The Director of WWF-Russia and the governor of the Kamchatka region have signed an official agreement defining the main lines of future joint conservation activities in Kamchatka.

On December 11, Dmitry Groshkov and Vladimir Solodov signed a document to coordinate efforts on conservation of vulnerable regional ecosystems. The joint work in the future will be focused on several subjects. They are:

regional biodiversity conservation;
implementation of top-notch practices of environmental management;
support of the regional system of protected areas;
support of environmentally sustainable business initiatives;
improvement of existing methods of environmental education of the public.

“We have been working for many years in Kamchatka. Although WWF-Russia’s office opened in 2006, the first projects WWF-Russia conducted here long before that date. The environmental crisis offshore Kamchatka, which broke out this Autumn, showed the readiness of local administration to cooperate and coordinate efforts with nature conservation organizations to achieve mutually beneficial goals of wildlife protection. WWF-Russia staff members are members of regional public councils including the one under the Governor of Kamchatka. The agreement is another milestone on the way to protect the unique nature of Kamchatka. Today, we understand how to improve our work in this direction and produce tangible results by joining the conservation efforts,” said Dmitry Gorshkov, director of WWF-Russia.

“Kamchatka is known all-over the world for its pristine nature. It is the main asset and the point of growth. In the future, the development of Kamchatka will be based on “green” economy and tourism aimed at widening of environmental thinking. This agreement is not an ordinary one. It gives clear understanding of the joint conservation work in the future,” said Vladimir Solodov, the Governor of Kamchatka krai.

“We expect that the agreement will make our cooperation with the local administration closer and more effective. We are ready to provide any necessary support and expertise on risk management and alleviate any threats to the nature of Kamchatka coming from implementation of regional development programs. In particular, we ready to facilitate the implementation of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in the region, help to develop a climate security data sheet for Kamchatka, encourage experts to assess the results of the anthropogenic impact on the Kamchatka rivers: Vyvenka, Penzhina, Asacha, Mutnaya, Icha, Kirganik,” said Sergey Rafanov, director of WWF-Russia’s Kamchatka office.

The agreement was concluded for a period of five years and is extendable by tacit renewal. An implementation plan will follow up the agreement before January 1, 2021. The plan will describe goals and means of their achievement, events and timetable. The plan is expected to be approved by both sides of the agreement not later than February 1.

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Yuri Kislyak

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Darya Buyanova

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