VOICE FROM THE WILD (Letter from the editors)

PROTECTED AREAS

• The Russian government doesn’t need the ministry of environmental protection anymore
• The past, present and future of the protection regime in Turkmenistan
• Slogging through bogs at Nizhnesvirski Zapovednik
• Zapovedniki of ukraine and the military

LEGISLATION

• What are the Russian forests?
• The Russian forest code: will the fourth round be the last
• Politics vs ecology: do foreigners want to plunder Russian forests?

NGOS

• Always on the go: Kurgalski expedition in action
• Moldovan NGOs in defense of vulnerable nature

FOCUS:
Facing Desertification, NGOs and Scientists Act, Hoping Governments Will Follow

• Who’s who in the battle with desertification
• Desertification in Russia: is there a problem?
• Asian NGO activists unite against desertification at RIOD conference
• Signs of cooperation at the Eurasian symposium to combat erosion and desertification

THE LIVING ARCTIC

• The secret of the barnacle goose

ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS

• The hypo-arctic achilles heel of the Arctic region

CONSERVATION FINANCE

• National fund for nature protection in Turkmenistan
• Zapovedniki and profit: endangered species earn money for their own preservation

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

• National parks as international classrooms (or, Russian educators in wonderland)

ENDANGERED SPECIES

• The "non-spotted" Checkerspot, entomological rarity of the Fergana Valley
• Stalking the snow leopard’s haunts

BULLETIN BOARD

• "Rare mammals" workshop in planning stages

CONSERVATION CONTACTS