Russia finally establishing environmental protection zone in Gulf of Finland
Ingrian nature park protects islands of eastern part of gulf
|
|
The long-awaited project for the establishment of an Ingrian nature reserve in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland is to be implemented.
Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Juri Trutnev says that the park will be set up in the far end of the Gulf of Finland by the end of this year, according to the newspaper Izvestija.
The Ingrian nature park would comprise nine islands or island groups at the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland.
According to Izvestija, the conservation zone would include nearly 18,000 hectares of land and sea areas. The area contains about 700 plant species and 200 animal species. The islands are important resting places for migratory birds, and the location has one of the largest nesting areas for swans in the Baltic Sea.
The flora and fauna of the outer islands is without parallel anywhere else in the Gulf of Finland.
The natural surroundings in the islands have been preserved exceptionally well, as the area was emptied of human inhabitants during the war.
Nature parks in Russia are the most intensely protected areas in the country. Planning of the nature park in the Gulf of Finland began in the early 1990s, and it has been on the list of conservation areas to be set up in Russia since 2001. However, the project has moved forward very slowly in Russia’s decision-making bodies.
Ilkka Heikkinen of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment feels that the Russian decision to set up the nature park is a very important one.
“The new conservation area will be linked with the National Park of the Gulf of Finland, and will be a good addition to it”, Heikkinen says.
Cooperation in nature conservation between Russia and Finland is moving forward in other ways as well. Heikkinen says that preparations for a letter of intent for a green zone of Fennoscandia have proceeded in a positive spirit.
The green zone is a major project of cooperation between the countries. It is a string of pearls of conservation areas extending from the Barents Sea to the Gulf of Finland. The Ingrian nature park is the southernmost part of the green zone.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 6.3.2009 - TODAY |
 Russia finally establishing environmental protection zone in Gulf of Finland |
|
