January 2008
Two national parks - “Call of the Taiga” and “Udegei Legend” - created in the Russian Far East to conserve tigers.

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Nenetsky Zapovednik

Welcome to
Wild Russia

Few people realize that Russia has one of the world's premier systems of protected areas, which preserves millions of acres of wild landscapes - important habitat for a vast number of plants and animals. Wild Russia is an international effort to document images of the wild nature harbored in Russia's system of strict nature reserves and national parks. Through the Wild Russia project, we aim to promote worldwide appreciation for Russia's vast network of protected areas and to increase understanding of the opportunities these areas offer for conserving the planet's biodiversity.

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Zapovedniks

Many of Russia's wild lands form part of a network of strictly protected scientific nature reserves called Zapovedniks (Zap-o-VED-nik), the highest category of nature conservation in the world (IUCN category I). The first Zapovednik, Barguzinsky, was created in 1916 on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. Now, 101 Zapovedniks, covering more than 33.5 million hectares (82.7 million acres), protect diverse wilderness areas across the country. From the tundra in the far north to the steppe (prairies) in the south, from the Black Sea to the Bering Sea, these Zapovedniks cover a tremendous diversity of territory and play a critical role in nature conservation.

In This
Web Site

In this web site you will have the opportunity to learn about the system of Russia's Zapovedniks, which was formerly united with similar Zapovedniks of Central Asia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics. Russia also has a burgeoning system of 37 National Parks, covering nearly seven million hectares (17 million acres). Although Russia has other types of protected areas such as Zakazniks (special purpose preserves) and Natural Monuments, this site focuses primarily on the Zapovednik and National Park systems.

Tour

Begin your tour to Wild Russia to learn more about Russia's Zapovedniks and National Parks.

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Conservation
News

Subscribe now to the only English-language journal on conservation issues in Eurasia, published by the Center for Russian Nature Conservation since 1995. With your subscription, receive a free copy of the new waterproof Marine Mammal Guide from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and its affiliates.

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