Arctic and Alpine Research

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The Origin of Regional Ecological Problems within

the Northern Tyumen Oblast, Russia

Gregory E. Vilchek & Olga Yu. Bykova

To cite this article: Gregory E. Vilchek & Olga Yu. Bykova (1992) The Origin of Regional
Ecological Problems within the Northern Tyumen Oblast, Russia, Arctic and Alpine Research, 24:2,
99-107

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00040851.1992.12002935

Copyright 1992, Regents of the University of

Colorado

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Arctic and Alpine Research, Vol. 24, No.2, 1992, pp. 99-107

The Origin of Regional Ecological Problems within the Northern Tyumen

Oblast, Russia

Gregory E. Vilchek Abstract

and Olga Yu. Bykova
Institute of Geography of the USSR
Academyof Sciences, Staromonetny29,
Moscow 109017, Russia.
The northern areas ofthe Western Siberia are subjected to intensive anthropogenic
pressure, mainly by the oil and gas extraction industries, reindeer herding, hunting,
and fishing. Localized activities, rather than regional-scale activities have led to
the degradation of the natural environment on a regional scale. These processes
include (1) transfer of pollutants by water and atmosphere; (2) expansion and
merging of oil and gas development sites; (3) degradation of the key wildlife
habitats (reproduction sites offish, animals, birds, migration routes, etc.); and (4)
more intensive use of remaining pastures and hunting areas by the indigenous
population due to loss of large areas of pasture and hunting territories to the oil
and gas industries.
Analysis of the existing situation within northwest Siberia suggests that in
future the situation will continue to worsen unless there is significant improvement
in land-use management and technology of oil and gas industry. Degradation
processes may also be exacerbated by global warming. Concurrently local changes
themselves may lead to negative changes on the global scale.

Introduction
The analysis of the conflicts between the society, economy,
and natural environment is of vital importance for the under-
standing of the origin of "regional ecological (environmental)
problems." The term was introduced by Soviet geoscience in the
1980s (Geograficheskoe prognozirovanie ... , 1988). The eco-
logical(environmental) problems were defined as negative changes
in the natural landscape, i.e. those that are unfavorable to living
conditions and health of the population, as well as economic
activities in the region.
We maintain that any anthropogenic impact causes a con-
flict situation (an environmental problem), though it may not
affect the population directly. Environmental problems vary in
their degree of criticality and spatial characteristics (from local
to the global). In the case where the entire landscape of the region
or the greater part of it is disturbed, we can state that a regional
environmental problem exists. We distinguish four main levels
of criticality of regional environmental problems: (I) latent, (2)
acute (close to crisis), (3) critical (crisis), (4) catastrophic. The
latter three levels are outlined in Table 1, and the first corre-
sponds to partial anthropogenic disturbance of several compo-
nents of ecosystems without significant damage for landscapes,
economy, or human population.
Study Area
The study area is located in the northern part of the Western
Siberia, Russia, in the north of the Tyumen Oblast, mainly with-
in the boundaries of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District
(Fig. 1). This area was chosen as the focus of the study for the
following reasons:
(I) intensive industrial development of the region began
about 20 yr ago. Retrospective analysis of regional environ-
mental problems is therefore more reliable;
(2) along with the conflict between the natural environment
and oil and gas industry there exists the conflict between the oil
and gas and the traditional economy of the indigenous popu-
lation, which provokes social conflicts;
(3) the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, though an ad-
ministrative unit, possesses natural and historical unity; its ad-
ministrative boundaries coincide with the main river basins (ex-
cluding the Ob River) and the southern subarctic boundary; it
is the area where reindeer herding is the dominant traditional
activity;
(4) notwithstanding intensive industrial development, land-
scapes that have hardly changed still occupy a small part of the
region. Thus we can both study development of the environ-
mental problems and identify preventive nature protective mea-
sures for areas not yet degraded.
HISTORY
In order to understand the origin of the regional environ-
mental problems we will briefly review the history of economic
development of the region.
Three stages can be distinguished in the development ofthe
northern Tyumen Oblast:
(I) Until the end of the 17th century, hunting and fishing
predominated. During this period, the first large Russian settle-
ments appeared in the region, mainly as administrative, military,
and trade centers. These include Mangazeya (1601-1672) and
Obdorsk (now Salekhard) (1595).
(2) Since the middle of the 17th century, large-scale reindeer
herding has developed (Krupnik, 1989), gradually forcing out
declining coastal hunting and becoming the main activity for the
indigenous population. Hunting in the forest and fishing in the
river still continued. During the mid-17th century, a number of
permanent settlements appeared, where both Russians and in-
digenous people lived.
(3) Industrial development of the territory began in the sec-
ond half of the 20th century, and its first stages were connected
mainly with geological prospecting of oil and gas. Since the mid-

© 1992 Regents of the University of Colorado G. E. VILCHEK AND O. Yu. BYKOVA /99
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FIGURE 1. Tyumen Oblast. A generalized physiographic map ofthe Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District
as part of the Tyumen Oblast and its industrial centers.

100 / ARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH

 TABLE 1
Scale of regional ecological (environmental) problems

Regional ecological problems

The index estimated Acute (close to crisis) Critical (crisis) Catastrophic

State of geosystem under Transformations in most geographical
the anthropogenic im- components exceed natural fluctua-
pact tions, and/or isolated elements of
ecosystems are destroyed com-
pletely
Self-restoring ability of Preserved for all functional and spa-
geosystems after the im- tial subunits of a geosystem
pact is removed
Conditions for living and Transformation of the ecosystem is
economic activity pro- neutral for industry, but it changes
duced by the trans- conditions for traditional forms of
formed environment nature use for the worse. No danger
for the population health
Area under direct impact Up to 15% of the territory
Practically all natural components are
transformed; primary geosystems
are partly substituted by the natural
anthropogenic complexes
Preserved for the majority of subunits
of a geosystem
Transformations affect industry and
destroy traditional economy. No di-
rect danger for the population
health though
From 15 to 25% of the territory
Primary geosystems are destroyed com-
pletely and substituted by the natural
anthropogenic complexes
Lost for most of the subunits, i.e. degra-
dation of the geosystem does not stop,
even if the impact is removed, neigh-
boring areas are also affected
Transformations make any economic
activity practically impossible. Health
of the population is endangered
Over 25% of the territory

die of the 1960s, the Ob River basin has experienced significant
impact of oil extraction industry due to pollution of the river
with oil and oil-refining products from oil extraction areas, lo-
cated in the Middle Ob basin. In the 1970s extraction of gas and
oil deposits began in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Distri~t.
The Medvezhye deposit was the first to be developed, followed
by the Urengoy oil and gas deposit and a group of oil deposits
in the south of the district (Sutorminsk, Muravlenkovo), which
lie within the Nadym and Pur river basins. The new cities Nadym
and Novy Urengoy were constructed in 1972 and 1981, respec-
tively. In the mid-1980s development of the Yamburg deposit
started in the Taz Peninsula. Noyabrsk was built in 1982. To
supplement the winter roads, construction of the infrastructure
began with a railway across the northern Urals to Labytnangi.
In the 1980s construction of the railway connecting Tyumen,
Surgut, Noyabrsk, Novy Urengoy, and Yamburg was completed.
Further industrial expansion within the region is primarily
associated with the development of deposits in the Yamal Pen-
insula, with the construction of oil-gas refining facilities in Novy
Urengoy, in the Pur-Taz basin, and with the gas and oil pipeline
and railway toward the northern Yamal deposits.
Human Aetitity and the Environment: Local Scale
At present traditional activities (reindeer herding, hunting,
fishing, and forest exploitation) and recent industrial develop-
ment (geological prospecting, construction of oil and gas extract-
ing complexes, roads and pipelines, settlements, etc.) are the
main forms of economic activity in the region. Among the as-
sociated human activities, there are transportation (the ground
transport network is the most damaging for vegetation cover and
permafrost grounds), settlements, and recreation. The main
characteristics of human impact are given in Table 2. These are
obviously approximate estimates, as the real parameters depend
both on technical characteristics of a particular industrial com-
plex and on specific features of the landscape subjected to its
impact. For example, areas disturbed by the construction of a
single gas pipeline varies from 0.05 km 2 km - I in drained flat
plains to 0.25 km- 2 km- I in swamps.
Every form of the economic activity and every industrial
complex produce a combined impact, which can be analyzed as
a number of simple (or individual) (Table 2) impacts. Simple
impacts differ in time, space, and nature. These were arranged
(Table 3) in several types according to the main mechanisms of
landscape disturbances.
In this paper we do not describe the reactions of the land-
scapes to simple impacts. This problem has been already studied
(Kruchkov, 1987; Vaskovsky, 1988; Vilchek, 1988). We will
therefore mention only the most important points. Many direct
impacts, especially the physic-mechanical ones, initiate a chain
reaction of changes involving practically the whole landscape.
They promote processes, which are, as a rule, typical for the
natural environment, but are not activated without anthropo-
genic impact. Disturbances of vegetation cover cause distur-
bances in heat exchange between atmosphere and the surface,
which in turn lead to the increase of heat flow to the grounds,
and degradation of permafrost upper layers (Tyrtikov, 1969,
1974; and others). It results in the initiation of thermokarst and
solifluction processes, which can transform the landscape.
The probability that a process will be initiated and the degree
of its intensity depend both on the character of impact and
characteristics of the landscape itself. Thus, thermokarst and
solifluction are most active in the areas with high ice content in
the ground, with re-formed ice wedges and ice lenses. Wind
erosion is most active on drained sandy ground, containing very
little ice. Wind erosion of sandy ground begins within local areas
with destroyed vegetation, later it involves larger areas, causing
depression and destruction of vegetation cover on nondisturbed
areas, eventually leading to the formation of sandy badlands.
Such badlands are now widespread within the Urengoyskoe gas
field.
Thus, simple impacts (mechanical disturbances of vegeta-
tion cover and soil, heat ejection to the ground etc., see Table
3) initiate one or more processes (thermokarst, solifluction, wind
erosion, water erosion, fires), which involve significantly larger
areas than those primarily disturbed, promoting expansion of
the disturbances from the microlocallevel to the local one.
The area oflands allotted for industrial use us presumed to
be equal to the area of direct impact. A few years after the
beginning of construction of the industrial comlexes the area of
disturbances will be significantly larger. For example, land al-
lotment for inductrial use within the Yamburg deposit does not
exceed 2% of the area. However, our investigations (aerial and
surface observations and analysis of remote-sensing data) show

G. E. VILCHEK AND O. Yu. BYKOVA /101

 TABLE 2
Characteristics oftypical human activities and their impact on geosystems»

Activities, Space charac-

industrial Duration of teristics of Average Nature of
complexes Typical impacts direct impact disturbances disturbed area impact"

Hunting Wildlife resources withdrawal, transport and settlement Permanent Areal-re- Be

impact, connected with it gional
Reindeer herding Mechanical disturbances of vegetation, phytomass with- Permanent Areal 0.4 km- for a Be, M, Ch
drawal head in a
year
Geological prospecting Surface disturbances, pollution with drilling liquid, pe- 1-2 years Nodal 0.03 krn- M,CH
(a drilling well) troleum, garbage
Oil and gas produc- Land allocation for constructions and artificial cover, Permanent Nodal (local) 0.05·0.5 km ? M,Ch(H)
tion: Gas deposits surface disturbances, spread of petroleum, drilling liq-
uid; transformation of wind regime, snow accumula-
tion, surface flow by embankments, buildings; heat
ejections and fires in case of a breakdown
Oil deposits Similar impact + spread of raw oil Permanent Nodal (local) 0.5·0.5 km ? M,Ch(H)
Gas pipelines Surface disturbances, transformation of snow accumula- Permanent Linear 0.1 km- krn' M,H(H)
tion and flow distribution, heat ejections (local) (one line)
Oil pipelines Surface disturbances, spread of oil, fires in case of a Permanent Linear 0.1 krns km' MIH,Ch
breakdown (local) (one line)
Roads with artificial Land allocation, snow accumulation regime and flow Permanent Linear 0.04 krn- M
cover distribution transformation km- l
Irregular transport Surface disturbances Isolated Linear, nod- 0.003--D.02 M
al km- krn'

a Reindeer breeding data characterizes the branch development within the Taimyr peninsula (Shchelkunova, Savchenko, 1979). Oil-gas industry data has been

obtained during the authors' field investigations in the West Siberia North, the rest is given according to our field work in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra, Tumen
North and Taimyr.
b Mechanism of impact: M-mechanical, Ch-chemical, Be-connected with bioresources exploitation, H-heat ejection. Character of impact in case of a

breakdown is given in parentheses.

TABLE 3
Anthropogenic impact classification

Types Groups Forms

Physio-rnechanical Mechanical surface Ground excavation (open casts, sand excavation, etc.)
impact disturbance Leveling of building and industrial sites
Soil and vegetation cover disturbances, connected with irregular transportation
Trampling down (due to excessive reindeer herding and recreation)
Construction of embankments and Embankments of linear constructions
other artificial substrates Embankments of industrial sites
Roads, airports, etc.
Buildings, other constructions
Heat ejections Into the atmosphere (torches, engines, etc.)
Into the ground (pipelines, industrial enterprises, buildings)

Chemical impact Pollution of ground ecosystems By oil and petroleum

By drilling liquid
Other pollutants
Water pollution By oil and petroleum
By other pollutants
Air pollution By trace gases' burning products
By exhaust gas
By other pollutants

Exploitation of Wildlife Hunting

bioresources Fishing
Vegetation Reindeer herding
Forest cutting
Mowing (within river flood-plains)
Gathering

102 / ARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH

that vegetation cover and upper soil layers are completely de-
stroyed within 3 to 5% ofthe territory, highly disturbed (biomass
being decreased by 40 to 60%) within 10 to 15% of the area, and
vegetation obviously suppressed within some 20 to 25% of the
areas (biomass decreased by 20 to 30%). The remainder of the
territory is slightly disturbed (isolated transportation tracks par-
tial disturbance of shrubs in the flat tundra plains and of trees
within river valleys). In addition, adjacent disturbance zones
tend to merge. Thus, prospecting drilling derricks located closer
than 700 m from each other, form an aggregate ellipse-like zone
of disturbances, while the derricks located at a greater distance
from each other have the radius of disturbed area about 75 to
100 m. Thus the whole territory of the oil and gas development
becomes unfit for the use as reindeer pasture or hunting ground.
An aggravating factor is that linear constructions form numerous
obstacles for migratory reindeer herds. It should be also men-
tioned that the environment, destabilized by exogenic processes,
exerts negative influence upon industrial developments lowering
their reliability and safety.
Over-grazing reindeer pastures provide another example of
disturbance expansion at the local level. Excessive reindeer graz-
ing on lichen pastures to the south of the Yambu-to lake or near
the Yaro-to lake (in the Yamal peninsula) have led to destruction
of vegetation cover on the upper parts of drained slopes, which
has caused catastrophic solifluction. Now 15 to 20% of the area
has no vegetation and the territory is practically unfit for further
use as pastures. Restoration of grass and moss vegetation 'in
relatively wet coastal landscape occurs within several years or
in the first decades after disturbance. Regrowth of lichens in
distrubed upland dry tundra takes several centuries (Tishkov,
1984), due to the low nutrient content in sandy soils, low rates
of lichen growth, and damage for vascular plant seedlings by
wind erosion.
Human Impact and the Environment: Regional Scale
Specific features of the anthropogenic transformation of the
landscapes at the microlocal and local levels have been discussed;
these are the basis for understanding further expansion of the
disturbances to the regional level and the subsequent regional
environmental problems. In most cases formation ofthe regional
environmental problems is connected with direct or indirect
anthropogenic impact over larger areas: regional river flow re-
distribution (the Aral area), forest cutting and plowing up of
virgin lands (Central Africa), excessive herding of livestock (in
the dry steppe zone of Russia), and pollution of the atmosphere
(acid rains in Europe and North America, the Chernobyl catas-
trophe). Occasionally, as is the case we encountered in the north-
ern Tyumen Oblast regional environmental problems are formed
due to local impacts (mechanical disturbances of soil-vegetation
cover and interference with the permafrost regime during con-
struction and exploitation of oil and gas industrial objects), al-
though, as elsewhere, the role of reindeer pasture degradation,
river pollution with oil, and some other processes are also sig-
nificant. Let us examine the main four groups of processes that
promote regionalization of disturbances and play the major role
in transformation of the environment within the northern Tyu-
men Oblast.
WATER AND AIR POLLUTION TRANSFER
Water and air pollution transfer is one of the most obvious
ways of expanding local anthropogenic impacts to the regional
level. As we have mentioned, geological prospecting and ex-
ploitation of oil and gas fields in Russia inevitably cause spills
of oil, petroleum, drilling liquid, other chemicals, that lead to
soil and water pollution. The low self-cleansing potential of
northern rivers, due to their lower water temperature, causes
pollutant spreading far downstream. It is possible to determine
exact sources of pollution for every river by examining the lo-
cation of oil and gas deposits with respect to the large river basins
(see Fig. 2). Thus, pollution revealed in the lower Pur River is
caused by the exploitation of deposits located in the upper and
middle course of the river: a group of oil deposits in the south
of the region (Muravlenkovo, Surgut, Sutorminsk, and Kraineye
oil fields), and the Urengoyskoe oil and gas field. Development
of the Kharampurskoe oilfield, which is planned for the near
future, will worsen conditions in the Pur River basin. In addition,
the deposit is located close to the Taz River basin, which is still
clean, so it poses a real danger for the river.
The atmosphere of the region is affected mostly by thermal
pollution. According to the data given by Pokrovskaya (1988)
annual thermal ejections to the atmosphere during gas torching
attains the annual amount of solar radiation absorbed by soil
and vegetation within the region that inevitably affects the cli-
mate on regional and global scale. Unfortunately, there are no
exact data on chemical pollution of the air in the region by carbon
dioxide or sulphur, but it may cause acid precipitation within
the neighboring areas.
MERGING OF ADJACENT DISTURBED AREAS
Development of exogenic processes (mainly of wind and
water erosion) on the neighboring deposit borders and the in-
crease in intensity of track vehicle trafficbetween industrial com-
plexes cause expansion and merging of these disturbed areas.
Industrial development of the region, the scheme of which is
shown in Figure 2, gives a number of examples: the Urengoy
gas and oil deposit consists of a series of smaller fields, which
form an aggregated disturbed area. The Novy Urengoy city has
also merged into the area. Soon the Urengoy and Yamburg de-
posits will also merge. Three oilfields in the south of the Yamal-
Nenets Autonomous District (Sutorminsk, Muravlenkovo, Krai-
neye) have in fact merged into one large degraded area. Devel-
opment of the northern Yamal deposits has just began, but an-
thropogenic pressure on the landscapes between the Bovanenkovo
and Kharasavei gasfields is already obvious. Further develop-
ment of gas and oil industry will significantly transform the
territory between Kharasavei and Tambei fields. The same thing
can be said about gasfields within the Pur-Taz basin. It should
be also mentioned, that industrial development is, as a rule,
accompanied by the increase of recreational activities on terri-
tories neighboring industrial sites, which while not affected by
the industrial pollution are strongly affected by illegal hunting,
widespread among the industry personnel.
IMPACT ON BIOTIC COMPLEXES
Local disturbances of landscapes cause significant impacts
on biotic complexes of the region on the whole, when transfor-
mation of the key portions of animal habitats (reproduction sites
and migration paths) and impact on migrating animals take place.
Let us give some examples. Development of deposits in the
eastern part ofthe Yamal Peninsula, exploitation ofthe Yamburg
deposit within the Tazovsky peninsula, and construction of the
Obskaya-Bovanenkovo railway endangers reproductive rivers
important for fish reproduction, which can be destroyed by oil
G. E. VILCHEK AND O. Yu. BYKOVA / 103
 .........; ...
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'-. L.......-.-..J
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'-.- -:)
. ."l.

"..\
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c..
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'::, • Gas Field

.-."~:.4l
\

d· @ "\ .~.

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Muravlenkov
••(;) Kharampursk J
O •• : Oil Field •'"
" (Surgut ~torminsk") () ~) )
}Oil Field.
v' _.-.....;... \.C?.-(!?-'
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t.\ l...J
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Ir:::r::rrrri Areas of goelogical prospecting

_ Exploited deposits

Areas of proposed expansion of oil and gas fields

@ New industrial settlements

o Towns
Gas Pipelines
• •• existing

- . - . - . - planned

Railroads
existing
___ planned

FIGURE 2. A scheme of the industrial development of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District,

104 I ARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH

and chemical pollution, hydraulic sand mining or gravel mining
(as happened on the Sob River). Destruction of even a few re-
production sites deprive a significant part of the fish species in
the Ob River basin of the possibility of normal reproduction. A
similar hazard for normal wintering of fish species (see Appen-
dix)in the Ob River occurs as a result of pollution of bottom
sediments in the so-called "wintering pits" in the Ob River inlet
mainly by heavy oil fractions (at certain places their concentra-
tion reaches 10 to 20% of the upper layer sediments) (data from
the Regional Fish and Game Service).
A group of oil deposits (Muravlenkovo, Sutorminsk, Krai-
neye fields) and a large agglomeration of oil extraction fields in
the middle Ob River lie within the belt of the usual migration
paths of a number of bird species. Mass deaths of migrant birds
in gas torches and in lakes covered with oil spilt during industrial
breakdowns are widely known.
We also think that anthropogenic transformation of habitats
of rare and disappearing species of animals and plants, rare and
disappearing ecosystems, and also biotopes contributing to the
regional biodiversity, should be regarded as ecological problems
of the regional scale. The latter includes river valley complexes
and all forests in the tundra-taiga ecotone. On the subregional
scale, the southern and central Yamal areas, the Pur-Taz and
Taz-Yenisey basins, the Ural piedmont are very important.
IMPACT ON TRADITIONAL ECONOMY
Industrial development of oil-gas fields within the Tyumen
North redistributes anthropogenic pressure initially caused by
the traditional economic activities. As reindeer herding and
hunting is displaced from oil and gas deposits territories and
from neighboring territories ofrecently constructed settlements,
increase of pressure on pasture and hunting grounds which are
not affected by industrial development occurs. The total number
of domestic reindeer within the Yamal Peninsula (over 200,000)
is already 1.5 to 2 times greater than the optimal one in the
region, then allotment of even small areas of pasture for the oil
and gas industry will cause catastrophic degradation ofremaining
pastures within the whole peninsula. Living conditions of rein-
deer herders and hunters will worsen, and in turn will lead to
social conflicts between the aboriginal population and newcom-
ers.
Environmental Problems within the
Northern Tyumen Oblast: Assessment of the
Existing and Future Situation
General assessment ofactual conditions ofthe environment
in the northern Tyumen Oblast became more or less possible
only recently after a landscape disturbance study by the Institute
for Research and Prospecting in Siberia (PNIIS, unpublished
data). The total area of explored and developed gas and oil fields
in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District is about 6200 krn-, Plant
cover is completely destroyed in 450 km' within gas and oil
fields and in 1800 km- along main pipelines. The total area with
destroyed vegetation is about 2500 km-, Further remote-sensing
study will detail this assessment. Still those few data that we
have allow us to characterize the ecological situation within the
northern Tyumen Oblast as acute (close to crisis). The principal
cause of this situation is the intensive transformation of land-
scapes around the deposits, oil and petroleum pollution of rivers,
and degradation of reindeer pastures due to over-herding. From
the subregional point of view, the situation is most dangerous
in the Ob River valley and Ob inlet (due to pollution with oil
industry wasted in the Middle Ob basins) and within the Pur
River basin and in the south of the Taz Peninsula, and within
Yamal Peninsula.
Further industrial development will certainly make the eco-
logical situation in the region still worse. Areas of explored gas
and oil fields (according to current officalplans of northern Tyu-
men Oblast development) will increase to 16,200 km' and the
area with completely destroyed vegetation will be more than
5500 km-, Further landscape degradation is possible due to rein-
deer over-grazing.
The development of the Pur-Taz group of gas fields and the
Kharampursk oilfield may cause an abrupt change for the worse
of the water quality of the rivers and ecology of the floodplain
ecosystems, which are not yet under human impact other than
the traditional economic activities. The degradation of land-
scapes within the Taz basin may deepen, if timber cutting is
continued, or even more so, if it is intensified in the headwaters
and midwaters of the river.
Expansive development ofthe Pur-Nadym oilfields, the Sur-
gut deposit in particular, will endanger the Nadym River, which
is also relatively clean, at least in its headwaters. Summing up,
we can state, that the ecological (environmental) situation in the
northern Tyumen Oblast will soon transform into the critical
(crisis) category.
One more aspect should be at least mentioned: that is the
global aspect of the regional ecological (environmental) prob-
lems. Transformation of the landscape within the territory of oil
and gas fields and along transportation lines disturbs thermal
regime of permafrost and causes its degradation. Global warming
will certainly contribute to the process. Expected atmospheric
CO, doubling and an increase of average temperature in the
Northern Hemisphere by I to 2°C will lead to the much more
significant temperature increase in high latitude-4 to 8°C in
summer and up to 12°Cin winter (Mitchell et al. 1990; Velichko
et aI., 1991). That will strongly affect permafrost degradation,
especially within the areas of disturbed vegetation, leading to
activation of thermokarst and solifluction. The processes will be
especially active in the north of the Yamal Peninsula, with its
abundant re-formed ice wedges and large ice lenses (for example,
the Bovanenkovo deposit). If we also take into account rise of
the world ocean level, accompanying the warming, then we can
expect that the large areas ofYamal coastal plains with elevation
5 to 10m above sea level will be submerged.
Conclusion
The ecological (environmental) situation in the tundra-taiga
ecotone in the northern Tyumen Oblast can be considered critical
on a local scale (within oil and gas fields) and acute (close to
critical) on the regional scale. Ecological problems of the region
are caused both by industrial development of oil and gas de-
posits, and by the specific features of tundra landscapes. We
identify the following sources of ecological problems:
(I) shortcomings in organization and functioning of oil and
gas industry (poor discipline of the staff, violation of rules and
instructions, exceeding of standards for land withdrawal adopted
for industrial developments, oil and petroleum pollution of water
and soil, etc);
(2) unregulated hunting and fishing;
(3) domestic reindeer over-herding;
(4) lack of a well-grounded system of environmental pro-
tection and recultivation;
G. E. VILCHEK AND O. Yu. BYKOVA / 105
 (5) inadequate information about the state of the environ- Tyrtikov, A. P., 1974: Dinamika rastitelnogo pokrova i razvitie
ment in the region; mnogoletnemerzlykh porod. [Vegetation cover dynamics and
(6) vulnerability of tundra and woodland landscapes within permafrost development in the Western Siberia.] Moscow:
permafrost zone; Moscow State University. 200 pp.
(7) global warming adversely affecting permafrost and caus- Shchelkunova, R. P. and Savchenko, I. V., 1979: Ratsionalnoe
ispolzovanie pastbishch v domashnem olenevodstve v Taimyr-
ing melting and activation of cryogenic processes.
skom avtonomnom okrug. [Rational pasture usage in domestic
Further industrial expansion will lead to further deteriora-
reindeer breeding within the Taimyr autonomous okrug: A
tion of the environment, ifno changes are made in the technology manual.] Novosibirsk: Siberia branch ofVASKHNIL. 42 pp.
and technical discipline of construction and exploitation of oil Vaskovsky, A. P., et al., 1988: Problemy izucheniya i okhrany
and gas industrial complexes and in the approach to the envi- landshaftov Severo- Vostoka SSSR. [Problems ofthe study and
ronmental problems. preservation oflandscapes in the USSR North-East.] Vladi-
The measures, which in our opinion could minimize the vostok: Far East branch of the USSR Academy of Science.
negative effectsof both the industrial development and the global 172 pp.
change, include: Velichko, A. A., Borisova, O. K., and Zelikson, E. M., 1991:
(I) Establishing a policy for ecologically sustainable devel- Rastitelnost v izmenyayuchemsya klimate. Vestnik Akademy
Nauk SSSR, 3: 82-94
opment of the region as a basis for the strategy of oil and gas
Vilchek, G. E. 1988. Struktura, produktivnost' i antropogennaya
extraction industries; transformatsiya tundrovykh ecosistem SSSR. [Structure, pro-
(2) Developing of a comprehensive system of ecological ductivity and anthropogenic transformation of tundra eco-
standards adopted for the Extreme North as a legal framework systems in the USSR.] Ph.D. thesis, Moscow. 18 pp.
for the economic activity in the region;
(3) Introduction of new nature-protecting technologies which Ms submitted December 1990
are already widely used in the world; Revised ms submitted September 1991
(4) Developing computer-based Geographical Ecological
Monitoring Systems (GEMS) based on field, aerial, and satellite
data; APPENDIX
(5) Strict control of land withdrawal for industrial devel-
I. Main Marketable Fish Species
opment to preserve the vegetation cover within the fields under
industrial development; Acipenser ruthenus L.
(6) Introduction of methods of biological recultivation of A. baeri Brandt
disturbed areas; Salvelinus alpinus (L.)
(7) Creation ofa system ofnature reserves within the region; Hucho hucho (L.)
(8) Development and implementation ofan adequate social, Stenodus leucichthys (Guld.)
economic, and cultural programs directed towards the indige- Coregonus sardinella Valenc. C. peled (Gmelin.)
nous population of Northwest Siberia including (a) provision of C. tugum (Pallas)
opportunities for the local people to maintain the traditional C. nasus (Pallas)
economic activities and traditional way of life; (b) involvement C. muksun (Pallas)
of the local population in modern industrial activities through Thymallus arcticus (Pallas)
development ofa system ofvocational training, and by providing Esox lucius L.
the people with adequate housing in the cities and settlements; Leuciscus idus (L.)
and (c) stimulate renew the northern traditional economies so
that they become profitable. 2. Main Gamebird Species
Anser anser (L.)
References Cited Anser albifrons (Scop.)
A. erythropus (L.)
Geograjhicheskoe prognozirovanie prirodookhrannykh problem,
A. fabalis (L.)
1988: [Geographical forecasting of the ecological problems.]
Moscow: Nauka. 200 pp. Anas platyrhynchos L.
Krupnik, I. I., 1987: Arkticheskaya etnoekologiya. [Arctic eth- A. stepega L.
noecology.] Moscow: Nauka. 272 pp. A. penelope L.
Kryuchkov, V. V., 1987: Sever na grani tysyacheletii. [The North A. acuta L.
on the verge of the milleniums.] Moscow: Mysl'. 268 pp. Melanitta nigra (L.)
Mitchell, J. F. B., Manabe, S., Meleshko, V., and Tokoika, T., Lagopus mutus (Mont.)
1990: Equilibrium climate change and its implications for the L. lagopus (L.)
future. In Houghton, J. T., Jenkins, G. J., and Ephraums, J. Tetrao urogallus L.
J. (eds.), Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 133-164.
3. Rare and Protected Bird Species
Pokrovskaya, I. V., 1988: We lack the feeling of our native
country. Krasny Sever [The Red North]. Special issue. Decem- Gavia stellata (Prontopp.)
ber. p. 6. G. adamsi (G. R. Gray)
Tishkov, A. A., 1984: Geographya successiy rastitelnosti. In G. arctica (L.)
Isakov, Yu. I. and Zlotin, R. I. (eds.), Nauchnye Osnovy Geo-
Cygnus cygnus (L.)
graphiy Ecosytem. Moscow, 19-23.
Tyrtikov, A. P., 1969: Vliyanie rastitelnogopokrova na prom- C. bewickii Yarr.
erzaniei ottaivanie gruntov. [Influence of the vegetation cover Branta bernicala (L.)
on ground freezing and melting.] Moscow: Moscow State Uni- Ruftbrenta ruficollis (Pall.)
versity. 192 pp. Polystricta stelleri (Pall.)

106 / ARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH

Haliaeetus albicilla (L.) U. maritimus Phipps
Aquila chrysaetos (L.) Mustela erminea L.
Falco gyrfalco (L.) Martes zibellina L.
F. perigrinus Tunst. Gulo gulo L.
Hypetriochis sulbuteo (L.) Lutra lutra L.
Grus grus (L.) Obobenus rosmarus L.
G. leucogeranus Pall. Erignathus barbatus End.
Pagophila eburnea (Phipps.) Phoca groenlandica Fabr.
Cepphus grylle (L.) P. hispida Schr. Balaena mysticetus L.
Uria sp. Delphinapterus leucas Pallas
Cuculus saturatus Blyhh Monoden monoceros L.
Bubo bubo (L.) Alces alces L.
Rangifer tarandus L.
4. Fur-bearing, Game, and Protected Mammal Species Lepus timidus L.
Sciurus vulgaris L.
Vulpes vulpes L.
Ondatra zibethica L.
Alopex lagopus L.
Ursus arctos L.

G. E. VILCHEK AND O. Yu. BYKOVA / 107