This summer Hanma State Nature Reserve in China housed a yearly meeting of International Alliance of Protected Areas (IAPA).
Today the Alliance includes over 130 territories in 15 countries, 26 of which are in Russia. The main task of the organization is to promote cooperation among high-class specialists. Such cooperation includes exchange of employees and best practices in awareness building, common solution searching to adapt to climate change, monitoring or data exchange about migrating species.
Though today the Alliance unites mostly people from professional world. We are sure that the information about their activity should reach activists and nature lovers all around the world. To learn where the members are situated visit the map.
The principal theme of the meeting this year became transboundary cooperation – a special form of economic, ecological and cultural activity on a regional level.
Hanma National Park, China. Photo from UNESCO.ORG
D. Scott, a German researcher, said that transboundary regionalism is born from the desire to develop new more versatile and efficient forms of collective actions, peaceful coexistence and economic development. That is why such cooperation presumes joint use of resources, joint solutions for ecological security and a wider communication between the countries.
Lately, the northwestern regions of Russia became active participants of this transboundary integration. One of the first transboundary biosphere reserves in Russia is Great Altai BR, created in 2017 on the base of Katunsky biosphere reserve in Russia and Katon-Karagaysky national park on Kazakhstan. It has 1.5 million hectares and stretches above pristine landscapes with 54 rare and 89 endemic plants, 47 species of birds and 12 mammals, included in the Red Data Book of Russia and Kazakhstan.
Great Altai transboundary biosphere reserve. Photo from UNESCO.ORG
It became a big event for the global nature protection community so it is even more pleasant to watch successful work of our colleagues. Within three years in this new form of organization, the Great Altai BR collected huge experience and is ready to share it. For example, on November 26-28 Katunsky Nature Reserve together with Gorno-Altaisky University and other partners organize international conference about transboundary regions facing global changes.
Being a member of the Alliance means for the Commander Islands a chance to improve our nature protection policies and collect more precious data. For example, we are interested in developing connections with those protected areas, which see the same species of migrating birds as we do. The Commander Islands are a kind of an inn, where birds can have a rest and some food to continue their journey. Therefore, such type of cooperation may prevent reduction of these species and create circumstances for fruitful work in the future.
IAPA promotes new sister-BRs and new awareness building programs. Action plan for 2019-2020 includes production of a strategy for the coming 10-year period, of workshops and recommendations about important aspects of management, data collection, connectivity and creation of a news exchange system.
The Commander Islands Nature and Biosphere Reserve is happy to take part in this important global initiative, as we can achieve more together.
