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Shantar Islands

Shantar Islands

Programs

Wild Salmon Center's Russian Partnership Work Produces Results News & Program Updates

Koppi River and Shantar Islands receive preliminary approval for protection

January, 2008

The Wild Salmon Center's partnership work in the Russian Far East is producing results, most recently in securing preliminary approval for protection of the Koppi River and the Shantar Islands, which both contain important wild salmon habitat.

Koppi River

Portions of the Koppi River in the Russian Far East recently received preliminary approval for designation as a Salmon Protected Area.

Our Russian partner, the Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation, is a conservation organization which receives funding from the Wild Salmon Center and works closely with our staff to prioritize and protect wild salmon rivers in the Khabarovsk region of Russia.

The Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation is a member of the Khabarovsk Working Group on Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, which is made up of relevant regional and federal agencies, research institutions and nonprofit organizations. The working group is charged with recommending and coordinating salmon protected areas in the Khabarovsk region.

Approval by the working group is an essential step in the process of establishing national parks and salmon protected areas. The group's approval of such sites paves the way for formal support by the region's governor.

The working group met in January 2008, making the following determinations for these wild salmon ecosystems:

  • Koppi River: The working group recommended reserving the entire basin and dividing in into varying special management zones, and specifically included allowing sport and commercial fishing in the lower reaches of the river. They also noted plans by the Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation to conduct an assessment of the basin using Wild Salmon Center grant funds.
  • Shantar Islands: The working group approved a structure for the "ecological-economic justification" (or nomination documents) for the National Park, and formally charged our partner, the Khabarovsk Wildlife Foundation, with developing the document. They also supported the formation of a national park working group, which has already begun.

These early developments in 2008 are very encouraging and we look forward to working with our Russian partners on the next steps towards formal protection of these areas.