Russian Conservation News #18, Samples articles and excerpts: Bulletin Board Siberia's Lake Chany Nikitin Wins a Battle as War Continues Biosphere Reserves in Russia Developing the System of Biosphere Reserves in Russia: Successes and Challenges (Excerpted from Issue #18)

Overview of Biosphere Reserve Development In Russia In 1978 when Biosphere Reserve designation was granted for the first time in Russia, it was the application of Western approaches to protected areas management in Russia. At this time, no significant structural change was made to the Zapovednik framework. The Biosphere Reserve concept was not fully understood, accepted, or applied by authorities; thus Russian Biosphere Reserves differ very little from regular Zapovedniks. Biosphere Reserve zoning is merely a formality, and legislation is not adequate to protect the functions of Biosphere Reserve zones. The Biosphere Reserves in Russia also diverge from the international concept in their isolation from the socio-economic activities or structure of the surrounding region. The methods used for biological and ecological monitoring are very different from international standards, due to the particular parameters and equipment used by Russian scientists in field research. Moreover, information exchange and activity coordination in Russia are neither federally nor internationally organized. During the Soviet period, the Commission on Zapovedniks of the National MAB Committee, acting within the Russian Academy of Science (RAS), attempted to apply the concept of the international Biosphere Reserve system to the former Soviet Union. Thus, to some extent Russian Biosphere Reserves designated between 1978 and 1988 differ from traditional Zapovedniks. As a rule, they have a large, experienced staff, research stations, a well-developed system of permanent study plots, cartographic materials, and full flora and fauna inventories. In addition, research on territories transformed by human influence is also conducted in these Biosphere Reserves.
The State Committee on Environmental Protection and the individual Zapovednik administrations are responsible for the management of the entire Biosphere Reserve core area. This activity is financed by the federal budget, which also finances core areas for all Zapovedniks. Local administration and land users manage the buffer and transitional zones (beginning in the late 1960s, strictly protected buffer zones were established in most Zapovedniks). The role of Biosphere Reserves in the management of these zones is not fully supported in legislation. The National MAB Committee of RAS coordinates all international activity and information support. Currently, Article 10 of the Federal Law on Protected Areas (1995), The State Nature Biosphere Zapovedniks provides the only legislative basis for Russian Biosphere Reserves. This article defines Biosphere Reserves, which correspond to the Seville Strategy and carry out global ecological monitoring, as part of the national Zapovednik system. Article 10 permits extra territory with a different function named the Biosphere Reserve complex to be joined to Zapovednik lands "for the purpose of carrying out scientific investigations, monitoring procedures, and appropriating methods of sustainable land use." The function of the Biosphere complex is equal to a Biosphere Reserve buffer zone as described in the Seville Strategy. However, other legislation concerning Zapovedniks such as the Land Code, the Forest Code, and other laws do not correspond with the Federal Law on Protected Areas. This other legislation restricts land use in Zapovedniks (including Biosphere complex zones) to protection, thus effectively prohibiting the conservation activities in the Biosphere polygon that are permitted by the Federal Law on Protected Areas. The most pressing problem in managing these areas is the absence of a common ideology for the concept and implementation of Biosphere Reserves among all the organizations involved in their management. Additionally, fundraising for these areas is uncoordinated. In fact, most Biosphere Reserves and the Russian system of protected territories as a whole function without any specific management plans.	The Biosphere Reserve Concept In 1968, a new "concept" for protecting nature in balance I with human needs was formally articulated and agreed upon at a seminal meeting, the UNESCO-sponsored confer-ence on Conservation and Rational Use of the Biosphere. This concept would lead to the designation of a network of areas where the particular biodiversity and cultural values are preserved along with opportunities for social and economic development of surrounding communities. Today, these areas, called Biosphere Reserves, are united under the United Nations' the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. Biosphere Reserves number more than 350, and are found in 87 countries across the globe. MAB provides a coordinating function, facilitating exchange and professional expertise among the reserves. To achieve this prestigious, internationally recognized status, an existing protected area must first be nominated by the government of the country in which it is located and then pass the standards and procedures set by the MAB Programme. According to the MAB Programme, a Biosphere Reserve must fulfill three basic functions. First of all, the area must contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species, and genetic variation. Secondly, the reserve must foster economic and human development which is "socially and ecologically sustain-able." Third, the reserve must play a scientific role by supporting research, monitoring, education, and information exchange related to local, national, and global issues of conservation and development Given the dual function of Biosphere Reserves in meeting both conservation goals and supporting local economic development, a system of zoning was developed to designate various levels of protection within the designated territory. Although the configuration may vary from the concentric rings envisioned by the original concept, Biosphere Reserves typically have three types of land-use zones: core zone: a strictly protected area where little human influence is permitted; this area is used to monitor natural changes in representative ecosystems and serve as conservation areas for biodiversity; buffer zone: an area surrounding the core zone where only low-impact activi-ties are allowed, such as research, environmental education, and recreation; transitional zone: the outer zone where sustainable use of resources by local communities is encouraged and these impacts can be compared to zones of greater protection. Compiled with information from the MABnet Web page <http://www.unesco.org/mab/wnbrhtm> View a map and information about the Biosphere Reserves in Russia
*This is only a excerpt of the much larger piece from issue #18. Written by Tatiana Minayeva, a scientist at Tsentral'no-Lesnoy Biosphere Zapovednik and Vladimir Krever, coordinator of the biodiversity conservation program at the WWF Russian Programme office, the article in its entirety contains information including: An overview of Russian Zapovedniks The Seville Strategy The Oka River Valley Biosphere Reserve Cluster The Baikal Region Biosphere Reserve Cluster Tsentral'no-Sibirsky Biosphere Reserve Opportunities to Improve Russian Biosphere Reserve Management Issue #18 also contains a list of Biosphere Reserves Contacts.
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