A severe storm broke a small Russian oil tanker in two off the Ukrainian port of Kerch on Sunday, spilling up to 2,000 tons of fuel oil in what a Russian official said was an "environmental disaster." A bird stained with fuel oil sits on the shore near Russia's southern port of Kavkaz. (Alexander Natruskin/Reuters)
An oil spill is seen at the Black Sea shore in Port Kavkaz. The bodies of three sailors washed ashore after a ferocious Black Sea storm sank five ships, including an oil tanker, raising fears of severe environmental damage to the virtually landlocked sea.(ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)
A bird covered in fuel oil sits on the shore 4.3 miles from Russia's southern port of Kavkaz. (Pavel Shevtsov/Reuters)
Six of the world's bear species under threat of extinction
13/ 11/ 2007
MOSCOW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - According to an assessment by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the largest international conservation network, six of the world's eight species of bear are threatened with extinction.
Despite conservation efforts by Chinese authorities, the giant panda with a wild population of less than 2,500 mature animals, remains the only species considered as having "Endangered" status, implying "a very high risk of extinction in the wild."
This year, sun bears, the world's smallest species of bear, were given a "Vulnerable" status, which means a high risk of extinction.
"We estimate that sun bears have declined by at least 30% over the past 30 years (three bear generations), and continue to decline at this rate," said Rob Steinmetz, co-chair of the IUCN Bear Specialist Group's sun bear expert team, adding that still little is known about the biology and ecology of this species.
The two major threats to sun bears are the loss of their habitat and poaching. The animals are killed mainly for their gall bladders, used in Chinese medicine, and their paws - a delicacy in many Asian countries. In addition, they are often killed out of fear they will attack people or destroy crops.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20071113/87863125.html
Environmental monitoring with Smotr
22/ 11/ 2007
MOSCOW. (Yury Zaitsev for RIA Novosti) - In mid-November the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Space Research held a meeting on the remote observation of the Earth.
Satellite information and space-based monitoring play an increasing role in the Russian economy. Studying the Earth from space can help scientists to understand how global ecosystems and the climate interact. This could make it easier to predict man-made and natural emergencies, such as the recent events in the Kerch Strait.
The Federal Space Research Program for 2006-2015 says that in order to deal with such emergencies it will be necessary to monitor 20-30 million square kilometers - the area covered by Russia and its key zones of economic interest - by 2010.
According to the program, some regions will need to be monitored at intervals of one to three hours at a resolution of 1-5 meters. By 2015, the total area to be monitored must be increased to 50-70 million square kilometers.
The financial problems that plagued Russia's space effort in the 1990s denied the country's scientists the possibility of obtaining remote sensing information from their own satellites.
Today the situation is changing.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20071122/89093443.html
Oil spill to be cleared from Kerch Strait coastline in 4 days
23/ 11/ 2007
MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - The operation to clear up the oil spill from the coastline of the Kerch Strait between the Black and Azov seas will be completed in four days, the Russian transportation ministry said on Friday.
A tanker split open spilling some 2,000 metric tons of fuel oil into the Kerch Strait and four freighters sank in a storm on November 11.
The ministry said more than 1,000 people were involved in the disaster relief operation, and that the tanker would be raised from the sea by November 26.
An interdepartmental committee for the emergency relief operation held a second meeting on Friday, the ministry said.
Timur Khikmatov, the ministry spokesman, said the pontoons necessary to raise the vessel had arrived and were being prepared for work. He also said water was being pumped out of the tanker's bow.
"The bow is being raised and this will allow us to put pontoons beneath it," Khikmatov said adding the tanker lift was scheduled for November 24.
The transportation ministry said in a press release that the Russian state maritime rescue service and the Russian Navy were responsible for coordinating the raising of the Volgoneft-139.
A deadline of November 26 has been set as according to weather forecasts the current calm weather is expected to change November 27.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20071123/89312209.html
Black Sea oil spill
http://en.rian.ru/trend/oilspill/
Bird deaths from Black Sea oil spill increasing
21/ 11/ 2007
MOSCOW, November 21 (RIA Novosti) - The number of birds killed by the oil spill in the Kerch Strait will keep growing, a member of the WWF volunteer group said Wednesday.
At least 2,000 metric tons of fuel spilled into the Kerch Strait when a tanker split open and four freighters sank in a storm on November 11 killing thousands of bids, including many endangered species.
"Birds stained with fuel oil have virtually no chance of survival if no one helps them," Valentin Kozlitin, the chief veterinary doctor at the Moscow zoo, told RIA Novosti following his return from the disaster area.
Earlier reports said some 30,000 birds had died as a result of the oil slick but Kozlitin warned the number of dying birds will increase as their migration routes cross the disaster area.
He said there is still a chance to help the birds arriving at the oil slick site.
"The authorities are taking no steps to rescue the birds and, on the contrary, are restricting and hampering the work of a few volunteers," Kozlitin added.
He said birds are dying of dehydration, hypothermia and starvation.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20071121/88972641.html
Fishing, hunting losses from Black Sea oil spill over $160 mln
19/ 11/ 2007
MOSCOW, November 19 (RIA Novosti) - Fishing and hunting losses from a fuel oil spill in a strait between the Black and Azov seas are estimated at over $160 million, the Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Monday.
At least 2,000 metric tons of fuel spilled into the Kerch Strait when a tanker split open and four freighters sank in a storm on November 11. At least six sailors died, and the bodies of five more have yet to be found.
"Preliminary damage to fish stock amounts to 3.96 billion rubles [some $162 million]," the agency said in a statement, adding that hunting losses would amount to 6.084 million rubles (about $250,000).
Earlier reports said some 30,000 birds had died as a result of the fuel oil slick. Tests of water samples showed that contamination by oil products was 2.5 milligrams per liter, some 50 times above acceptable levels.
Alexander Davydenko, the head of the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transportation, said on Monday that a temporary sailing ban had been introduced on vessels more than 25 years old.
He said the measure had been introduced due to the incident in the Kerch Strait, and that all vessels would be now inspected to find out if they met safety standards.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20071119/88716301.html
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