WLI Network Development in Russia: Federal and Local Protected Areas
1^st February 2018, Tver

The Workshop of Wetland Link International-Russia was held on 1st February in Tver within the First All-Russian Ornithological Congress. The state, scientific and public conservation organizations including state reserves and national parks – as WLI members as those interested in attendance to the network, took part in the workshop.

Organizers of the Workshop are: WLI-Russia, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Tver Region, Centre of Ecological Information of Tver Regional Scientific Library named after A.M.Gorky, Eco-Centre of Tver State University, Non-governmental Partnership “Birds and People”, Environmental Platform of All-Russian Civil Forum.

Goals of the workshop:

• to share information about activities of Russian wetland-centres on conservation of wetlands as habitats of migratory birds and participation in monitoring on flyways;
• to discuss joint actions of WLI-Russia network on 2018 and midterm prospective.

2017^th Year of Ecology in Russia completed by establishing of three new protected areas conserving wetlands – “Vasjugansky” and “Vostok Finskogo Zaliva” (“East of the Gulf of Finland”) State Reserves and “Ladozhskie Shkhery” (“Ladoga Skerries”). Besides this, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation adopted a list of regional and federal protected areas to nominate them into Ramsar List.

Conservation of waterfowl birds’ habitats is an important part of policy of the Russian Federation. Russian protected areas system, in particular Ramsar sites, is well-organized and widely known at national and international level.

Number of the global flyways protected by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) pass through the territory of Russia. It makes Russia an important partner of international cooperation in the field of migratory birds’ protection.

Wetland-centres situated at protected areas, as well as other WLI members are not only providers of knowledge on a necessity of conservation of waterbirds, but actors of bird monitoring on the flyways.

Russan wetland-centres are initiating creation of new protected areas for conservation of nesting places and stopovers of migratory birds. However, insufficient use of WLI resources and opportunities leads to weak coordination between wetland-centres working on similar directions.

Resulting discussion on conservation of wetlands of high ecological importance, prospective of expanding WLI-Russia network and their joint projects, participants propose the following:

• to endorse work of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation towards creation of protected areas on wetlands and inclusion new sites into the Ramsar list, as well as support of WLI-Russia development;
• to support activity of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Tver Region and Tver State University on creation of wetland-centre “Bird Eldorado” and Tver Natural Park in Tver city;
• to support establishing wetland-centres on protected areas and membership of state reserves, national and natural parks in WLI;
• to strengthen relationships within WLI-Russia by implementation of joint projects and include in WLI-Russia workplan-2018 the following joint actions:
  • International Contest of Schoolchildren projects "Conservation of Wetlands is our common cause";
  • Preparation of a review “Russian Wetlands by People Eyes”;
  • Carrying out study tours and trainings for WLI-Russia members in foreign wetland-centres;
  • Photo-contest “Migratory Birds”;
  • Organization of open all-Russian birding competitions “Protected Spring”, participation of the Russian birding team in the International Bird Race “Champions of the Flyway”;
  • Organization of All-Russian Birding Festival “Crane Autumn-2018”, dedicated to EuroBirdwatch.
• In order to organize public monitoring of rare plants and animals in Russian regions, participants of the workshop recommend to members of WLI-Russia:
  • conducting regional training seminars for wide public on monitoring and identification of plant and animals species listed in Red Books of different levels;
  • development of regional questionnaires and illustrated mini-guides to rare and endangered species;
  • organization and holding of regional seminars for protected areas’ educational staffs and teachers on field excursions with children, birding and butterflying;
  • conducting programmes of exchange by children's groups between protected areas.
• To recommend reserves and national parks – members WLI-Russia cooperation with art-project “On the Trail of Red Book”.
• To ensure effective protection of Lake Shchuchye wetlands, participants propose contacting the Ministry of Natural Resources of Tver Region with proposal considering possibility of creating a reserve in Zharkovsky district on the border with National Park “Smolenskoe Poozerie”.
• Realizing importance of effective conservation of migratory waterbirds nesting in our country, participants of the workshop recommend to the Government of the Russian Federation continuing consultations on attendance to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).