Three More Wildlife Refuges to Be Established in Yakutia

Photo: Karpukhin Sergey

Three More Wildlife Refuges to Be Established in Yakutia

By 2024, three new conservancy areas will be founded in the Yakut Republic, one of Russian constituent regional entities, the region’s press office in Moscow says. Two of them, the Laptevomorskiy Refuge and the Momskiy National Park are located in the Arctic.

New protected areas will be established as part of the “Environment” national project in accordance with the republican conservancy plan until 2032 approved by the regional government. The plan puts a special emphasis on the Arctic areas of the Republic, which are known to be home for numerous endangered polar animal and bird species. At present, 235 protected nature areas are operational in Yakutia. Seven of them enjoy the status of federal wildlife sanctuaries, while 130 are regional and the rest are municipal protected areas.

Nature reserves are a potent tool allowing for conserving the natural riches of the Russian North. They are of specific importance in light of the rapid growth of the tourism industry in the Arctic, which, albeit being beneficial for local budgets, poses a potential threat to the environment. The issue has been recently raised by Dr. Evgeni Borovichev, Manager of the PORA Sustainable Development Laboratory in Murmansk. In his view, wildlife refuges help attain both goals -- that of fostering tourism and economic growth associated therewith and preserving fragile northern ecosystems.

Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.
Alexander Stotskiy
12 January 2022
Arctic Today