sites within the boreal zone, considering that there is a wealth of experience at the existing sites where lessons learnt from existing sites may be of use for preparing new nominations.
- Prioritize increasing the integrity of candidate World Heritage sites where these conditions are not currently met.
- Recognize that although some of the areas that were identified in the workshop may not meet the World Heritage criteria, they still are of high conservation value and ought to be protected by using other national and international instruments such as Man and Biosphere or Ramsar designations.
To site managers, that they:
- Encourage information exchange between existing sites and sites preparing nominations, e.g. through twinning arrangements both nationally and internationally.
To IUCN, that it:
- Support the refinement of the framework established in the workshop and take necessary steps to finalize it. This should include assessment of potential boreal zone elements within the Icelandic, Scottish, Japanese, Mongolian, Chinese, and Kazakhstan territories. Continue to provide expertise for boreal forest conservation through its networks.
- Continue to use best available expertise to evaluate new nominations of boreal forests.
To the international community, that it:
- Facilitate the process of international and national networking for information and experience sharing by supporting it financially and by all other available means, in order to achieve common approaches in identification, establishment and management of the existing and proposed World Heritage sites. Great care ought to be taken to include all relevant stakeholders in the networks.
- Give high priority for financial support for the conservation of still intact boreal forests in general, and the areas identified at the workshop and within the framework in particular.