Putin Signs Decree to Protect Far-Eastern Leopards

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed the decree which will put into effect a long-sought protected area that will house half of all remaining Far-Eastern leopards. The leopards, the only species in the world able to survive long cold periods, are on the brink of extinction with only about thirty surviving members.

Continuing threats include habitat loss from logging, forest fires and unregulated tourism. Poaching remains a severe problem and the small population raises concerns of inbreeding as a further threat.

The new reserve will join two small protected areas into one, called Leopardovy Zakaznik (Leopard nature sanctuary), and will be managed by the Ministry of Nature Resources of Russia. According to the decree, the ministry will also manage neighboring Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve.

Before the decree, all three protected areas had been managed by different state agencies whose differing mandates meant that a unified Leopard conservation strategy was not in place. The transfer of jurisdiction to a single authority will allow for a single strategy that places the restoration of the leopard population at the heart of its operations in the area.

WWF proposed this change as early as 1999, in its Strategy for conservation of the Far Eastern leopard in Russia. “We are happy that finally, after all these years, the government has addressed this issue”, says WWF-Russia CEO Igor Chestin. “We hope that the Ministry will immediately start improving management of the protected area to ensure effective leopard conservation. WWF is ready to provide help and advice to the new sanctuary”.

To ensure Far-Eastern leopard protection, WWF created anti-poaching groups in the region. WWF also cooperates with Chinese conservation agencies to create a trans-border system of protected areas that sought to save the leopards habitat from industrial pollution. Education programs to inform locals of the threats facing this extremely rare cat species were set up, while customs agents were trained to track poachers who illegally sell leopard parts to China.

In 2007, WWF built a visit center for the future protected area, which now will finally be given to the Leopardovy zakaznik, and will hope to create revenue that can go towards making the sanctuary commercially viable.
Source WWF

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