Krasnodar Krai, also referred to as Kuban, is located in southwestern Russia and has a unique landscape with plains to the north and mountains to the south. Its borders are defined by two seas: the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
Krasnodar Krai contains 4.8 million hectares of farm land, constituting nearly two percent of global farm land. Farming in Krasnodar Krai is an important part of the national Russian economy. With its warm climate, seashores, ski mountains resorts, black healing mud, and robust hospitality infrastructure, Krasnodar Krai is an attractive center of tourism and recreation. This focus on tourism and agriculture falls in line with the Russian government’s doctrine for socio-economic development. Regardless of this doctrine, the construction and energy sectors remain prominent within Krasnodar Krai and threaten the region’s unique environment and locally focused economy.
The 2014 Olympic Games, held in Sochi, Krasnodar, attracted a large number of prominent construction and transportation corporations to the region. The Olympic race for money and government contracts led to many projects lacking environmental expertise and oversight. Hastily built objects undermined the ecosystem and were dangerous for people and for the environment.
While Crude Accountability supports the development of tourism and agriculture in the Krasnodar area, we do not oppose construction conducted with proper environmental expertise and oversight, local involvement in accordance with laws, and with a respect for both the environment and the local communities.
In a region with over 500 rivers, the Kuban River is the main water artery for the Northern Caucasus. The river supplies water to a number of large reserves.
Human activity has already negatively affected the delta ecosystem. In 1973-1975, a part of the river was rerouted into a canal, and a water reserve was built to supply the city of Krasnodar with water. A chain of canals reduced the river flow, especially during the summer season, which had a negative effect on plants, on the riverbank landscape, and it disrupted fishing, a tradition for the local communities. More construction near the river could bring even further destruction to the region’s ecosystem.