«NEWS FOR THE SCIENTIFIC DEPARTMENTS OF NATURE RESERVES»

PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS
AND HIGHER SCHOOL COULD HELP EACH OTHER

The Russian network of protected areas (PAs) is outstanding due to its advanced framework of research subdivisions and good tradition to involve specialists and students from relevant academic and industrial research institutes into field works. Both sides gain unique experience from such research co-operation and knowledge exchange. However, today there is a real danger to lose this experience. The current level of budget funding for research and students’ field works is insufficient to maintain research and education studies. In this situation, experience and knowledge gained outside advanced research and cultural centres have become a resource of limited access, and those who have access to it — are not adequately engaged in fulfilling domestic and international conservation objectives. Such issues as priority identification and research co-operation optimisation have now become of vital importance. For this purpose ,the Department of Protected Areas, Objects, and Biodiversity Conservation of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources has completed an inventory of scientific potential of the Russian PA network. Major outputs of this study are available at the BioDat web-site.

Over 50 PAs have already provided information on their stuff and scientists who worked regularly within their areas. For the rest of nature reserves and national parks, we have only preliminary information taken from their annual reports. On the basis of this study, the Department of Protected Areas, Objects, and Biodiversity Conservation is currently preparing an application to the Russian Fund for Fundamental Research and other organisations that provide support to research studies. In this application, the Department recommends to pay top-priority attention to fieldwork grants for multipurpose expeditions of relevant research institutes and students’ field studies in zapovedniks and national parks that are lacking or do not have scientific publications at all (Koryaksky and Tygireksky nature reserves, national parks Alaniya, Bashkiriya, Zabaikalsky, Zyuratkul’, Kurshskaya Kosa, Meschera, Paanayarvi, Pripyshmenskiye Bory, Russky Sever, Sochinsky, Shorsky). Complex multidisciplinary research studies with the participation of external experts are the top-priority objective in these PAs.

A number of PAs still do not have the minimal required scope of data on flora (Bolon'sky, Norsky, and Yuzhno-Uralsky zapovedniks, and Plescheevo Ozero and Pribaikalsky national parks) and fauna (Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky, Bolshaya Kokshaga, Bolshoi Arktichesky, Bureinsky, Vitimsky, Rdeisky, and Erzi zapovedniks, and Kenozersky, Meschersky, Nechkinsky, Plescheevo Ozero, Khvalynsky, and Yugyd Va national parks). It is necessary to attract external researchers having relevant qualifications to permanent or seasonal works in these PAs.

Some old zapovedniks and national parks are facing problems of a different kind. Despite great numbers of publications in zoology, botany, ecology, or geography, they have gaps in some specific areas, such as ichthyology and hydrobiology, entomology, ornithology, teriology, flora of vascular or low plants, forestry, etc. Information on most gaps can be found at: http://www.biodat.ru/db/zp/zrate1.htm. Normally, old zapovedniks and national parks possess sufficient scientific bases and need only expeditionary or stationary studies of relevant scientists from other PAs or research institutes. Some problems, apparently, could be resolved by inviting students under supervision of experts having required specialisation to conduct field works in PAs.

To eliminate worst information gaps in Russian zapovedniks and national parks, the Department could facilitate research works by providing essential information and administrative support.