Partnerships as key to preserving wildlife and biodiversity

On the occasion of World Wildlife Day (WWD) celebrated on 3 March 2023, the FAO Moscow Office and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Russia Office held a press conference at the TASS press centre and a webinar at the UN House.

This year, WWD was held under the slogan “Partnerships for the Conservation of Wildlife” and was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 

Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General, stressed in his video message on the occasion of WWD that “working together through partnerships is critical to promote the conservation, sustainable use and management of wildlife resources.”  

“FAO collaborates with partners in 15 countries to develop innovative solutions within the framework of the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme to improve wildlife conservation, enhance food security, and ensure better living conditions of those who depend on these resources. Let us keep working together to save the wildlife of our planet,” he urged. 

Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, noted that “wildlife and biodiversity help keep ecosystems healthy, support food systems and agriculture, and conserving wildlife and ensuring sustainable management contribute to reducing hunger and poverty around the world.” 

“FAO’s mandate extends not only to classical agriculture, but also to the entire field of forestry and the primary forest industry products, to fisheries, to rural development. FAO acts as a coordinator of the international community’s actions to protect natural environments”. 

The FAO representative reported on the efforts of the Organization to protect the environment and wildlife, as well as on FAO’s work with WHO, UNEP and WOAH within the framework the One Health approach. “Over 80% of all new human diseases that have become pandemic in recent decades have originated in the wild,” he said. Speaking about preventing epidemics, preserving biodiversity, ensuring genetic health and strengthening resilience in the face of the negative effects of climate change, Oleg Kobiakov highlighted the close cooperation of the FAO Office with Russian partners. 

Inger Andersen, Head of UNEP, said in her video message that in order to strengthen these partnerships for wildlife conservation, we need to work with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure that they not only participate in this process, but play a leading role in it, serve as an example and shape it. 

“Let us be honest: Indigenous Peoples know more about wildlife conservation than many scientists. Therefore, at UNEP, we are proud of the work we are doing within the framework of collaborative Partnerships for the sustainable management of wildlife with our partners under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and with other international organizations that work on these issues, in order to promote the sustainable, legal and safe use of biodiversity”, concluded the Programme Manager.

Vladimir Moshkalo, Head of the UNEP Office in Russia, drew attention to the 50th anniversary of CITES. He noted that the 50th anniversary of UNEP was celebrated last year, and spoke in detail about the main stages in the formation of this programme. “There are about 200 legal documents in the world, international environmental agreements related to the protection of the environment and wildlife, including those within the framework of UNEP – over 15 global and regional Conventions and agreements, including the flagship Convention on Biological Diversity,” the UNEP representative emphasized. 

At present, the efforts of the Programme are focused on the development of a new global instrument – the Convention on Plastic Pollution,” concluded Vladimir Moshkalo. 

Alexey Litvyakov, moderator of the press conference at TASS, turned to Alexander Panfilov, Deputy Head of Rosleskhoz, and asked about the position of Rosleskhoz on the use of pesticides in forests in the context of the tasks agreed in the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 

Alexander Panfilov, Deputy Head of Rosleskhoz, answered the moderator’s question in this way: “The Forest Code of Russia sets out severe restrictions on the use of pesticides within the lands of the Russian Forest Fund, including in urban forests, where, for obvious reasons, the situation with biological diversity is more complicated than in forests in more remote areas. Together with colleagues from other departments, as well as with the scientific community, we are working on the development of safe forest protection methods, taking into account the characteristics of forest ecosystems, the ecological and social value of forest stands.” 

Alexey Litvyakov further asked for clarification on whether aspects of biodiversity protection are taken into account by the Russian timber industry, as “the Kunming-Montreal Framework sets out the task of reducing the negative impact on biodiversity from enterprises and financial institutions, and of encouraging measures to ensure sustainable production patterns.” 

Alexander Panfilov noted that in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation dated 30 July 2020 № 542 “On Approval of Standard Lease Agreements for Forest Plots”, forest plot tenants are obliged to take biodiversity conservation measures (preserve individual valuable trees in all layers and their groups) in accordance with the forestry regulations and the forest development project. 

Alexander Panfilov also spoke about the activities carried out by Rosleskhoz to conserve the biological diversity of forests and wildlife, emphasizing that today more than 30% of the area of ​​​​all forests in Russia is already under protection. “This ensures the natural course of growth and development of forest stands, which is of fundamental importance for the conservation of biological diversity.”

You can watch the press conference recording at the following link.

The same day, a scientific and practical seminar dedicated to World Wildlife Day was held at the UN House. 

Opening the forum, moderator Alexander Shestakov, an independent expert on environmental and sustainable development, noted: “In Russia, the bodies responsible for compliance with the CITES Convention are the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Rosprirodnadzor. In this work, they rely on research centres such as the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), the Research Institute of Environmental Protection (VNII Ecology), as well as RAS A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution.” 

The moderator recalled the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in December last year, which, among other things, sets goals for the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources. It spells out the need to ensure “full legality and legal support for the extraction, trade and use of all kinds of wild animals and plants,” Alexander Shestakov emphasized. 

Equally important is the goal of “protecting health, including ours, as most pandemic diseases originate in the wild and are associated with the misuse of wildlife.” The need to “preserve habitats for all species of fauna and flora” was also identified. At the same time, there is an ambitious task at the global level – by 2030, 30% of the land and 30% of the world’s oceans must be protected” through various conservation measures. 

It also formulates the goal of “reducing threats to wildlife, which include pollution, climate change, and the spread of invasive species, and detrimental changes in land use, where farming is one of the key factors.” 

In conclusion, Alexander Shestakov emphasized that the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework specifically highlights the thesis that the achievement of the goals listed in the document is impossible without the partnership of all “stakeholders, namely governments, international organizations, local communities, including Indigenous Peoples, academia, women’s and youth associations.” 

The World Wildlife Fund of Russia (WWF) is a non-governmental non-profit, independent organization that has been operating for 29 years in the country, where, according to Victoria Elias, Conservation Director at WWF Russia, it has “one and a half million advocates who support it not only by means, but also by deed, sharing the goals of its mission, which is to ensure the harmony between humankind and nature, to preserve biodiversity. And biodiversity, as we understand it, is the basis of any system.” 

Victoria Elias gave several examples of successful partnerships for the conservation of nature in Russia. “It is important to interact with the state, with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. In our country, we have one of the oldest and best systems of specially protected natural reservation (SPNR). By helping the State to build, strengthen, develop, and maintain the functioning of protected areas, we, together with our partners, contribute to the conservation of biodiversity. Over the years, the Fund has implemented more than one and a half thousand projects and supported the creation of SPNR on an area of more than 72 million hectares.”  

This has been achieved through collective efforts, because “without the active involvement of science, practical actions lose their conscious meaning. Nothing can be achieved without the participation of business, responsible business, and local communities. An example of a successful project that we have been implementing since 2016, together with VTB Bank, is the conservation of big cats in the Russian Federation. The project included the development of monitoring, particularly of the snow leopard, efforts to restore the feline population, provision of additional equipment, surveillance equipment, camera traps, SUVs, creation of anti-poaching teams and the development of strategic documents.”  

“For 15 years we have been implementing the Bear Patrol project for residents of villages on the Arctic coast. The arrival of polar bears in the villages creates a disturbance factor for both animals and people, and it is only through the efforts of the residents of these areas that conflicts between this terrible predator and humans can be prevented.” The Bear Patrol teams drive predators away from villages and remove food waste, which is good bait for uninvited guests, Victoria Elias said. It is noteworthy that for the past two years this project has been implemented with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund,” Victoria Elias concluded. 

Kristina Rodina de Carvallo, Coordinator of FAO’s Global Programme for Wildlife and Protected Area Management, elaborated on three FAO cooperation projects on wildlife conservation.

As a first example, she cited the Partnership for Sustainable Wildlife Management, which comprises 14 international organizations, including FAO, outlining the main priorities and benefits of such collaboration.  

The second example given by the FAO expert is the 2017-2024 Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme, which is related to project activities. Since 2015, FAO has been working in partnership with three organizations, i.e. the Nature Conservation Society, the French Centre for Agricultural Research and the Centre for International Forestry Research. 

The third example is the collaboration between FAO and its partners on joint case studies. “Since 2022, FAO, together with partners, has selected 10 case studies to understand, plan and solve human-wildlife conflicts,” explained Kristina Rodina de Carvallo. 

“The core functions of our University are education and research, which can only be carried out in partnership. We also have an additional function for education and enlightenment,” Elena Savenkova, Director of the Institute of Ecology of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN), said. “Given the global nature of environmental problems, this is extremely important for our international Partnership University.” 

“We use the example of the University to demonstrate best practices in greening and resource conservation. RUDN has been heading the partner network of ‘green’ universities for eight years. Our university has ranked 26th among the world’s universities according to the GreenMetric rating, which measures the commitment of universities to developing ‘green’ infrastructure and once again it has confirmed its status as the greenest university in Russia,” Elena Savenkova continued. 

“Every year in September, within the Decade of Environmental Science, Education and Upbringing, we hold a round table discussion, in which more than 60 Russian and foreign educational organizations take part,” Elena Savenkova said. “Being in a big city, in the capital, we use the example of our ‘green’ territory – the Island of Nature – to show the role of natural complexes in maintaining well-being and ecological balance. 

“In Russia, a lot has been said in recent years about the potential of the northern taiga regions, fore and foremost, when using wild-growing resources,” Alexey Naumov, Head of the Department of Socio-Economic Geography of Foreign Countries at Lomonosov Moscow State University, said. “Their use, the collection and processing of wild crops in Russia is a promising area of economic activity. But it must be carried out under strict control so as not to disturb the delicate balance and ensure the reproduction of these resources.”  

“This approach is in line with the task of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development goals. The Global Agricultural Heritage Programme (GIAHS), initiated by FAO, is also in line with this objective,” continued the expert. "Russia has many objects worthy of inclusion in this list. These are local farming practices, but their removal from circulation threatens to bring down an entire global system in precarious equilibrium.  

The first objects slated for inclusion on the GIAHS list in Russia, Alexey Naumov said, "are wild-honey farming in the forests of Bashkiria and traditional pastoral herding on the permafrost in the central valley of the Lena River in Yakutia. Both are unique and unparalleled practices. At the same time, we have many other farming practices that deserve to be included in the list of the global agricultural heritage.” 

In order for this to happen, partnership – and in particular the involvement of the scientific community – is required. “Universities and research centres around the world play an extremely important role in explaining how these systems function and why they are environmentally sustainable. It is even more important to establish how resilient they are as production and social systems that allow local communities to exist, providing not only ‘daily bread’, but also a resource for development.”  

The international tiger project has created a partnership between the range states of the world’s largest tiger and snow leopard, Andrei Kushlin, an independent environmentalist who has been directly involved in tiger and snow leopard conservation programmes during his many years at the World Bank, said.  

In 2010, the Year of the Tiger according to the Eastern Lunar Calendar, a summit was held where a global programme for the restoration of the tiger population was approved at the level of heads of government of the participating countries. “Today, 12 years later, thanks to its implementation, according to experts of reputable international organizations, in particular, the World Wildlife Fund, the tiger population has increased by about 40%,” Andrei Kushlin noted. 

“Russia has the richest traditions in environmental protection. The country stretches across almost all climatic zones, except for the tropics one, and has a huge potential for diversity of flora and fauna, and genetic resources on a global scale,” Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Moscow Office, stressed.  

“And, as in any developed country, Russia presents all the negative aspects associated with industrialization and high-intensity agriculture. For this reason, the problem of creating, strengthening, and maintaining partnerships for wildlife conservation in Russia is as crucial as in other countries of the world.”  

“The task of preserving wildlife encourages all of us to join forces,” Oleg Kobiakov said at the conclusion of the forum. “We, at the FAO Moscow office, will always be happy to provide our platform, to serve as the cement that connects all the 'bricks' of such partnerships.” 

You can watch the video of the webinar following the link. 

#WorldWildlifeDay #WWD2023 

 

BACKGROUND 

The FAO'S Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme is a major international initiative aimed at improving wildlife conservation and food security. The programme develops innovative, collaborative and scalable new approaches to wildlife conservation and ecosystem protection, while improving the living conditions of Indigenous Peoples and rural communities that depend on these resources.

Wildlife, livestock, people, and the environment are closely related. To protect wild and domestic animals, as well as people, it is important to understand how diseases go beyond one biological species and how they are transmitted to other species and spread. This will strengthen our shared ecosystems and ultimately preserve human health, livelihoods, and food security.