The Novaya Zemlya is one of the parks affected by the recently announced plans to drill for oil in the South Kara Sea identified by the Russian government.
“These protected areas are now in peril,” says Aleksey Knizhnikov of WWF-Russia. “The natural values they were set up to protect - pristine ecosystems, the seabirds, the polar bears, the marine mammals - are in jeopardy.
"This makes it even more urgent and important for the two companies to re-examine their drilling plans, and for the Russian government to also take a good look at how or if the companies should be allowed to drill in this area. Surely we are not so desperate for oil that we will tear down the boundaries of protected areas to get it.”
It was established by decree of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in 2009. In discussing the need for Arctic protected areas at a forum last year Prime Minister Putin said, “An irresponsible attitude towards the Arctic could spell global problems, rather than global advantages, in the near future.”
The Russian government is not only the regulator of oil and gas activities in offshore Russia; it is also the majority shareholder in Rosneft.
“In the light of the climate driven changes in this region, and across the Arctic, we need to be looking at ways in which we can help Arctic animals and peoples transition to a new and very different reality”, says Alexander Shestakov, Director of WWF’s Global Arctic Programme. “Parking oil rigs beside protected areas is definitely not going to help.”
WWF is asking all governments and companies around the Arctic to hold off on any new oil drilling until the oil companies can prove they have identified and assessed all risks based on full knowledge of local ecosystems.
They must also prove that they can prevent accidents and are capable of timely and effective lean up of oil spills on ice-covered waters.
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