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 Russian
Conservation News #21, Samples articles and
excerpts:Citizen Outcries Drowned by the Yumaguzinsky Reservoir in Bashkiria Taking the Future of Russia's Protected Areas in Their Own Hands: Zapovednik Directors Meet in Vladivostok Oil Production on Sakhalin: How long Before We See Another Valdez? A Brief Background on the Eurasian Snow Leopard Securing the Survival of Snow Leopards in Kyrgyzstan
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by
Nikolai Maleshin
Over the past decade, Russia's Zapovednik system has made a number of steps forward. For example, compared with earlier days, there is now more regular and effective coordination among the entire system. Improved cooperation within the reserve system has enabled greater contact between the reserves and the international community. The positive changes shaping the Zapovednik system today may be attributed in large part to the now annual meetings of Zapovednik directors.
This year's meeting,
held in Vladivostok from October 11 to 18, was supported
with additional funding from the US Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the Institute of Sustainable
Communities (through the Replications of Lessons Learned
program, also known as ROLL). The meeting focused on the
theme of Zapovedniks' role and significance in Russia's
regions, reflecting the recent events unfolding in
Zapovednik history. This theme captured the interests of
governmental and non-governmental organizations alike,
adding to the number and diversity of attendees. Besides 86
Zapovednik directors, 70 other participants took part in
this meeting, representing organizations ranging from
Greenpeace-Russia to regional departments of the Committee
on Environmental Protection. Thanks to the assiduous efforts of the Organizing Committee (made up of staff from Zapovedniks in the Russian Far East) in coordinating this meeting, participants were able to maximize an exchange of information during plenary sessions, special topic sections, and round-tables. The discussions emerging from the meeting revealed new achievements in the Zapovednik system and outlined propositions for its further growth. A number of significant achievements were highlighted at the meeting.
Ending with
an
Nikolai Maleshin is the Chair of the Russian Zapovednik Directors' Association and the managing editor of RCN. |
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Spread
across eleven time zones and often secluded by severe
landscapes or bad telephone lines, Zapovednik managers have
often felt out of communication and isolated from each
other. Gathering in one place at one time has done wonders
for uniting people, though. The meetings have allowed
reserve managers to share success stories, new methodologies
in management, and simply to provide much-needed moral
support in a tough period for conservation in Russia. First
initiated in 1991, these meetings are part of a major
biodiversity conservation initiative funded by the Global
Environment Facility (GEF). 
excursion to one of the Zapovedniks in the Primorsky Krai:
Ussuriysky, Sikhote-Alinsky, Khankaisky, or Lazovsky, this
year's meeting stands out as a milestone in the series of
directors' meeting as well as in the Zapovednik system
itself. The new-found sense of professionalism, cooperation,
and camaraderie among Zapovednik managers points to the
reserve system's steady growth during the past ten years.
The refreshingly positive mood at the meeting also reflects
the strength of partnerships that the Zapovednik directors
have formed to help each other, local communities, and the
nature they are protecting. It also has helped to focus on
the challenges ahead and form a vision for Zapovedniks in
the next millennium. 
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