ENG - UN CC:Learn

EUROPE AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF
INDEPENDENT STATES
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
SPOTLIGHT
St Petersburg
Moscow
RUSSIA
Novosibirsk Vladivostok
KAZAKHSTAN
MONGOLIA
IRAN CHINA JAPAN
Sustainable Conservation through Capacity Building 1
The Kamchatka peninsula is one of the world’s last great wildernesses, home to 29
species of rare and endemic plants, as well as many birds and large mammals. Having been historically protected by its remoteness
and strategic importance, the 1,500 km peninsula remains relatively untouched, offering an outstanding opportunity to
conserve its globally significant biodiversity. However, the past decade of economic reform and social upheaval have brought
financial hardship to the local communities, and sharply reduced protected area budgets, leading to significant and increasing
threats to Kamchatka's biodiversity and existing protected areas.
In 2002, with US$ 2.1 million financing from GEF and US$ 3 million in co-financing, UNDP, in collaboration with the Government,
began a project to introduce conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in four protected areas in Kamchatka.The main goals
of the project were to strengthen capacity for protected area management, develop infrastructure for nature protection and
tourism,review environmental legislation,create alternative livelihoods for local populations,raise the professional level of protected
area staff, and increase public awareness of the value of Kamchatka's biodiversity.
Implementation of the project to date has been highly successful. Strengthening of the protected areas has been realised
through the development of the first ever management plans, the creation and strengthening of field offices, guard posts and
ranger patrol stations, and increased staffing levels. A feasibility assessment for ecotourism development is being finalised, and
pollution issues within the protected areas are being addressed. A Conservation Trust Fund has been registered in Kamchatka,
and financial mechanisms for conservation programmes are being developed. In addition, the project has increased biodiversity
awareness and advocacy among the media, students and communities, who now have a greater understanding of the relationship
between protected areas, biodiversity and resource conservation, and the sustainability of their quality of life. 2
BIODIVERSITY
QUICK FACTS
Total UNDP-GEF and Co-Finance: $70,378,850
Total UNDP and Co-Finance: $434,260
Total: $70,813,110
254