Context and situation

Kamchatka is one of the world’s most beautiful and wild places, still fairly undeveloped by the western tourism industry. Its pristine wilderness is home to many rare and endemic species in a breathtaking landscape that is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Grizzly Bears and active Volcanoes facing the Bering Sea are just few examples of Kamchatka’s treasures.
As anywhere else in the world humans’ activities are taking their toll on nature. Kamchatka’s people necessarily strive to increase their standard of living to match others around the world. Unfortunately, short-term thinking and immediate needs lead to the overuse of land and nature, resulting in environmental problems that will eventually negatively impact the existing economical and social systems. The wild paradise of Kamchatka is threatened by over-exploitation of natural resources on many fronts. For example, over-fishing of salmon for caviar has the potential to negatively impact grizzly bears, which rely on salmon for food. There are also potential problems with an economy that depends on mining, oil exploitation, deforestation, and other uncontrolled land use. It is critical to identify and develop alternative, sustainable income resources for Kamchatka that address the multiple challenges in the economical growth, the social necessities and the ecological conservation.

Approach

One approach is the development of sustainable eco-tourism in Kamchatka. The Kamchatka Ecotourism Society and the WWF network are supporting the local authorities in setting up protected zones like national parks in combination with environmental education and communication. Key issues that arise when considering eco-tourism in any country are the potential negative impacts of the tourist activities themselves on the very natural resources that form the base of the industry. Here we propose one potentially very low-impact eco-tourist activity that could sustain significant use while leaving a soft footprint on the landscape. Backcountry skiing and touring (both telemark and alpine touring) are increasing in popularity worldwide as people seek to escape developed ski areas. Contrary to other ski tourism, backcountry ski tourists would support an economy of local lodging, transportation, guiding, and instruction with minimal physical or aesthetic impacts to the area. This model has been very successfully applied in many parts of the world, notably the Canadian Rockies, Pyrenees, Alps, etc.

With more than 150 volcanoes with the highest rising almost 4800 m above sea level, Kamchatka could not be more ideal for developing a low-impact backcountry ski tourist industry. The combination of high precipitation and high volcanoes in pristine wilderness with awakening grizzly bears in springtime and eagles, geothermal springs, and views to the Bering Sea on the horizon are the dream of any adventurous skier in the world.

Telemarkzone efforts

In partnership with KES and the WWF Telemarkzone is working on a good-practice example of sustainable ski tourism to Kamchatka. The outcomes, recommendations and tips will be showcased on this site end of future use for KES. Our approach is situated as the following:

1. Define the problem of overuse of natural resources and non-sustainable winter tourism.

2. Discuss and find potential solution modules like winter eco-tourism.

3. Plan a good-practice trip. Find hot spots for eco-ski tourism.

4. Communicate the potential for eco-skiing and develop media outcomes.

Project outcomes

In 2007, Telemarkzone presented the project outcomes on the global Ecotourism Conference in Oslo, together with Martha Madsen from the Kamchatka Ecotourism Association. In a detailed report the recommendations were provided to KES, the WWF and the local authorities. A film trailer was produced for advertisement purposes.