Lähetimme eilen (29.5.) Luonto-Liiton nimissä oheisen kirjeen koskien Hiipinän kansallispuistoa Murmanskin alueen kuvernöörille ja presidentti Putinille.
Toivotaan, että presidentti vastaa.
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Dear Mr. Putin,
We would like to express our concern about the urgent threat to the Khibiny Mountains on Kola peninsula (Murmansk region).
We know Khibiny Mountains as an area with unique nature values, and as one of the most popular tourist destination in European Russia. The first proposal to protect the area as a national park was made in 1917 by the Russian Geographical Society, and a national park project was put forward by Kola Science Center in 1999. The Russian government has set as its goal to establish Khibiny national park in 2015.
Nevertheless, in contradiction with these plans, the mining company Akron has leased a deposit in the northern part of Khibiny and this summer plans to start building a road through the massif, which would fragment and destroy a big part of the intact mountain area. This would lead to a great loss of nature values and would severely damage the tourist appeal of Khibiny Mountains. The building of the road would make the establishment of the national park pointless.
We appeal to you to use your influence to prevent the destruction of these unique mountains, and to speed up the establishment of Khibiny national park. We kindly ask to inform us about any actions taken.
Best Regards,
Leo Stranius
Secretary General
Luonto-Liitto / Finnish Nature League
