Important Bird Areas in Asia – Russia (Eastern) ■ RUSSIA (Eastern) LAND AREA1 10,339,000 km2 HUMAN POPULATION2 16,828,000 (2 per km2) NUMBER OF IBAs 169 TOTAL AREA OF IBAs c.345,000 km2 STATUS OF IBAs 41 protected; 29 partially protected; 99 unprotected Arctic tundra in northern Russia is immensely rich in breeding waterbirds, in particular waterfowl and shorebirds, for example on Belyaka spit at the mouth of Kolyuchin bay (IBA 87). (PHOTO: MINORU KASHIWAGI) KEY HABITATS AND BIRDS • Many coastal and inland wetlands in eastern Russia support large congregations of waterbirds on passage from their • The Arctic tundra in northern Russia (Biome AS01: Arctic tundra northern breeding grounds to their wintering areas, and certain and SA 087: Chukotski peninsula) is immensely rich in breeding wetlands in the tundra support large flocks of moulting waterbirds, in particular waterfowl and shorebirds, most of which waterfowl in late summer. The coastal wetlands around the Sea migrate to other parts of Asia and to Australasia outside the of Okhotsk and the northern Sea of Japan are the only breeding breeding season. Many waterbird species nest only in the tundra grounds of the threatened Steller’s Sea-eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus zone (and its interface with the taiga zone), including the and Spotted Greenshank Tringa guttifer, and the lower Amur threatened Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus, Red- and Ussuri floodplains in south-east Russia are important breasted Goose Branta ruficollis, Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus breeding grounds for the threatened Oriental Stork Ciconia and Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus. boyciana, Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri, Red-crowned Crane • The vast expanse of coniferous taiga forest (and associated Grus japonensis and probably Swinhoe’s Rail Coturnicops wetlands) that extends across Eastern Siberia, and the temperate exquisitus. forests in south-east Russia (Biome AS02: Boreal forest – Taiga, • The rich waters off the coast of eastern Russia support many Biome AS03: North-east Asian temperate forest and SA 088: colonies of auks and other seabirds, including the threatened Sakhalin) support huge numbers of breeding birds, many of Red-legged Kittiwake Rissa brevirostris. which migrate to East and South-East Asia in winter, including the threatened Baikal Teal Anas formosa and Hooded Crane Grus monacha. The riverine forests in south-east Russia support CONSERVATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND the threatened Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus and PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEM Blakiston’s Fish-owl Ketupa blakistoni. • There are steppe grasslands (and associated wetlands) in parts In Russia, several government ministries and agencies have of south-east Russia (Biome AS04: Eurasian steppe and desert). responsibilities relevant to the conservation of habitats and Large areas of these steppes have been converted to agriculture, biodiversity. The Ministry of Natural Resources took over the but the remaining grasslands still support threatened species such responsibilities of the Russian Federal Forest Service and the State as Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca and Great Bustard Otis tarda. Committee on Environmental Protection in May 2000 (under • The Altai-Sayan mountains have extensive areas of alpine scrub, Presidential Decree 867). The Hunting Administration, a division grassland and barren, rocky areas (Biome AS05: Eurasian high within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, oversees many of montane – Alpine and Tibetan), and support populations of high- Russia’s wildlife refuges (zakazniks) as well as the hunting industry. altitude specialists such as the endemic Altai Snowcock The Federal Security Service is responsible for preventing the illegal Tetraogallus altaicus. harvest and export of natural resources. Footnotes: 1 = the figures given are for Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East; the total for the entire Russian Federation is 17,075,400 km2; 2 = the figures given are for Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East; the total for the entire Russian Federation is 146,200,000 (9 per km2). 225 Russia.p65 225 04/11/2004, 12:30 Important Bird Areas in Asia – Russia (Eastern) Map 1. Location and size of Important Bird Areas in Taymyr Autonomous Area, Evenkiy Autonomous Area, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Khakassia Republic, Tuva Republic, Irkutsk Province, Buryatia Republic, Chita Province and Yakutia Republic (see Tables 1–9). 0250500 70 km 71 ARCTIC OCEAN 74 66 68 65 76 69 72 3 11 77 15 75 58 60 12 14 73 2 6 61 67 10 5 16 62 13 59 1 7 9 Taymyr 4 8 63 17 64 19 18 SEA Yakutia OF Evenkiy OKHOTSK 20 21 23 Krasnoyarsk RUSSIA Irkutsk Area of IBA (ha) 22 Buryatia 52 >1,000,000 25 53 27 29 28 43 54 Chita 100,000 to 999,999 46 26 30 24 31 51 50,000 to 99,999 Khakassia 42 44 32 34 33 41 47 50 56 10,000 to 49,999 38 48 55 57 36 45 1,000 to 9,999 35 Tuva CHINA 100 to 999 40 49 37 <100 39 MONGOLIA Legislation relevant to IBAs includes the Law on Environmental (hunting licences). Other forms of protection include national parks Protection of 1991. The 1993 Constitution of the Russian (at 2000, there were 35 in Russia covering 70,000 km2 or 0.6% of Federation states in article 9: “land and other natural resources Russian territory, but none in the Russian Far East) natural are used and protected in the Russian Federation as the basis of monuments, regional nature parks and “territories of traditional the life and activity of the population inhabiting the corresponding nature use”. territory”. Article 42 of the constitution states: “everyone has the right to a healthy environment, accurate information about its conditions, and compensation for damage to health or property as OVERVIEW OF THE INVENTORY a result of violation of the environmental law”. There are several categories of protected areas in Russia. Nature • Of the 169 IBAs in eastern Russia, 114 support globally reserves (zapovedniks) are primarily to protect examples of threatened species, four have restricted-range species, 89 have particular ecosystems or landscapes, and, less frequently, to protect biome-restricted species, 153 qualify as IBAs because they hold a particular species. Many of them have a permanent scientific large congregations of waterbirds and/or seabirds, and one IBA research station. They are under the jurisdiction of the State Service is an important bottleneck site for migrating raptors. for Environmental Protection, part of the Ministry of Natural • The IBAs listed here cover just over 3% of the land area of Resources. At 2001, 101 zapovedniks protected 340,000 km2 eastern Russia. The birds and other biodiversity have not yet throughout the Russian Federation, including 65,000 km2 of marine been surveyed in many parts of this vast, sparsely-populated area, and they cover 1.6% of the land area of the country. Wildlife region, and it is anticipated that future field surveys will identify refuges (zakazniks) are created to limit, temporarily or permanently, more sites which qualify as IBAs. some forms of economic activity to protect ecosystems or particular • All major habitat types in eastern Russia are well represented species; the main reason for their establishment has been to regulate in the IBA network, with the Arctic tundra biome represented commercial hunting to preserve wildlife. They can be established in 41 IBAs, extensive areas of boreal forest found in 28 IBAs, by both federal and regional government; there are more than one north-east Asian temperate forests in 16 IBAs, steppe grasslands thousand regional zakazniks that, in principle, protect c.440,000 in 11 IBAs and Eurasian high montane habitats in five IBAs. km2 and 69 federal zakazniks that total 115,000 km2. The two main Outstanding IBAs for threatened forest birds include: Middle bodies leasing zakaznik land to users are the Ministry of Natural reaches of the Bikin river (IBA 154) and Middle reaches of the Resources (timber allocations) and the Hunting Administration Iman river (IBA 157) in Primorye. 226 Russia.p65 226 27/10/2004, 15:35 Important Bird Areas in Asia – Russia (Eastern) • Almost all of the IBAs in eastern Russia contain some wetland breeding grounds of Siberian Crane. A number of problems are habitat, and all major wetland types and regions are represented affecting the protected areas system in eastern Russia, linked to in the IBA network. Outstanding IBAs for threatened wetland the on-going decentralisation of administrative structures within birds include: Torey lakes (IBA 55) in Chita; Kytalyk Resource the country, a recent steep decline in funding for reserves, the Reserve (IBA 72) in Yakutia; Lower Anadyr lowlands (IBA lack of a unified management and planning structure, and poor 84) and Vankarem lowlands and Kolyuchin bay (IBA 87) in public support. These issues urgently need to be addressed to Chukotka; Malkachan tundra (IBA 133) in Magadan; maintain the effective protection and management of key areas Konstantin and Tugur bays (IBA 141), Udyl’ lake (IBA 148) for biodiversity conservation. and Bolon’ lake (IBA 150) in Khabarovsk; Muraviovskiy Wildlife Refuge (IBA 151) and Arkhara lowlands (IBA 152) in Amur; Khanka plain (IBA 159), Islands in Peter the Great bay SOURCES OF IBA DATA (IBA 161) and Lower Tumen river (IBA 162) in Primorye; and North-east Sakhalin lagoons (IBA 163) in Sakhalin. This list of IBAs in the Asian part of Russia (east of the Yenisey • There are 19 IBAs in eastern Russia with large concentrations River) was compiled by the Russian Bird Conservation Union of breeding seabirds, most of which are small offshore islands. (RBCU) during 1995–2004 under the supervision and coordination of A. V. Andreev and T. V. Sviridova, with support from A. N. Reimers and E. Yu. Golubova. IBA data forms were submitted by CONSERVATION ISSUES the following contributors: A. I. Antonov, V. A. Dugintsov (Amur); E. N. Elaev, I.