Russia's protected areas: a survey and identification of development problems

Natural habitat preservation, i.e. the creation and management of Protected Natural Areas (PNAs), is one of the most important forms of biodiversity conservation. The most widespread types of PNAs in Russia are Zakazniks (State Nature Refuges) and Natural Monuments, but unlike Zapovedniks (State Nature Reserves) these types of Russian PNAs are little-known to foreign ecologists. Thus the main attention of this article is given to the problems of Zakazniks and Natural Monuments while other types of Russian PNAs are mentioned briefly. In many regions of Russia, Zakazniks and Natural Monuments are considered to be the core components for the regional protection of biodiversity. Non-Governmental Organizations play an important role in the creation and management of PNAs. The recent sudden change of circumstances in Russia have given rise to many problems which threaten the existence of Zakazniks and Natural Monuments. Possible means of saving these PNAs include: (i) promoting the interest of local people in protecting biodiversity; and (ii) supporting local authorities, and public initiatives and regional programmes in the creation of local PNA networks.