Russia is planning huge
oil and gas developments in the Arctic Ocean off its northern coast -
drilling that could threaten pristine wildlife habitats.
Large-scale production could begin in the next two decades, if the price of oil rises high enough.
Preliminary exploration has already begun, including in the Laptev Sea.
But scientists say the region is home to important, thriving populations of walrus and polar bears, which could be put at risk.
The early retreat of ice makes life harder for the polar bear and walrus
Biologists on the 2013 Laptev Expedition this summer have been
trying to establish if the walruses and polar bears there are a unique
group, in need of special protection. BBC journalists went with them to
investigate the issue.
We flew to Khatanga, one of the most northerly towns in Siberia, and there we boarded a small boat, the Taimyr.
From Khatanga it was a two-day, 500km (310-mile) journey almost due north.
Polar bears
After the first day it became clear we had entered the domain
of the polar bear. First we saw a mother with two five-month-old cubs on
Maliy Begichev Island.
Then we saw a big "haul-out" of walrus at Cape Tsvetkov -
perhaps 400-600 there, resting on the beach. Towering above them on the
last large lump of ice was a large polar bear.
But our destination was Maria Pronchishcheva Bay, half-way up
the Taimyr Peninsula. It is the most northerly bit of land in the world
still attached to a continent.
"The oil companies are coming here with exploration projects
already, and there are ongoing seismic explorations," said Igor Chestin,
chief executive of the environmental group WWF Russia.
"So before the real oil and gas projects develop in the area
we need to know that there is sufficient knowledge of the conservation
needs here, which would allow us to put in the necessary protection if
this development ever happens."
From satellite photographs taken a week earlier, the
scientists on the expedition knew there had also been a large walrus
"haul-out" there previously. By the time we sailed into the bay the
number had dropped to around 60. But it was still enough for the crucial
scientific work of the expedition - collecting DNA from the Laptev
walrus.
Researchers want to find out more about the Laptev walrus
Collecting samples
Walrus expert Anatoly Kochnev of ChukotTINRO, a marine biology
group, was despatched to the pebbly spit where the animals were
resting.
We watched as he fired crossbow darts into the sides of the
walrus, which he then retrieved with a thin piece of line attached to
each dart. At the head of each dart was a biopsy punch, which pulled out
a piece of walrus skin and fat as it was retrieved.
The samples will be sent to labs in Moscow and Denmark for
DNA analysis. The plan is to end a long scientific dispute over whether
the Laptev walrus is a unique sub-species in need of special protection,
genetically different from the Pacific walrus and the Atlantic walrus.
Darts are used to collect vital samples from the walrus
Just one hour after Anatoly Kochnev's third trip out to the
spit, a huge male polar bear appeared in the exact spot where he had
been kneeling to fire the crossbow. The bear tried to kill one of the
walrus, but was unsuccessful - this time.
Polar bear expert Geoff York of WWF's Global Arctic Programme
is collecting samples - faeces and hair - which will also be sent for
DNA analysis. Again there is a concern that the polar bears of the
Laptev Sea may be unique and in need of special protection.
"If that is true then in most countries you would need to identify the habitat being used by bears," Geoff York said.
"Are they making dens onshore? How are they using the land in
summer? Then you would protect those habitats at least in the relevant
seasons. If you do indeed have two unique sub-populations of marine
mammals here you might consider that this should be a Marine Protected
Area, and you might exclude any industrial development."
Ice retreating
The concern about the large marine mammals of the Laptev Sea has increased in the last decade for two reasons.
Firstly, climate change has led to a dramatic shrinking of
the Arctic ice cap in recent summers. This has meant that in order to
stay close to their feeding grounds the walruses have had to come ashore
in much larger numbers, instead of staying on the ice where they feel
more comfortable.
Polar bears are also being forced ashore, where they find it
much harder to feed. Their preferred meal, the ringed seal, is not
available onshore and they often are reduced to going after the much
more dangerous walrus.
Secondly, there are plans to develop the Laptev Sea for oil
and gas production. The water here is shallow, which makes it easier to
drill, and there are believed to be large deposits of hydrocarbons. This
exploration work may frighten the nervous bear and walruses, and could
disrupt their food supply.
Conservationists think the arrival of much greater numbers of
humans could also increase hunting, further disrupting the delicate
balance of nature here. They say that nobody has yet worked out how to
control an oil spill in seas that are close to freezing.
The Laptev Sea is now a target for large-scale energy exploration
The Russian government says the country's future wealth depends
on exploiting the deposits here and in other parts of the Arctic. The
deposits will not be easy to extract, but they are almost certainly
there.
"Most of the estimates give more than 20% of global
undiscovered oil deposits to Russian Arctic seas," said Alexev Piskarev,
author of Energy Potential of the Russian Arctic Seas.
Shipping route
The melting sea ice has also opened up new shipping routes.
Russia is now advertising the Northern Sea Route, which cuts the journey
time from China to Europe by up to two weeks.
"You save time and you save fuel. It is much more
economical," said Alexander Olshevsky, head of the Northern Sea Route
Administration. "Though you will need to pay for a nuclear-powered
icebreaker, and of course you will need a boat that can deal with these
conditions."
But again, opening up the Northern Sea Route could disrupt
the fragile ecosystem. More than 400 ships will make the journey this
year - yet in 2010 it was only four.
On our brief, two-week trip we have seen extraordinary
fire-red Arctic skies, gleaming snowy owls and grumpy musk ox, and an
almost untouched landscape of thin yellow tundra covering the
permafrost. The temperature has barely risen above 10C and has often
been closer to freezing.
It is one of the last wildernesses of the world, a place few
people even know exists, but modern industry is already starting to
encroach on it.
(BBC Moscow correspondent Daniel Sandford went on the
2013 Laptev Expedition with BBC cameraman Anton Chicherov and producer
Emma Wells.)