About Watch Russia
Wild nature is our strategic resource. We explain how you can take care of it together with the Nature and People Russian foundation.
Russia, with its vast territory stretching from polar ice to subtropical coastlines, rightfully considers itself an ecological donor to the planet: nearly 40% of Arctic ecosystems and 25% of Earth’s virgin forests are located here, and more than half of our country’s territory is made up of intact ecosystems.
For several years now, biodiversity loss on Earth has ranked among the top five global risks, even surpassing economic crises.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Russia is home to more than 1,500 species of vertebrate: 320 species of mammal, 732 of birds, 80 of reptiles, 29 of amphibia and 343 of freshwater fish, as well as 12,500 vascular plant species.
Today, Russia is implementing the Environmental Well-being national project, one focus area being preservation and restoration of 17 rare animal species. In addition, at the beginning of 2024, a new foundation called Nature and People was established. Its mission is to preserve the unique living nature of our country in harmony with humans by bringing together experts, responsible businesses, and concerned individuals. The foundation carries out environmental projects aimed at protecting valuable ecosystems and rare flora and fauna species, promotes sustainable consumption, develops information technologies for nature conservation, and contributes to sustainable development through partnerships with business.
Watch Russia invites all its readers and partners to support the Foundation’s initiatives and projects, take under their patronage specific animals whose well-being directly affects the future of the entire planet.
Climate change means the traditional habitat of the polar bear is rapidly degrading. The result is increasingly frequent encounters between the predator and people living or working in the Arctic. The Foundation establishing and maintaining voluntary brigades called Bear Patrol, their aim being to minimize the likelihood of human-wildlife conflicts.
On Medny Island, part of the Commander Islands archipelago in Kamchatka Territory, foxes play a key role in maintaining ecosystem balance and integrity. Today, their population is critically endangered by food shortages and the spread of ear mange. The Foundation conducts systematic work to save these remarkable and extremely rare animals.
The Okhotsk Sea population of bowhead whales is listed in the Russian Red Data Book at the highest priority level. The Foundation also participates in saving these marine giants. Among its activities are expeditions to monitor individual numbers, participation in creating their genetic catalogue, and collaboration with tour operators in Sea of Okhotsk waters to reduce tourism’s negative impact on whales.