Amur Green Belt...Russia 6 4 1 14 Total Amur River Basin 20 11 1 81 The Catalyst: The understanding...

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AmurGreenBeltAnnaBarma [email protected] 891-472-82737 http://amur-heilong.net/vicarr/Russia,China,MongoliaSize:246121793haand2461217,93sq/km

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Participantsincoordinatingtheongoingtransboundarycooperation:NationalGovernment:

• StateForestryAdministrationinChina• ProvincialDepartmentofForestryinChina• GreenDevelopmentandTourism(MEGDT)inMongolia• MinistryforNaturalResourcesinRussia• FederalServiceforSupervisionofNaturalResourceUsageinRussia,etc.

LocalGovernment:

• Leaders(Vice-Governors)of5provincesinAmurecoregionRussia;• Regionaldepartmentsforwildlifeprotection;• AmurBasinWaterManagementBoard;• DirectoratesoftheregionalPAsinRussia;• leadersofprovincialwetlandmanagementauthoritiesofHeilongjiang,• JilinandInnerMongoliainChina;• LocalDepartmentofForestryinChina;• Localgovernmentorganizations(aimagandsoum)inMongolia;• ResearchInstitutesRussia,ChinaandMongolia

Protectedareaadministration:

• LeadersNationalandProvincialprotectedareaRussia,ChinaandMongolia

NationalNGOs:• WWFRussia,WWFMongolia,WWFChina

LocalNGOs:OrganizedintotheCoalitionoftheAmurNGOs

• AmurSEU• All-RussiaSocietyofNatureProtection• FarEasternCenterforDevelopmentofCivicInitiatives&SocialPartnership

Intergovernmentalorganizations:

• WildlifeandHuntingManagementDepartment• DirectorateonWildlifeProtectionandProtectedAreasManagement

Community-basedOrganizations:

• TheAssociationofIndigenousPeoplesoftheFarEastObjectives:AmurGreenBeltProgramaimstocreateanecologicalcarcassofprotectedareasalongAmurriverthatwouldsustainastableandlong-termexistenceofthebiodiversity.Values and importance: The Amur-Heilong River basin covers approximately 2millionkm2inChina,RussiaandMongolia.Thebasinsupports130freshwaterfishes,95percentof the world’s nesting Oriental storks, 65 percent of nesting red-crowned cranes, 90percentofnestingwhite-napedcranes,Siberiantiger,wildginsengandthreeWWFGlobal

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200priorityecoregions.Manyimportantbiodiversity"hotspots"andrangesofendangeredspeciespopulationsaredissectedbynationalborders.Thisisduetohighbiodiversityvalueofmainrivercoursesandfloodplainwetlands,whichmakeup35000kilometerstretchofnational borders, as well as to peculiar history of local development and internationalrelationships,which left areasadjacent todisputedboders lessdeveloped in comparisonwith inland parts. Development strategies and patterns of resource use areenvironmentally unsustainable in all three basin countries, and have led to rapiddeterioration of ecosystems. At many locations ecosystems are also threatened byinternationaldevelopmentprojectsalongrivers.ThedrivingforceofresourceextractionintheRussianFarEast(RFE)asawholeistradewithChinaandotherAsianneighbors,andareasnear theborderhavepotential for even faster andunregulateddevelopment. ThesameholdstrueforMongolia.Aspectsoftransboundarycooperation:

1) Facilitate trans-boundary cooperation of key authorities on conservation amongRussia,MongoliaandChina;

2) Set upprotected areas (PAs) and formas an integratednetwork to safeguard theecosystem;

3) Promotepreservationofrarespecies(namelyamurtiger,Amurleopard,fishesandbirds);

4) Promotetheacknowledgementofnaturecapitaloffreshwaterecosystemrelatedtoagriculture, water infrastructures and land use planning by governmentalstakeholdersthroughresearchandlobbying.

Stageintheprocess:GreenBeltAmurisoneofWWFprogramsintheAmur-HeilongEcoregionComplex(AHEC).WWFRussia,WWFChinaandWWFMongoliahasajointplanoftransboundarycooperation.OfficialProtectedAreaDesignationoftheprotectedareasinvolvedinthistransboundaryconservationinitiative:

ProtectedareasoftheAmurecoregion National Provincialandlocal Total

QuantityArea,thous.ha

% QuantityArea,thous.ha

% QuantityArea,thous.ha

%

China 67 4941 5.5 260 9322 10.3 327 14263 15.8Mongolia 5 1644 8.7 4 812 4.3 9 2456 13.0Russia 33 7305 5.7 626 7605 6.0 659 14910 11.7TotalAmurBasin

105 13890 5.6 890 17739 7.2 995 31629 12.8

InternationalnominationsforPAsandvaluablenaturalterritoriesintheAmurRiverbasin

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Country WetlandsofInternationalImportance(Ramsar)

UNESCOBiosphereReserves

WorldHeritageUNESCO

ImportantBirdAreas

China 11 5 0 60Mongolia 3 2 0 7Russia 6 4 1 14TotalAmurRiverBasin

20 11 1 81

TheCatalyst:Theunderstandingoftheinterdependencebetweenbiodiversityconservationandecosystemsmanagementandpreservingkeyecosystemservices.History:TheAmurGreenBeltProgramisaconceptratherthanaspecificinitiative.ItispromotedbyNGOsintheAmur-HeilongBasinincludingWWF,WCS,AmurEcologicalFoundation,andZovTaigiNatureConservationCenter.WWFhasbeenactivelyworkingintheAmur-HeilongEcoregionComplexstartingattheRussianFarEastin1999.In2006theprogramwasexpandedtonorth-eastofChinaandin2007tonorth-eastofMongolia.TheconceptoftheAmurGreenBeltwasalsodiscussedduringtheinternationalmeetingsinBeijing,Moscow,SwitzerlandandwassupportedbytheWWFRussia,WWFChinaandWWFMongolia.In2011,governmentsapprovedtheSino-RussianStrategyfordevelopmentofborderingPAinAmurRiverBasin.Russia,ChinaandMongoliajoinedtheireffortstocreatetransboundaryecologicalnetworkofPA,called“AmurGreenBelt”.Itsconceptincludesthedevelopmentofthevastnetworkofprotectedwetlandandforestecosystemswithparticularfocusonborderingecosystems.TheprojectisdevelopedonthefoundationoftheActionPlanforConservationofBiodiversityoftheRussianFarEastEcoregionsupportedbytheleadingNGOs.28June2016wassignedonMemorandumofCooperationbetween16Chineseand12Russianprotectedareas.Barriers,challenges,obstacles,orconstraints:Aninitiativecomingfromthegrassrootsleveldoesn’thavestandardregulationsandexperience.Manyoftheprojectsareimplementedforthefirsttimeandtheirimplementationrequiresalotoftime.TheGovernanceandManagementStructures● Cooperativerelationship:informaladhoccooperation

● Legalbasisforcooperation:CountriesoftheAmurRiverBasinhavesigneda

numberofinternationalconventions:BiodiversityConservationConvention,RamsarConvention,WildlifeTradeConvention(CITES).RussiaandChina,aswellasChinaandMongoliahavesignedbilateralcooperationAgreementsonenvironmentprotection,suchasSino-RussianStrategyonestablishmentaNetworkofTransboundaryProtectedAreasintheAmurRiverBasin,aswellasaseriesofseparateagreementsoncertainareasandresourcemanagement.Inparticular,separateagreementsonestablishmentoftwointernationalnaturereserves:Dauria(Russia-China-Mongolia)and“LakeKhanka”(China-Russia).

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● Governancestructure:FortheRussianFarEast,theAmurCoordinatingCommitteecoordinatestheactivitiesofstatebodiesandotherpartnersandstakeholders.WWF-RussiaisapartofthisCommitteetogetherwiththerepresentativesofthefiveRussianregionsofAHEC(Vice-Governors)andrelevantfederalstructures.WithintheCommitteethereisaPublicScientificCounci–thestructurewhichincludesrepresentativesfrom25NGOsfromallregionsoftheRussianpartoftheAmurRiverbasin.TheworkofWWF-Russiaisbasedontheestablishedlinkswithpartnersinallregions.UndertheseagreementsaplanofactivitiesiscreatedannuallyandiscarriedoutjointlybyWWF,governmentauthoritiesandregionalNGOs.WWFrepresentativesareincludedintheadvisorybodiesatvariousgovernmentagencies.InChina,WWFCPOrenewsanMOUwiththeStateForestryAdministration,P.R.China(SFA)everyyearandacooperationlogframewithSFAeverythreeyears.WWFCPOhasalreadysetupsolidrelationshipwithprovincialwetlandmanagementauthoritiesofHeilongjiang,JilinandInnerMongolia.ContactwithrivermanagementauthoritiesinNEChinaisnotverystrong,whichneedstobefurtherdeveloped.InMongolia,thekeystakeholdersforactivitiesplannedwillbelocalgovernmentauthorities-decisionmakers,PAandRiverbasinadministrations,lawenforcementagencies,community-basedorganizations,formalandinformaleducationinstitutions,academiaandmedia.

● Cooperativemanagementarrangement:strategicplan

Results:Duetolong-termefforts,thenetworkofPAcoversabout30%ofnestinghabitatsofOrientalstork,50%ofWhite-napedcraneand70%ofred-crownedcrane.TheAmurtigerhabitatsareprotectedon24%ofitsrangeinRussiaand50%inChina,while70%ofFarEasternleopardrangecoversinbothcountries.CreationofPAnetworktogetherwithotherprotectionmeasureswasresultedinrealconservationsuccess:thenumberofAmurtigerisstableandhasbeen15%increasingsince2005upto540animals,thelastwildpopulationofFarEasternleopardsteppedfromextinction–from30catsin2000to80in2015,wecounteddoublemorebreedingpairsofOrientalstorkonthepermanentsampleplotsinAmurprovince.Moreover,thegrowingpopulationsinRussiabecamethesourcesforrestorationoftigerandleopardinNorthEastChina.DuringtheEasternEconomicForuminVladivostok(September2015),theRussianMinisterofNaturalResourcesemphasizedthefruitfulcooperationwithChinaandproposedtospreadprogramtothetigerandleopardhabitatsinDPRK.Theconceptofthe“AmurGreenBelt”wasapprovedbyAmurCoordinationCommitteeandincorporated into the Schemes of PA development in 5 provinces in Russia. It has beenimplemented by WWF offices in Russia, China and Mongolia with long-term financialsupport fromdonor’scommunity.On the firststage, thecooperationhasbeendevelopedon the base of bilateral agreements between partnering protected areas, such asKhinganski (Russia) and Honghe (China), Bastak (Russia) and Bachadao (China),

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Bolshekhekhcirskiy (Russia) and Sanjiang (China), Sokhondinski (Russia) and Onon-Balj(Mongolia).ThecollaborationbetweenKhankaiskiy(Russia)andXinkaihu(China)isbasedonthehighlevelSino-RussianAgreementonthistransboundarynaturereserve.Butmostsuccessful is the Dauria International Protected Area (DIPA) which was founded at thejunction of the borders between Russia, Mongolia and China in 1994 (Daursky,TsasucheiskyBorandDolinaDzerenovinRussia,MongolDaguurnationalparkinMongoliaandDalaiLakeinChina).TheverypromisingideaofRussian-MongoliantransboundaryPA“ThesourcesofAmur”isalreadyunder considerationby government of two countries. The large buffer zonewasspecially established to form real connection between Sokhondisnki NR in Russia andOnon-Balj national park inMongolia. The joint territorywill cover about 1million ha ofsteppe and boreal forests, helping for freemigration ofMongolian Gazelle, breeding forWhitenapedcranesandDaurianbastard.In 2004, within the NEASPEC project, the backgrounds were elaborated for creation oftransboundary PA in Tumen River Basin. To implement this idea, in Russia it wasestablished the Land of leopard national park under management of united directoratewithKedrovayapadbiospherenaturereserve. InChina,Hunchun,WangqinandLaoelingnature reserves were created along the border with Russia. They collaborate based onbilateralagreement,butnowChinaStateForestAdministrationinitiatesformationofTigerandLeopardPAnetwork,whichinfuturecanbelaunchedasSino-Russiantransboundarynature reserve. The draft of such high level Agreement was already sent to China byRussianMinistryofForeignAffairs.Thisyear,NEASPECsupportedtheSino-Russianproject«StudyofthetransboundarymovementsoftheAmurtigerandAmurleopardusingcameratrapsandmoleculargeneticanalysis".Forthefirsttime,wegotinformationfrombothsideof theborderandcancompare the individualphotosofcats,which freelymovebetweencountrieswithoutvisa.In2011,theSino-RussianStrategyfordevelopmentofborderingPAinAmurRiverBasinwas approved by governments. It can serve as the basis for improvement of existingcollaboration and creation of new clusters of transboundary nature reserves such asUssury/WussulyGodge,MiddleAmur/SangjiangPlain,KhinganGorge,KorsakovskiGodgeandCherpelGodge.As the first stage,we agreedwith the ForestBureau ofHeilongjaingprovince to form the Amur network of PA to improve exchange of information, conductjointresearchandcommunicationactivities.Thus, the Amur Green Belt program can be part of Bio-Bridge Initiative creating theconditiontoprotectflag-speciesandtheirhabitatsintheborderingareaofRussia,China,Mongolia andNorthKorea, providing ecosystemservices for all countries andbenefitingthesustainablesocio-economicdevelopmentofgreatpartofNorthEastAsia.ForMoreInformationhttp://amur-heilong.net/vicarr/

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Name Title Organization Email Phone

YuryDarman DirectorofAmurbranch,WWFRussia

WWFRFE [email protected] 89147913205

PeterOsipov ConservationdirectorofAmurbranch,WWFRussia


AnnaBarma AmurGreenBeltcoordinator,Amurbranch,WWFRussia


PeiqiLiu DirectorinterimNECOffice,Manager,FlywayProgramme

WWFNEC [email protected]

BatboldDorjgurkhem

DirectorWWFMongolia

WWFMPO [email protected]

MunkhchuluunBasan

AHECprogrammanager,WWFMongolia

WWFMPO [email protected]

VideoAmur-HeilongEcoregion:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Qh8-OxU_chttp://www.wwf.ru/about/where_we_work/dvo/web-map-amurhttp://panda.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=b5ded83f97534ce19a61d5f8257ef6f9

Amur Green Belt...Russia 6 4 1 14 Total Amur River Basin 20 11 1 81 The Catalyst: The understanding...

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