REVIEW - Volunteers Conducting Cleanup On Desert Island In Arctic

KHANTY-MANSIYSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2018) MANSIYSK, August 22 (Sputnik) - Volunteers have collected 129 tonnes of garbage this summer on Vilkitsky island, located in the Kara Sea and part of Russia's Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, but it will take more than one year to clean up the territory completely, the chief of one of the cleanup shifts, Evgeny Rozhkovsky, told Sputnik.

The first stage of large-scale cleanup expedition began this summer from July to August. Meteorologists used to work at a weather station on the island, but now volunteers will be tasked with cleaning the island over the next three or four years. Eco-sociological association Green Arctic is coordinating the project.

Rozhkovsky said that the similar kind of cleanup was done on Bely island, also located in the Kara Sea, in 2016.

"We had a research expedition in our first year, in 2017, we went there with scientists. We just completed a similar task on Bely Island with volunteers in 2016 and moved on to Vilkitsky island. We conducted a general study of the island in the first year, made an environmental map, prepared a module for the residence of future groups, we tried it out, working there," he said.

Environmental volunteers concluded that this area needed to be cleaned up. One of the first tasks, according to Rozhkovsky, was to count all the scrap metal on the island.

"When we realized the scope of the task, two shifts of 15 people each went there. All the working hours were scheduled and we knew what to do. The main area was the weather station. We sorted out a few old sheds for firewood, picked up all heavy objects, many barrels with gasoline, oil and lubricants. The total tonnage that we managed to collect this year was 129 tonnes," he said.

The first shift of volunteers removed 35 tonnes of garbage, while the second shift picked up the rest. The disproportionate cleanup ratio was due to the fact that the first shift had to collect garbage manually, but by the end of their work, the Mikhail Somov vessel arrived with a tractor. This considerably simplified cleanup operations in the days that followed.

Ecologists discovered more than 2,500 barrels in total, 800 of which contained gasoline, oil and lubricants. Volunteers prepared them for further removal. All the metal would be dismantled and taken from the island to the mainland of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area in the nearest future to be used as scrap metal.

It is believed that all this garbage began to appear on the island in mid-1950s, when a weather station, which now operates automatically, was built there.

"The military unit was deployed later, they were common in the Arctic part of our country. According to old plans, there was always more fuel for such areas than meteorologists needed.

There was a lot of it, the military were also supplied with a huge amount of fuel," Rozhkovsky explained.

NOT EXACTLY AN UNINHABITED ISLAND

Despite the fact that Vilkitsky island is often described as uninhabited, this does not apply to the local fauna, in particular, polar bears. Nevertheless, Rozhkovsky said that wild animals did not interfere with the activities of volunteers.

"We have come across [wild animals], of course. They do not interfere, but we have to take breaks in our work, because it becomes a matter of safety ... A family of four bears came, walked around. We were glad, we took some pictures, made videos, but then we made it clear that this piece of land was our small territory ... We had special [equipment] that scared them away," he explained.

According to Rozhkovsky, rescuers evaluate the situation in dangerous cases such as these, which can involve not only bears, but also forces of nature such as fog, winds and heavy rainfall.

"We stop working, of course, because the fog in addition to poor visibility can lead to an unexpected encounter with predators," he added.

The cleanup operation on Vilkitsky island showed that there were many people beyond the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area who cared about the environmental fate of the Arctic. Citizens of Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Israel as well as residents of more than a dozen Russian cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Tyumen, Salekhard, have jointed the efforts.

According to Rozhkovsky, it is not an easy task to become a volunteer on an Arctic island. The organizers of the expedition conducted a qualifying stage, which took the form of a remote questionnaire. Afterward, the candidates were divided into three groups: "not recommended", "recommended" and "highly recommended." The organizers had conversations with those who scored the maximum amount of points to determine whether they were seriously committed to the task. The second stage consisted of training held in the capital of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, where applicants were expected to work with psychologists and coaches.

"No one was eliminated after the second stage, everyone passed it. It was difficult at this stage, you had to go on a 55-kilometer [34-mile] journey for two days, but this is a stress test exercise to identify strengths and weaknesses ... However, there have been two or three cases since 2013 where people did not suit us, but most of them understand where they are going and what they have to do," he said.

The activist added that cleanup on Vilkitsky island would take more than one year. Volunteers have suggested that it could last up to four years. Regardless, another expedition to the distant Arctic island has been planned for 2019.