NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE WHITE SEA ISLANDS

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT

 

In May 2002 the book “Natural and Cultural Heritage of the White Sea Islands” was published. It is a first publication of this kind produced collaboratively by Russian and Nordic experts. It tells about the results of research on the cultural monuments and nature of the Karelian White Sea area, as well as Norwegian and Swedish coasts.

The bulk of the data on the Karelian White Sea area presented in the book have been obtained within the long-term multi-disciplinary international project “Cultural and Natural Heritage of the White Sea Islands”, which had started in 2000. Russian participants of the project were researchers from Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Science and State Centre for Conservation and Management of Historical and Cultural Monuments under Republic of Karelia Ministry of Culture. Western partners were represented by scholars from Universities of Tromso (Norway) and Uppsala (Sweden), as well as staff from a number of Swedish and Norwegian museums. In 2002 Finnish researchers (Helsinki University) joined the project.

Facts concerning the species composition of lichens, fungi and insects on the White Sea islands are published for the first time. Data on the islands’ flora and fauna have been updated; and records on protected species have been generalised. Archaeological monuments of the Kuzova archipelago have been described, including four new ancient settlements discovered during fieldwork within the project, and the unique ritual complex having no analogues in Northern Europe (Oleshin isl.) was surveyed for the first time.

At this early stage already the research has demonstrated that the nature and history of the islands are unique, and require a careful attitude. The list of rare birds and mammals of the archipelago comprises 27 species, including 17 listed in the Red Data Books of Russia, Karelia and East Fennoscandia. Surveys revealed 15 protected vascular plant species. One lichen species found in the Kuzova has never been reported from Karelia before.

Collaboration between archaeologists from Karelia and Scandinavia has been very fruitful and permitted to do a comparative study of ritual monuments on the White Sea islands and similar sites in Nordic countries. There is obvious likeness between stone structures on the White Sea islands and the sacrificial sites discovered in the mainland Fennoscandia, e.g. the highlands in Northern Sweden or the coast of Finnmark, northern Norway, indicating a common cultural origin as a material manifestation of the ancient Sami religion and traditions.

Surveys carried out within the project have revealed a growing human impact on the islands, resulting both in deterioration of natural objects and destruction of unique cultural monuments. Although the islands have been officially designated as a reserve, there is no actual protection. The area is now in urgent need of a management plan and sustainable development programme. Their development requires an integrated approach in which natural and cultural monuments are conserved through involvement in economic activities and sustainable tourism.

The participants would like to thank the Kem and Belomorsk District Administrations, Republic of Karelia Ministry of Culture, RK State Committee for Sport and Tourism, RK Ministry of Foreign Relations for their advocacy and assistance to the project.

The project was implemented with financial support from international institutions such as the Barents Euro-Arctic Region and Nordic Council of Ministers, which granted NOK 100,000 and DKK 350,000, respectively, as well as from the national ad hoc programme “State Support to Integration between Higher Education and Basic Science” (RUR 100,000).