Biodiversity Conservation in CIS

1
Biodiversity Conservation in CIS

• Julia Gorelova
• IUCN Representative Office for CIS

2
Main Problems and Threats

• Russia
• Biodiversity conservation is not a priority at
  the state level, the system of biodiversity
  conservation management fell down
• Insufficient understanding of national PAs system
  global importance at the state level
• Total absence of understanding of conservation
  profits by private business
• Development of a land market without considering
  the ecological factor
• Lack of educational work and information exchange
  in the field of biodiversity conservation.

3
Main Problems and Threats

• Ukraine
• Biodiversity issues are not considered in land
  management in conditions of land market
  development
• Ineffective protection of mountain and river
  ecosystems in Carpathians
• Threats to wetlands linked to Black and Azov
  Seas.

4
Main Problems and Threats

• Moldova
• Conservation of valuable forest ecosystems
  combining work with local population and creating
  new opportunities for local people profitable
  activities.
• Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova
• Necessity to include biodiversity issues in
  agricultural practices.

5
Main Problems and Threats

• Caucasus
• increasing level of poverty and weak protection
  leading to illegal logging of mountain forests.
• Degradation of mountain pastures, endemic plant
  species loss as a result of overgrazing
• Black Sea pollution, overcatching, gas and oil
  transportation

6
Main Problems and Threats

• Central Asia
• Degradation of biological resources as a result
  of excessive use of steppe and forest ecosystems
  and Caspian fish supplies
• Desertification, weak water resources management
  
• Absence of integrated approach to biodiversity
  conservation at the state level
• Insufficiency of PAs network, obsolete
  legislative and economic frames for PA
  management, lack of inter-department
  coordination, lack of financing, absence of
  strategic activity on promoting PAs role

7
Main Problems and Threats

• Desert ecosystems are protected insufficiently,
• Steppe ecosystems of global importance need to be
  managed combining sustainable land use and
  biodiversity conservation
• State boundaries are fragmenting animal
  populations making migratory species protection
  very difficult
• Absence of plans on sustainable regional
  development
• Lack of professional expertise.

8
Priorities for regional activities

• Including biodiversity issues into general
  program of economic development and clear
  understanding of biodiversity conservation
  profitability
• PAs network development
• Development of regional and trans-boundary
  cooperation
• Development of inter-sectoral (sectors of
  industry and agriculture) cooperation
• Total inventory of biodiversity
• Sustainable land planning in conditions of land
  privatization.

9
Thematic priorities

• Agrobiodiversity and sustainable land-use
• sound practices of sustainable agriculture, safe
  technologies used for plant protection
• synergy between the main environmental
  conventions and the modern policy in the field of
  sustainable agriculture
• conservation of genetic resources
• sustainable land-use as a way to conserve arid
  and semi-arid ecosystems
• role of local population in biodiversity
  conservation and sustainable agriculture

10
Thematic priorities

• Integration of biodiversity considerations into
  policies of financial and private sectors
• Developing economic mechanisms for private sector
  involvement in ecological restoration of natural
  ecosystems
• Introducing social and economic mechanisms at a
  local level for sustainable use of globally
  endangered species and habitats
• Developing and introducing in the land-use system
  institutional, legal and economic mechanisms for
  the acquisition of land areas by private
  investors for nature conservation purposes

11
Thematic priorities

• Development of protected areas system and
  ecological networks
• Development of ecological networks
• Strengthening an effectiveness of PA management
• Harmonization of countries legislation to
  establish and manage trans-boundary PAs
• Regional approximation of the Bern and Bonn
  Conventions lists
• Establishment of PAs in steppe and desert zones
• PAs integration in the social and economic
  regional development, implementation of the
  Seville Strategy.

12
Geographic priorities

• Extension of Galitsko-Slobogjansky Ecological
  Corridor (Ukraine) to the east up to Tambovskaya
  oblast and the Mari-El Republic (Russia)
• Conservation of natural ecosystems of the
  Southern and Middle Ural as the core areas of
  Pan-European Econet
• Creation of regional econets in the Center of the
  Russian Plain, Volgo-Viatsky, Low Volga and
  Altai-Sayan regions
• Establishment of Ukraines national econet up to
  the year 2015

13
Geographic priorities

• Trans-boundary cooperation on the Usturt plateau
  (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
• Protection of the key areas of endemic value in
  Armenia (Gorovansky sands, Magrinsky flora
  region, Daralagez rivers valleys, Aragatz
  mountain block and Arailer mountain)
• Establishment of a transboundary
  Russian-Ukrainian PA on the basis of biosphere
  reserve Briansky Les and Desniansko-Starogutsky
  national park
• Biodiversity conservation of steppes of Southern
  Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan
• Creation of the Central Asian Econet.

14
Existing programs and actors

• World Bank
• Natural Resource Management Strategy (2000)
• Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (2003)
• National Strategies on Poverty Reduction
• Other project categories agriculture,
  irrigation and preventing floods,
  environmental protection and municipal
  infrastructure development

15
Existing programs and actors

• In coming years the WB conservation strategy will
  be focused on the following main directions
• Including biodiversity issues in general economic
  development programs
• Poverty reducing and support rural population
  livelihoods, combining conservation activities
  with local initiatives
• Strengthening biodiversity Action Plans and
  implementing sustainable natural resources
  management with active involvement of local
  communities
• Focusing on globally significant ecosystems
• Strengthening PAs networks, working out
  mechanisms of sustainable financing to manage
  PAs, including eco-tourism development,
  establishing trust-funds etc.
• Support of genetic resources monitoring systems.

16
Existing programs and actors

• Thematically and geographically these directions
  will be implemented as following
• Caucasus forestry sector illegal logging, gas
  and oil sector decreasing damage
• Central Asia priority ecosystems Western
  Tian-Shan, Aral Sea, Amudarja ans Syrdarja
  deltas, tugay forests along river valleys, saxaul
  (Haloxylon) forests, Caspian Sea, inland lakes,
  steppe and mountain pastures of Kyrgyzstan
• Russia priority regions are Karelia,
  Altay-Sayan, Sikhote-Alin
• Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova steppe, forest and
  coastal ecosystems, agricultural and forestry
  sectors.

17
Existing programs and actors

• UNEP
• Convention on Combat Desertification
• UNEP-GEF project Integrated Ecosystem Approach
  to Conserve Biodiversity and Minimize Habitat
  Fragmentation in the Russian Arctic.
• There are several project concept papers to be
  submitted to UNEP-GEF including medium-size
  project on establishment of a network of training
  centers for PAs of Northern Eurasia by the
  Eco-educational center Zapovedniks.

18
Existing programs and actors

• UNESCO
• World Heritage Convention, nomination of natural
  territories to be included in the World Heritage
  list,
• biosphere reserves network development (Man
  Biosphere program),
• realization of the Seville Strategy principles.

19
Existing programs and actors

• WWF
• conservation of forest biodiversity, including
  issues of certification and support
  environmentally oriented business
• marine and Arctic ecosystems
• support to PAs
• conservation of rare and endangered species
• oil and gas sector.
• Geography Arctic, Russian Far East, Altay,
  Kamchatka peninsula, Ural, North-West of Russia,
  Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Coordination a new big program of the Critical
  Ecosystems Partnership Fund on Caucasus
  biodiversity conservation.
• Developed a full-size project on Econet creation
  based on the Russian PAs system to be submitted
  to GEF.

20
Existing programs and actors

• IUCN
• public support of forest conservation,
• sustainable use of non-timber forest products,
• assessment of PA management effectiveness,
• Econet development and sustainable agriculture,
• eco-tourism,
• elaborating the strategy for Central Asia.
• Important Plant Areas program in partnership with
  PlantLife International. Russia will be a part of
  the full-size UNEP-GEF global IUCN-PlantLife
  project on IPAs and the Global Plant Conservation
  Strategy implementation, included in GEF
  pipeline.

21
Existing programs and actors

• Environmental bilateral cooperation
• Scandinavian countries -Norway, Sweden, Finland
  projects in the Russian part of he Barents Region
  In the near future these activities will be
  supported by the EU Northern Dimension program.
  
• Germany the bilateral program is focused on
  eco-tourism development, landscape planning,
  eco-education, PAs of Baikal region.
• USA Bering Sea region is a priority, migratory
  birds and marine mammals, sustainable use of
  marine bio-resources, information and training
  support to PAs.

22
Existing programs and actors

• Institute of Sustainable Communities is managing
  USAID money providing small grants to NGOs.
• Regional Environmental Centers network - European
  Commission support NGOs activity in the region.
  Biodiversity conservation is also in focus of REC
  small grant programs.
• Environment for Europe Fund was established by
  the UK Government to support Pan-European
  process. In Russia, money is managed by the
  British Council through the SEPS program.

23
Existing programs and actors

• TACIS
• transboundary partner projects at local and
  regional levels
• preparation of a project on transboundary
  Russian-Ukrainian-Kazakh cooperation in the field
  of steppe conservation.
• EU LIFE program supporting projects in the
  North-West region of Russia. The partner project
  on Econet development in Leningradskaya oblast
  has been submitted by IUCN CIS and Baltic Fund
  for Nature .

24
Existing programs and actors

• Projects of national organizations
  implementing jointly with foreign partners could
  be supported by governmental foundations of donor
  countries
• Darwin Initiative, UK supports the partner
  project on public support of saiga antelope
  conservation
• PIN-MATRA, the Netherlands supports the partner
  project on Econet development in Kostromskaya
  oblast
• French GEF is going to support eco-tourism
  development in Baikal Lake region.

25
UNDP possible niche in the Region

• elaborating different sub-regional (oblast and
  district level) development scenarios for
  priority regions, considering sustainable
  development principles and biodiversity issues
• selecting a scenario and developing an integrated
  regional strategy including a business-plan,
  considering potential funding sources
• undertaking functional territorial zoning in
  model regions that is based on ecological and
  economic factors limiting livelihoods of
  population as well as biodiversity status
• Priority regions regions strongly influenced by
  human activities.