Caucasian Reserve demands to legalize its ownership of the Lagonaki Plateau

On August 23, the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve, being the legal owner of the lands now challenged by the Government of Adygea, filed a claim to the Arbitration Court of the Republic with a demand to recognize the Reserve's right for termless use of the lands of the Lagonaki Highland (Lagonaki Plateau, Fisht-Oshtenskiy rocky massif and Dzhigursan stow) with a total area 16,760 hectares. These facts were reported by the Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus.

The Reserve also demands to recognize the federal property status of the territory of Lagonaki Plateau, a part of the World Natural Heritage object "Western Caucasus."

The ecologists believe that the Cabinet of Ministers of Adygea is undertaking another attempt to alienate the Lagonaki Plateau away from the Caucasian Reserve. This time, the experts assert, to attain the aim they make use of the land-surveying process in Lagonaki Plateau. Having conducted the works with rough violations of land-surveying regulations and without any participation of the Caucasian Reserve, the Committee for Ownership Relations of Adygea had split the Plateau into two land estates, the ecologists' statement runs.

One of these estates, sized 6,500 hectares, was left by the Committee to the Caucasian Reserve, while the other one, sized 10,000 hectares, was handed over into the possession of the Republic. The authorities are planning to use it for extensive mountain-skiing construction. The ecologists are convinced that it will lead to complete transformation and degradation of unique natural territories of Lagonaki Plateau, which is a major global centre of biological diversity, included into the World Natural Heritage object "Western Caucasus."