Sakhalin Island nature management

Sakhalin island geosystem has been forming for a long time, under the powerful influence of different processes,which are usual for sea-land contact zones. It created a unique combination of environment and natural resources. The feature is thatboth various resources and utilities concentrate on a rather small territory. Thus, the withdrawal of any resource involves the ecosysteminto irreversible consequences and decreases its efficiency that depends on a moisture-temperature balance. Water ecosystems of rivers,lakes, bogs and Sakhalin coastal lagoons are the vital environment of both the island and the sea biota. Woods and soils are an integralcomponent of these ecosystems. Hydrological and hydro-geological characteristics of the spawning rivers depend on them. Sakhalinnatives had a special model of nature management, which was based on mimicric type of behaviour. When alien ethnics came, the traditionalmodel of nature management was destroyed and replaced by the consumer model. This model could be characterized by unconditionalassignment of natural utilities with full, selective or partial withdrawal of a useful component. At all times Sakhalin Island wasconsidered as a raw material supplier region. The colonial policy took place without any considering of the island ecological featuresand was directed at extraction of wood, energy and water biological resources. Such management based on the boundary economyparadigm in combination with continental mentality, compulsory colonization and a branch control system appeared neither efficient norrational. Moreover, it appeared even pernicious for the island ecosystems. Nowadays only 15% of Sakhalin territory has favourablecondition. The condition of the other ecosystems is classified as adverse and rather adverse. In this way the necessity arose for revisionof paradigms, principles, methods and technologies of natural resources management in the island territories. Our state has the slightestchance to get the leading position in the world without refusing the boundary economy paradigm principles and beginning to use anothertype of nature management. The conception of the so-called sustainable development has already become outdated both in Russiaand in the world. The priority of exporting hydrocarbons, wood and water biological resources without developing tourism, recreations,marine aquaculture and coastal fishery, which are recognized to be prior for the southern Far East, is fraught with both furtherdecrease of ecosystems efficiency and different ecological accidents with a number of social-economic problems. On Sakhalin Island,nature management, based on the eco-development paradigm, should become a priority. The source list contains 16 bibliographicitems.

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