MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. After all scrap metal is removed from the Kildin Island in the Barents Sea, the island may become a national park and a destination for responsible ecology tourism, the Russian Geographical Society’s press service said on Monday.
"The Russian Geographical Society’s approach to the Arctic cleanup is that in addition to the man-made waste’s processing and transportation, during expeditions we analyze ecology conditions of the flora and fauna," the press service quoted the organization’s Director of Expedition and Tourism Department Natalia Belyakova as saying. "During the first season of the cleanup expedition we remove scrap metal from the Kildin Island, and also expand the knowledge about the island’s nature."
"After the cleanup, the island has every reason to become a unique national park - a zone of responsible ecology tourism," she added. "The nature’s beauty, the waterfalls and the tundra’s green carpet, and besides the artefacts - from the working lighthouse in the north, which is a typical object on most pictures, to the mysterious "golden kilometer" and other locations."
The Kildin Island is famous for the "golden root" - rhodiola rosae, the Far Eastern iris, more than 40 bird species, including those on the Red Data Book list. The island also has a world-level phenomenon - the relict Mogilnoye Lake with salt and fresh water. Various sources say the island and surrounding waters used to have more animals, like for example Arctic foxes, otters, walruses. Those species had been lost before the active military development. Marine animals have been suffering declining fish resources. Nowadays, walruses and dolphins live in the Kildin Strait and the Barents Sea. At the same time, since the access to the island is limited, there are positive conditions for restoration of the species.
The Russian Geographical Society (RGS) jointly with the Northern Fleet continues an ecology expedition to clean the island. During the Soviet times, the island hosted a military base, and after it was relocated in the 1990s, there still remain abandoned vehicles, barrels, pipes, wires, and metal airfield coating. Big metal objects are being cut, and the cargo is uploaded onto the Kola Flotilla’s ship, which takes it to the Murmansk coast, where the scrap metal is being processed. The mission on the island will continue to September 30.
"During the Arctic cleanup expedition, in addition to the processing and transportation of the man-made waste, specialists also conduct ecology reconnaissance of the cleaned locations," the press service said. "RGS’s volunteer scientists analyze the flora and fauna’s conditions."
"For the first time, on the Kildin Island they monitor the biological diversity, analyze and describe most valuable species of plants and animals, and estimate the man-made impact on the nature," the press service added.
About Russian Geographical Society
The Russian Geographical Society was founded in 1845. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has been its president since 2009. The Society unites more than 22,000 members in Russia and abroad. The society’s branches work in Russia’s all regions.