Russia Program assists conservation professionals to protect that nation’s biological diversity as well as wildlife resources shared with the United States. The Office of International Affairs’ Russia Program has assisted Russia to strengthen and implement its conservation agenda for over two decades. Russia is among the most biologically diverse nations in the world. Occupying one eighth of the earth’s land area, Russia contains one fifth of the world’s forests; Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake; the world’s longest coastline; and a diversity of endemic species including Amur tigers and leopards, Siberian cranes, desman and saiga antelope.

Russia’s sheer size provides one of the few remaining opportunities to conserve vast,

intact forest ecosystems. Conservation of these ecosystems is crucial to the continued survival of a number of threatened and endangered wildlife species. The challenge for Russia is to move towards sustainable resource development while preserving its natural wealth for future generations.

The Russia Program cooperates with the Russian government under the U.S-Russia Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection. Originally signed in 1972 and reaffirmed by Vice President Gore and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin in 1994, the Agreement provides a framework for cooperation and facilitation of science, technology, and education exchanges. The Program focuses on wildlife research and management, habitat protection, training, and conservation education.

Wildlife Research and Management

Wildlife surveys sponsored by the Russia Program have provided the foundation for numerous population data bases of wildlife species shared between the United States and Russia. These species include polar bears; walrus, sea lions, seals, and sea otters; gray, bowhead and beluga whales; peregrine falcons; Wrangel Island snow geese, spectacled eiders, and many other sea and shore birds. Several of these species are at risk due to continued degradation or loss of habitat, and poaching.

The Russia Program has sponsored numerous monitoring and survey projects in Russia and the United States for these species. Satellite collars placed on polar bears have allowed biologists to track movements and identify specific breeding locations of the Chukchi population of this Arctic predator. This information has provided the basis for a bilaterally-developed management strategy now guiding polar bear conservation in both nations.

The Program has also provided assistance for radio and satellite monitoring of Wrangel Island snow geese and spectacled eiders in order to determine ranges, survival rates, and causes of mortality during migration of these species.

Habitat Conservation Russia’s network of nature reserves, or zapovedniks, now includes nearly 100 individual units. Taken collectively, the zapovednik system conserves every representative ecosystem in this vast nation. Zapovednik personnel coordinate scientific research, environmental education, and tourism activities; enforce wildlife laws; maintain natural resource data bases; and interact in many ways with surrounding communities.

These activities notwithstanding, the cost of supporting the extensive zapovednik network far exceeds available funding. The network has also experienced increasing stress from poaching, illegal timber cutting, harvesting of wild berries and mushrooms by local residents, and pressure to make these areas economically self-sufficient. In an effort to help zapovedniks maintain their own integrity and that of surrounding buffer areas, the Russia Program established a small grants program in 1995 which provides special project monies and technical assistance to specific reserves.

Russia Program small grants have supported basic infrastructure development such as installation of radio and telephone communications in remote areas; development of education and outreach products including exhibits and publications; habitat conservation projects including pristine Lake Baikal ecosystems, and wildlife research programs such as analysis of long term population declines in sea otters in the Commander Islands.

Training The closing of Russian military bases poses substantial challenges to biodiversity conservation in these extensive natural areas. In 1994, at the request of the Russian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources and Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russia Program collaborated with the U.S. Department of Defense to design a four-week training course in protected area management for Russian military and civilian personnel. Thirty Russian natural resource managers participated in the multi disciplinary training course, including one week of classroom instruction, two weeks of field exercises at U.S. civilian and military facilities, and one week of final presentations.

The course was pronounced a success by Russian and American participants alike. One Russian participant who visited Alaska during the training stated, "What we have most in common between Kamchatka and Alaska is the people—all those who work in the reserves and refuges in the United States and in Russia." This highly successful training program was repeated in 1995 and 1996.

Conservation Education Increased public participation in environmental conservation in Russia is essential at a time when the nation’s economic transformation includes extensive development and export of its natural resources. In the fall of 1996, the Russia Program hosted a workshop to acquaint 16 Russian land managers with conservation education options available in the United States.

A week of classroom instruction was followed by a week spent visiting national wildlife refuges, parks, and nature centers for a firsthand look at U.S. environmental education programs in action. Participants returned home to adapt newly learned skills and techniques to their zapovedniks. The Program has repeated this workshop in Russia.

For more information, contact:
Chief, Office of International Affairs
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 730
Arlington, VA 22203-1622.
Ph: 703-358-1754; 703-358-2849.