Important bioresources in the Barents Region include wood, peat, berries, mushrooms, fish, and game animals. In addition, arable land is included as a bioresource in the following description. Since forest resources are studied elsewhere in this databank, and since peat resources are included in the Other Energy section, the text below concentrates on berries, mushrooms, fish, game and agricultural land.

There is a wide variety of flora and fauna in the forests and waters of the Barents Region. Altogether, 1,162 species of plants, over 1,000 lichens, 600 mosses, 36 mammal species, 180 bird species, and 19 different fresh water fish species have been found in the Region. There are also 30 species of salt water fish in the White Sea, and 144 in the Barents Sea. The most common species are cod, haddock, polar cod, perch, capelin, and herring.

A variety of berries, as well as mushrooms and herbs grow in the boreal forests in north-west Russia. Berries with commercial significance include cloudberries, lingonberries and bilberries. The total quantity of these has yet to be estimated. The flora numbers about 600 species. In addition, there are many mushrooms species which grow in north-west Russia. Mushroom picking has mainly local significance as a supplement to the population's diet.

Several animal species are hunted commercially in north-west Russia. Among the most important game animals are capercaillie, rabbit, squirrel, marten, fox, wild boar, wolf, bear, willow grouse, moose, and deer.

Fur breeding is also an important field of production in the whole of the Barents Region. The main fur breeding region in north-west Russia has traditionally been the Murmansk Oblast which has a small number of relatively large fur producing companies, selling a total of over 100,000 pelts annually. The main fur animals are fox and mink.

The regional fish resources in north-west Russia are found in the Barents Sea, the White Sea, the Kara and Pechora Seas, and in the fresh inland waters. The most common species are cod, haddock, polar cod, perch, capelin, and herring. Over-harvesting of fish resources has decreased the fish population noticeably during the past few decades. According to the estimations of the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Kola Science Centre, the annual fish population masses collapsed between 1950 and 1989, as shown in the following Table.

Annual Fish Population Masses in the Barents Sea Area

The destruction of herring, polar cod and capelin in the Barents Sea triggered the degeneration of North Atlantic cod population. As there was not enough small fish to eat, the cod started to eat their young. The dramatic decrease of edible fish also changed the food supply of the White Sea seal population. The Belomorean seals used to migrate to the eastern part of the Barents Sea, but in 1986 were forced to change their migration route from the Murmansk coast to Norway. As a result, 60,000 seals starved to death, and only 71,000 productive females were counted in 1988. The annual catch of fish in the Murmansk Oblast decreased officially from 1.172 million tons in 1990 to only 0.53 million tons in 1994. In 1994, the Murmansk Oblast caught 15.1% of the total catch of fish in the Russian Federation. The significant decrease in the catch is partly explained by the fact that the amount caught by many of the large fishing vessels is not accounted for, as they export the catch directly to Norway and other European countries.

Cod and navaga are the main seawater fish of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. In the fresh inland waters are whitefish, haddock, perch, etc. The volume of fish catch amounts to 250 thousand tons per year. Similarly to the Murmansk Oblast, the Arkhangelsk Oblast also has access to the Barents Sea and the White Sea waters. In addition to the seas, there are large rivers and several large lakes in the area. For these reasons, fishing is an important livelihood for many of the local communities.

Some of the world's northernmost agricultural lands are situated in the Barents Region. However, the agricultural productivity of these northern areas is low, due to difficult terrain and the harsh climate. In addition, agricultural infrastructure - including transportation, energy, chemicals, and water supply, and sewage - is inadequate. The under-development of agriculture in north-west Russia is also explained by the fact that these regions were designated as raw material producers and industrial products' suppliers during the time of the Soviet Union.

Commercial agricultural potential is insignificant in the Murmansk Oblast, due to the cold climate and scarcity of arable land. About 8.2 million hectares of land is used for agriculture in the Oblast, much of this for reindeer herding. A total of 33,000 hectares are classified as arable land. For the local population, agriculture has some significance, and there are plans to develop both greenhouse and open-house production.

There is more agricultural activity in Arkhangelsk Oblast than in the Murmansk Oblast, because of the more favourable climate and availability of arable land. The total arable area is 0.8 million hectares, while the reindeer pastures occupy 15.5 million hectares. Reindeer breeding is the main livelihood in several parts of the Oblast, especially in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

The Republics of Karelia and Komi also have some agricultural land, although the development of agriculture is has experienced severe difficulties in both regions. The Republic of Karelia has a total agricultural area of about 18 million hectares, including productive forest land and meadow and pasture. However, the area of arable land is 218,000 hectares, of which only some 80,000 hectares is currently under cultivation. Unlike the other regions of north-west Russia, Karelia has arable land with relatively beneficial production conditions, especially around the Ladoga and Onega lakes.

The Republic of Komi's agricultural activities centre on cattle breeding which makes up about 80% of the value of annual agricultural production. Although privatisation of kolhozes and sovhozes has started, private farms make up only about 1% of the annual agricultural production in Komi. The average size of private farms in Komi is 21 hectares. The total area of farmed land in Komi is about 80,000 hectares. In addition to meat, the Republic of Komi produces potatoes, wheat, eggs, vegetables, and fodder plants.

Agricultural production volumes in north-west Russia have continually decreased in the 1990s. Thus, the regions of north-west Russia have become increasingly dependent on food imports from other parts of Russia and foreign countries. This import dependence has become an acute problem in 1998, as economic difficulties among Russian producers have cut supplies to northern areas. At the same time, north-west Russia has experienced problems in paying for food imports from, for example, the Nordic countries. As the economic crisis which erupted in 1998 continues, food and medicine aid has been provided to north-west Russia from the Nordic countries and the EU.

Large areas of the northern parts of the Republic of Komi are used for reindeer herding, as shown in this linked Map. Other major reindeer herding areas in north-west Russia include the Kola Peninsula (around the Sami settlement of Lovozero), and the whole of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. In these areas, reindeer husbandry is the main form of economic activity for large parts of the population. Although the number of reindeer in the regions of north-west Russia is smaller than in Finnish Lapland or in Norrbotten in Sweden, the Arkhangelsk Oblast has an estimated reindeer population of over 150,000, and the Murmansk Oblast 50,000-100,000. Reindeer herding constitutes an important component of the culture of the indigenous peoples in the Barents Region.