3.5 Nature protected areas.

The state of the city nature protected areas

The city green area framework includes 17 forests-parks, 17 city-level parks, 58 district-level parks, 9 specialised parks, 14 gardens, nearly 700 small public gardens, boulevards. The natural vegetation within the city has remained in form of single fragments of natural communities: «Losinyy Ostrov», «Bittsevskiy Les», «Serebryanyy Bor», and others.

Despite severe technological and recreational impacts, typical as well as unique natural complexes of great scientific, recreational, and cultural value are still persisting in Moscow. The largest of them cross the city boundaries and link together with forests of the suburban protective green belt. Spruce forests approach the city from the north; mainly pine forests of the sandy Meshchera plain are in the east, and mixed coniferous-broad-leafed forests, typical for the vicinity of Moscow, are in the west. From the south oak and lime forests approach the city; fragments of them survived within the city on Teplostanskaya heights built up of carbonate rocks.

The largest forested areas are the National Park «Losinyy Ostrov» and the Natural Park «Bittsevskiy Les»; they form the basis of Moscow’s especially protected territories.

The National Park «Losinyy Ostrov» was established by the Russian Federation Government Decree No. 401 of August 24, 1983 within the territories of Moscow City and the Moscow region in order to preserve natural complexes, to optimise nature management, to develop national culture, and to provide opportunities for organised recreation. The Natural Park is subordinate to the Moscow Government.

Despite the fact that the Moscow region is considered to be an area, which is studied rather well in terms of flora, the full inventory of the flora of «Losinyy Ostrov» has not been carried out yet. Ups to now, 505 higher plant species are found within the territory of the park. The flora composition is characterised by domination of forest species as well as relatively large amount of weeds, adventitious species due to the position of the park surrounded by settlements, transportation routes, and agricultural lands.

«Losinyy Ostrov» is famous for its richness in wildlife. Because of a significant total area, a combination of the most various habitats, and a long restriction of forestry activities within its territory, the park continues to be one of the most interesting forests near Moscow in terms of fauna even now when build-up areas surround it from three sides. During the last decade, some measures have been taken aimed at the restoration of a large wetlands complex in the upper reaches of the Yauza River. Rather extensive strict reserve has been established in the area where economic activities are stopped almost completely, and the number of visitors declined abruptly. As a result, a very interesting ornithological complex has formed there consisting of wetland and grassland bird species; perfect spawning-grounds have emerged. The re-acclimatisation of the beaver in the park was successful. All this gives hope that the fauna of the park will be replenished by species, which have disappeared there in the recent past.

Ungulate animals are represented in the park by the elk, sika deer, and wild hog. The number of elks varies from 20 to 30. Sika deer were introduced in «Losinyy Ostrov» for the first time in the 1930s. Their number varies depending on protective measures and winter foraging. It was minimal (13 animals) in 1985, but now it is restoring gradually. Wild hogs were found in «Losinyy Ostrov» in 1974, and their relatively stable population exists there now numbering from 80 to 100 animals in favourable years.

Besides the Russian desman, to the especially protected mammals belong also all bats, the badger, and the dormouse; they are included into the List of the protected rare animal species of the Moscow region. In the territory of the park the following birds build their nests (mainly in the wetlands area near the sources of the Yauza River): great-crested grebe, black-necked grebe, horned grebe, little grebe, bittern, little bittern, grey heron. Occasionally, not more frequently than once in three years, the black stork makes its passing-by stops there; this species is included in the Red Data Books of IUCN and of the Russian Federation. Wetlands of the upper Yauza River are also the main habitat of anseriformes. By the late summer and the autumn, ducks are crowding there (sometimes numbering up to one thousand birds and more); cautious birds, such as the grey lag goose, bean goose, white-fronted goose, and even the whooper swan, also make stop there while passing by.

A colony of black-headed gulls appeared in the least accessible part of the Yauza wetlands in the early 1980s. Nine species of prey birds (honey buzzard, black kite, marsh harrier, goshawk, sparrow-hawk, common buzzard, hobby, red-footed falcon, common kestrel) nest, or nested in the recent past, in «Losinyy Ostrov»; the total number of species including birds of passage reach 17. This area is the unique certainly identified nesting site of the red-footed falcon in the Moscow region. The stock dove is the most common in the park; quails and hazel hens build their nests there. Among owl species the tawny owl is the most common, it prefers old lime stands. The long-eared owl inhabits half grown forests. The short-eared owl, pygmy-owl, boreal owl, and little owl nest irregularly. The great amount of woodpeckers (8 species) is notable. Perching birds are represented by the greatest number of species (totally 89, including 76 nesting ones), as everywhere in the forest zone.

Reptiles and some amphibians proved to be the most sensitive to the impact of the city. The grass snake and adder have survived only in strongly swamped and rarely visited habitats. The common newt and, more rarely, the crested newt are found yet. The common, moor, pool, and marsh frogs are the most common. The common and green toads are found more rarely.

As for fishes inhabiting the water bodies, small rivers and the water supply canal - the river perch, pike, roach, gudgeon, and other species, characteristic for the Moscow region, are common.

In 1989 the Research Institute for the Moscow City Planning and Development has worked out a Project of the national park arrangement. The territory of the park should be divided into several functional zones with different regime of protection and use: especially protected zone - 4,900 ha (41.8% of the total area), including a strict reserve - 1,500 ha (12.5%); training and excursion zone - 3,500 ha (29.7%); recreational zone - 3,400 ha (28.5%).

The natural park "Bittsevskiy Les" was nominated by the Decision of the Presidium of the Moscow City Soviet No. 200 of October 17, 1991 as an especially protected natural area that is the object of the Moscow's natural as well as historical and cultural heritage, and was established by the Decree of the Moscow Government No. 1153-RP of May 12, 1992. The area of the natural park includes valuable historical and cultural objects such as the former country estates Znamenskoye-Sadki, Uzkoye, Yasenevo as well as archaeological sites.

The territory of the natural park "Bittsevskiy Les" is 2230 ha large and situated in the South-West District of Moscow. The total length of external boundaries of the park is 33.7 km. The territory of the natural park is divided into the two forest-parks: Olimpiyskiy (793 ha) and Yasenevskiy (625 ha). The maximum carrying capacity of the park is estimated to be 125,000 persons. Within the zone of accessibility for pedestrians (adjacent dwelling quarters of the city not farther than 1.5 km from the park) reside 500,000 persons.

There are more than 36 forested areas totalling 11,780 ha within the Moscow's territory. The forests of the city experience a progressive degradation caused by the impact of recreation; their area keeps shrinking. The forested areas range from 5 to 3,000 ha. The largest forested areas are situated mainly on the Moscow's periphery; they are "Losinyy Ostrov", "Bittsevskiy Les", Izmaylovskiy Forest, Serebryanoborskoye experimental forestry subordinated to the Forestry Institute (Russian Academy of Sciences), forest-park "Kuz'minki". Small forested areas are more vulnerable; the percentage of degraded stands reach 85-90 there while it is only 6-20 in large forested areas.

More than a half (73) of 125 natural monuments are situated in three districts - the South, South-West, and West ones. There is only one natural monument in the North administrative District. A half of the monuments of landscape architecture (30 monuments) is concentrated within the Central District, the other half of them is rather evenly distributed in other districts. The experience of natural monument treatment shows that putting them in order requires an individual approach to every monument; it is necessary to develop projects of their conservation and take indispensable measures according to them.

The management of nature protected areas.

The natural monuments are the most difficult to control because of non-demarcated boundaries on the spot, negligence in treatment of construction documentation by involved institutions, lack of an appropriate control by local authorities, lack of responsible persons authorised to protect the monuments. All these make it difficult to protect such objects.

The most significant objects regarded as natural monuments are "Terrace of the Moskva River in Serebyanyy Bor" ("Serebryanoborskaya terrasa reki Moskvy") (300 ha); "Shchukino Peninsula" ("Shchukinskiy poluostrov") (450 ha); "Skhodnya Scoop" ("Skhodnenskiy kovsh") (107.2 ha); "Slopes of Lenin's Hills" ("Sklony Leninskikh gor") (90 ha).

Research Institute for the Moscow City Planning and Development has worked out "Management scheme for natural areas important to the city"; it is submitted now to the approval by involved institutions.

The indispensable prerequisite for the development of Moscow's green areas is to eliminate a set of factors causing damaging and degradation of natural vegetation; it includes diminishing of man-induced impacts on natural complexes, reducing of pollution levels of environmental components, legal arrangements concerning the use of green areas.

The green areas occupy about 30% of city's territory. The implementation of measures in order to retain and expand the green areas in Moscow has the following purposes:

3.6. The main environmental problems of Moscow and its region.

The history of Moscow's development indicates that, on the one hand, a large city acts as a severe pollutant in the environment and, on the other hand, it is a centre of scientific and technological progress aiming at the solving of environmental problems.

Moscow has a many centuries long experienced how to manage environmental problems, many of which have deep roots in the history. Moscow's street pattern has developed during its many centuries long history. In the last decades of the 19th century fragments of future chord main streets by-pass the city centre gradually complemented the network of radial and ring-shaped streets. This radii-and-rings pattern has remained up to the present being complemented by new radial and ring-shaped streets as the city grew. Despite of all restrictive measures this system keeps functioning exacerbating the already immense impact on the natural complex.

One or two decades ago there was no aggravation of the environmental situation despite of considerable industrial emissions, first of all because the Moscow's natural complex was able to assimilate these emissions. The significant green "wedges" absorbing emissions between the zones of man-induced impacts played an important role.

According to the General Plan of Moscow’s Reconstruction (1935) the protective green belt was assigned around the city; industrial and settlement zones should alternate there with large forested areas. It was just the time when the strategy was worked out aimed at removal of harmful pollution sources out of the city.

The impact on the natural complex increased significantly in the peripheral areas in connection with the construction of the Moscow Ring Highway in 1961; it became a great source of air, soil, and surface water pollution. But the highway allowed to diminish considerably the transit traffic through the central part of the city and to lessen the intensity of man-induced impact on the historical centre of the city.

In recent years the acuteness of the environmental situation in the Moscow region is especially exacerbated by the lack of coordination in activities carried out by the Moscow City and the Moscow region authorities. Thus, the Moscow’s protective green belt, established for the purposes of sanitation and recreation, fails in a greater part to fulfil its function now due to the vicinity of large transportation routes, industrial and storage facilities, landfills, and residential zones. An uncoordinated development of areas along the Moscow Ring Highway results in the situation when the most Moscow’s peripheral territories border not on natural, but on build-up areas that are virtually a continuation of the city. In connection with the beginning of the active cottage construction (an area of 5,000 ha is already assigned for this purpose) a real prospect emerges that the circle of build-up areas around Moscow will be closed. Many of the settlements have no developed engineering infrastructure and are situated within the zones of sanitary protection of sources of the Moscow’s centralised water supply for industrial and domestic use; they were built without indispensable environmental studies and construction documentation. Environmental impact assessment by the state is not carried out in the suburban areas.

The present economical structure of the protective green belt does not answer its purpose of environmental conservation due to a great density of industrial facilities, poor development of recreational zones, and insufficient attention to the forestry. The ecological stability limits of the environment and the natural complex of the protective green belt are already significantly exceeded. The destruction of the belt wholeness results in diminishing its principal protective functions towards Moscow.

In comparison with other large cities of the world Moscow faces some objective factors aggravating environmental problems. Regenerating ability of ecosystems is significantly lower in the Moscow metropolitan area than in warmer cities. Moscow’s green areas and micro-biological systems in water bodies work «at full capacity» not longer than 5-6 month a year.

Centralised systems of heat and water supply have certain advantages, but, in the same time, they stimulate an increase in building density and, consequently, in specific technological impact per unit of area. Moscow has the highest population density among the largest capitals of the world. It averages nearly 8,400 persons per square kilometres in Moscow while it is 8,100 in the central part of New York; 5,400 in Tokyo; 3,500 in Berlin; 3,900 in London.

The daily water consumption in the world cities averages 400 litters per an inhabitant, but it reaches 700 litres in some of the Moscow’s districts. Over 90 per cent of this amount come as waste water into the sewerage. Supply of excessive quantity of potable water as well as treatment of excessive waste waters results in a considerable energy consumption and in an immense amount of bottom sediments. Thousands of hectares in the city and its region are filled with these metabolites of Moscow’s vital functions. Every Muscovite «produces» annually over 300 kg of solid wastes.

As for the city development dynamics and the intensity of environmental program implementation, Moscow occupies one of the leading places in the world. Despite of the fact that Moscow belongs in terms of some parameters to the most polluted areas in the Russian Federation, there are real prerequisites for a promising sustainable development of the Russia’s capital region. This can became a reality in the case of