Digital innovation as reliable wildlife guardian

The International Year of Camelids launched in Russia

On March 4, the FAO Moscow Office celebrated World Wildlife Day with a large press conference at the TASS news agency and with a scientific and practical seminar, which was held in the UN House in a mixed attendance format.

At both of these two forums, it was officially announced that the International Year of Camelids would be held in the Russian Federation.

In his welcoming speech, Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the Moscow FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, emphasizing the call made this year for the introduction of “digital innovations into wildlife protection, stressed that: 

“In the age of satellite sensing of the Earth, without the use and optimization of digital technologies, any human activity, especially related to anthropogenic impact on the environment, cannot be successful. Today, we are witnessing the consequences of the climate crisis and food insecurity – almost 700 million people in the world are hungry. Therefore, the need for innovative solutions has never been so urgent.

Within its mandate, FAO studies how wildlife, farm animals and humans interact, and what new phenomena and threats arise in this area. For instance, speaking of camelids, 15 years ago they got into the news mainly because of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), also referred to as “camel flu”. Thanks to cooperation between states, this threat was stopped in time, which did not allow it to reach such a scale as the recent coronavirus pandemic.

FAO supports traditional knowledge and approaches to wildlife-related issues based on digital technologies in this area of its activities.

Without innovation, it is difficult to restore order in the relationship between humans and wildlife, combine the tasks of biodiversity conservation and sustainable nature management, as well as find answers to a whole range of challenges in the transition to a model of sustainable development as a whole.

Any undertaking cannot result in success without the broad support of like-minded people. The FAO Moscow Office is grateful to its partners in the Federation Council, the State Duma, regional authorities, scientific and educational institutions, and the private sector, who supported the idea of holding events in the Russian Federation during the International Year of Camelids.”

“The Astrakhan region is recognized as the main Russian oasis of camels,” said Senator Alexander Bashkin, Representative of the supreme executive authority of the Astrakhan region in the Federation Council. “More than 70% of the total camel population in the Russian Federation is concentrated in our region, which cannot fail to impose an obligation to preserve this important type of a farm animal. After all, a camel is a unique “three-in-one” animal – it replaces a horse as a vehicle, it is also a sheep, since it gives wool, it is also a cow, which gives meat and milk.”

The senator said that serious breeding work is underway in the region. The products from camel farms are marked with the “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO), which turns these goods into intellectual property items. The Astrakhan Camel brand has been registered. The Astrakhan breed of two-humped Bactrian camels is the largest species in the camel family: males reach a weight of one tonne.”

The topic of using modern technologies in the protection and conservation of wildlife was developed by Vyacheslav Rozhnov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Director of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. “The brand of the Astrakhan region is not only a camel, but also saigas. How to count the population of this rare animal species? Driving cars or flying airplanes to count heads is expensive. With the support of Russian businesses, we have learned how to keep records and control saigas from satellite images. This is the area of research where the application of digitalization and artificial intelligence is required. We now count Caspian seals in this way.”

“As for wild camels, several hundred individuals have been preserved in the Gobi Reserve. Our institute, together with Mongolian colleagues, contributes to the study of this species of wild animals,” said Academician Rozhnov. “A camel is not only meat and wool, not only a beast of burden. It represents medicine, pharmacology, and biotechnology.

Our institute near Moscow, in Chernogolovka, has a biostation, where there are two-humped camels as well. About a quarter of all healthcare products are developed on the basis of antibodies. Our biologist colleagues have found that camels can produce not just antibodies, but nanoantibodies, tiny particles that can purposefully penetrate into certain cells and even into specific organelles of these cells. On their basis, it is possible to create pharmaceutical products for the treatment of infectious diseases such as anthrax or rabies, as well as allergic syndromes that have become a scourge of modern society.

Camels also represent history, culture, and religion. Orthodox people know the names of those who dealt with human health – Luke of Crimea and St. Panteleimon. Others, Cosmas and Damian, succeeded in the medical profession, healing people and animals, including a camel, which then reconciled the two brothers.

As for the place of these animals in the cultural heritage, many people must remember from the paintings of Vasily Vereshchagin, which camels lived in Central Asia,” Academician Rozhnov continued. “When the Battle of Stalingrad began, there were not enough horses at that time, and then camels were included in the 28th Reserve Army. They were used as a draft force – they carried cannons. They even reached the Reichstag. The first shots at it were fired from cannons pulled by camels Masha and Mishka. A monument to them has been raised in Aktobe.”

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is directly involved in the protection of wildlife, including through the development of international agreements, said Vladimir Moshkalo, Head of the UNEP Russia Office.

Thus, in 1973, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was developed. Trade is regulated through agreements between countries by issuing permits “for the movement of certain species of wild fauna and flora.”

Camels do not appear in the text of the Convention, Vladimir Moshkalo noted separately, but it is unknown how the situation will develop in the future.

Giacomo de' Besi, FAO Livestock Development Specialist, made a presentation on who are the “camelids” and why they are important for the agrifood sector and agricultural workers. He also explained how the idea to hold the International Year of Camelids originated. 

“Camelids first appeared in America 45 million years ago. Camels inhabit the deserts of Africa and Asia. South American camelids are found throughout the Andean highlands. Camelids are key to livelihoods of millions of households in over 90 countries, particularly indigenous peoples and local communities.”

The idea to hold the International Year of Camelids (IYC), was “proposed by the Plurinational State of Bolivia, then endorsed by members at FAO Governing Bodies, and later by the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). FAO was nominated by UNGA to facilitate the implementation of the IYC.

#YearOfCamelids, emphasized the FAO expert, is “an opportunity to raise awareness of the economic, social and cultural importance of camelids and to foster the consumption of the goods they produce to contribute to the eradication of huger, food insecurity and malnutrition.”

“We hope that environmental protection issues will be resolved in a non-politicized manner, as all countries are interested in protecting nature,” expressed his hope Vladimir Lenyov, Head of the Department of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

“In the Astrakhan region, which Senator Bashkin represents at the forum, a lot of scientific work is being carried out to save and restore a number of endangered animal species, such as saigas and sturgeon,” the Russian diplomat continued. “What is being done in this regard in the Astrakhan region is an instructive positive example for many people.”

“Camels are a very special animal. It is not only a beautiful animal, but with a global population of 35 million, camel husbandry is a source of income and cultural significance,” noted Hulan Bayarsaikhan, FAO Public Relations Officer in Mongolia. “As the leading technical agency in food, agriculture, and the environment, FAO continuously supports the development of the camelid sector.”

“The Bactrian camels are known for their extraordinary resilience surviving in extreme temperatures ranging from plus 50 degrees Celsius to minus 40 degrees Celsius. They are able to thrive in harsh environment with limited food and water,” continued Hulan Bayarsaikhan. 

“Nonetheless, the impacts of climate change are strongly felt in Mongolia. There are frequent dust and sand storms. Reduced rainfall, and extended drought in the Gobi region. As a result, the vegetation that camels feed on has been reduced which caused challenges for the herders whose livelihoods are dependent on camels.”

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The press conference at TASS and the seminar in the UN House were also attended by: V.A. Fetisov, First deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environment Preservation, Chair of All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation; R.Y. Pashaev, Minister of Agriculture and Fishing Industry of the Astrakhan Region; S.Y. Treshkin, Deputy Director of the Department for Coordination of the Activities of Organizations in the Field of Agricultural Sciences (The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation); Y.A. Yuldashbaev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of Animal Science and Biology, Professor of the Department of Private Animal Science of the Russian Timiryazev State Agricultural Academy; A.K. Natyrov, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of B.B. Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University; E.V. Chertina, Associate Professor of Astrakhan State Technical University; K.V. Plemyashov, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rector of Saint-Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine; S.N. Lenivtsev, Chairman of the All-Russian Public Environment Protection Organization “Public Environmental Control of Russia”. 

The background information

The World Wildlife Day 2024 (WWD 2024) theme is digital innovation. During the events dedicated to the WWD 2024, it is expected to discuss how digital environmental technologies and services can contribute to the conservation of wildlife, sustainable and legitimate trade in wild animals and the coexistence of humans and wildlife.

In the Russian Federation, on WWD 2024, the FAO Moscow Office announced the start of Russian events dedicated to the International Year of Camelids proclaimed by the United Nations. The idea is to highlight the key role of camelids in ensuring livelihoods of millions of households in more than 90 countries. Camelids which include various species – from alpacas to two-humped and one-humped camels, guanacos, lamas and vicugnas – contribute to ensuring food security and economic growth.