Programs

Sakhalin Watershed Council NetworkSakhalin Salmon Initiative

Natural resource management is as much a social exercise as it is the physical transformation of the landscape and its components. Once communities become aware of factors that impair the natural processes and characteristics of their watersheds, they can become the best source of solutions to these problems.

What do watershed councils do?

Watershed councils are community-based organizations which represent the varied interests of a watershed’s resident population, users, and visitors. They develop and strategically distribute input on policy, conservation, and restoration activities, thereby allowing civil society to provide community knowledge to government decision-makers. Watershed councils or similar organizations exist in many countries of the world, including France, Australia, the United States and the Netherlands. There are also several structures similar to watershed councils currently functioning in mainland Russia.

The SSI Watershed Council Network

Stakeholder consultations held during the SSI’s pre-implementation phase (2005-2006) determined that salmon conservation objectives could not be accomplished without undertaking efforts to expand the role of civil society in the management of natural resources. Plans for the establishment of a watershed council network on Sakhalin were included in the SSI in order to respond to this need.

In 2008, three watershed councils in the rural regions of Aniva, Smirnikhovsk and Okha were created. The councils operate as advisory bodies of municipal government administrations in the various regions. Members of these councils include municipal administrations, regional commercial fisheries associations, regionally-based NGOs, local branches of federal government agencies and local schools.

Over the course of the year, the Aniva and Smirnikhovsk councils completed independent conservation projects in their respective regions including community anti-poaching efforts, fish passage restoration (the first known watershed restoration projects in Russian Far East), and education initiatives. Through these projects, the councils provided seasonal employment to approximately fifteen local residents and protected over 200 river kilometers from poaching.

Additionally, Russian and international experts were involved in training watershed council members in project planning and watershed assessment methods. In the spring of 2008, the Wild Salmon Center and its partner Siuslaw Institute hosted eight municipal and Oblast government representatives from Sakhalin in Oregon. The Russian delegation visited with a variety of watershed councils operating in Oregon and became familiar with council operational models and project concepts. Several of the participants in the exchange later joined the new councils on Sakhalin.

Information exchange and training continued at a May 2008 workshop in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk facilitated by Johnny Sundstrom (Siuslaw Institute) and Sergei Kostarev (Environmental Committee NGO, Omsk, Russia). Draft work plans for 2008 were developed for the Aniva and Smirnikhovsk councils by working groups which consisted of council members. Representatives of the three other three focal regions of Sakhalin participated as observers.

The Wild Salmon Center’s main local partner, the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Center, is currently serving as a coordinating body for the watershed council network. The SSI Center has been assisting the councils with stakeholder outreach, scientific consultation, legal issues and project planning. The SSI Center is also coordinating the involvement of international and Russian experts in the project as consultants to the councils regarding specific projects.

2009 Objectives

Currently, the Aniva, Smirnikhovsk and Okha councils are developing and implementing work plans focused upon poaching prevention, watershed restoration, and environmental education. The councils are also beginning to take advocacy roles regarding fisheries management, poaching enforcement, pollution regulation and other topics.

Meanwhile, three additional municipal councils in Nogliki, Uglegorsk and Makarov were also formed through the outreach efforts of the SSI Center. These councils are also currently undertaking projects

Watershed Councils

As of 2009, six regional watershed councils are operating on Sakhalin:

Aniva Council

Officially created by mayoral decree on July 2, 2008.
Meets once monthly in the town of Aniva.
2008 work focused upon restoration of fish passage through culvert repairs/removals and advancing environmental education in local schools. 2009 work focused upon poaching prevention and mitigation of effects of flooding.
Contact: Sergey Makeev, Coordinator, smak02@mail.ru

Makarov Council

Officially created by mayoral decree in 2009.
2009 work focused on community environmental education.
Contact: Oleg Bonch-Bondanovskiy, Coordinator, nika141@yandex.ru

Nogliki Council

Officially created by mayoral decree in 2009.
2009 work focused upon poaching prevention and watershed restoration.
Contact: Andrei Sukhotin, Coordinator, ARP_Nogliki@mail.ru

Okha Council

Officially created by mayoral decree at the end of 2008.
Meets once monthly in the town of Okha.
Will begin project implementation focused on poaching prevention on the Langry River in 2009.
Contact: Dmitry Kiselev, member, 11Kiselev@rambler.ru

Smirnikhovsk Council

Officially created by mayoral decree on June 19, 2008.
Meets once monthly in the town of Smirnikh.
2008 work focused on organization of anti-poaching patrols on 5 rivers, community monitoring of water pollution from a gold mine, and restoration of fish passage. 2009 work is expanding the anti-poaching effort to additional rivers.
Contact: Vladimir Smirnov, Coordinator, smirnov308@gmail.com

Uglegorsk Council

Officially created by mayoral decree in 2009.
2009 work focused upon public monitoring of Pokosnaya River.
Contact: Svetlana Toporova, Member, rtvpartner@mail.ru

Download a copy of the 2009 work plan for this and other SSI projects.