All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature

All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature
Name	All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature
Native name	Всероссийское общество охраны природы
Founded	1924
Headquarters	Moscow

All-Russian Society for the Protection of Nature is a Russian non-governmental environmental organization founded in 1924, active in conservation, environmental education, and natural heritage protection. The society has worked across the Russian Federation and Soviet Union periods, interacting with institutions such as Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Russia), Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and international bodies including the International Union for Conservation of Nature and United Nations Environment Programme. Its programs have engaged with regional administrations like Sakha Republic, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and Primorsky Krai and with scientific centers such as the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

History

The organization traces roots to early 20th-century conservationist currents involving figures linked to Russian Geographical Society, Imperial Russian Hunting Society, and early environmental activists around Moscow State University and the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden. Established during the Soviet era, it operated amid policy shifts associated with New Economic Policy, Five-Year Plans, and postwar reconstruction under leaders connected to the Council of People's Commissars and later the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Throughout the Cold War, the society navigated interactions with entities like Gosplan, the State Committee for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, and institutions such as the Soviet Academy of Sciences. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the society adapted to legal frameworks including the Law on Environmental Protection (Russia) and engaged with post-Soviet bodies such as the State Duma and regional legislatures in Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk Oblast.

Key historical engagements included conservation campaigns linked to the protection of species in the Caucasus Mountains, wetlands of the Volga Delta, and forests of Siberia. The society contributed to creation and management of protected areas like Sochi National Park, Kronotsky Nature Reserve, and collaboration with reserve systems including the Zapovednik network and the Biosphere Reserve program under UNESCO. Prominent conservationists associated through collaboration include researchers from the Paleontological Institute, the Institute of Arctic and Antarctic Research, and wildlife specialists linked to the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on cross-border projects.

Organization and Structure

The society is organized through regional branches across federal subjects such as Moscow Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai, and the Republic of Tatarstan. Its governance historically involved councils and presidiums that coordinated with national bodies like the Supreme Soviet and scientific advisory boards composed of members from the Russian Academy of Sciences, All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Nature Protection, and university departments at Moscow State University, Tomsk State University, and Far Eastern Federal University. It maintains committees addressing flora and fauna, environmental policy, education, and legal affairs, interfacing with ministries including Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and research institutions such as the V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest.

The society’s legal form and registration have evolved within frameworks involving the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and oversight by regional courts and registrars. Funding and partnerships have historically come from sources including philanthropic foundations such as the Ford Foundation, international agencies like the United Nations Development Programme, and corporate partners based in cities such as Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok.

Activities and Programs

Programs span biodiversity monitoring, species protection initiatives for taxa studied at the Zoological Museum of Moscow University, habitat restoration projects in riparian zones of the Ob River and Amur River, and anti-poaching campaigns coordinated with agencies such as the Federal Security Service (FSB) on border issues. It runs volunteer-driven conservation workdays similar to efforts by the National Trust (United Kingdom) and organizes research expeditions in collaboration with the Polar Research Institute and the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution.

Other activities include publishing periodicals and reports that reference standards from International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List assessments, conducting ecological impact assessments for infrastructure projects like the Baikal–Amur Mainline, and supporting restoration after industrial incidents comparable in scope to responses coordinated for past accidents involving entities such as Rosatom facilities. The society has maintained archives and museum exhibits in partnership with institutions like the State Darwin Museum and the Hermitage Museum for biodiversity outreach.

Environmental Advocacy and Policy Influence

The society has engaged in policy dialogues at venues including the World Wildlife Fund International Conference, UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), and sessions of the Commission on Sustainable Development. It has submitted proposals to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Russia) and engaged deputies of the State Duma and senators of the Federation Council (Russia) on legislation addressing protected area expansion, species protection laws, and emissions controls influenced by protocols such as the Kyoto Protocol and frameworks under the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development when financing environmental mitigation.

Advocacy campaigns have intersected with landmark issues like protection of the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcanic region, conservation of the Siberian tiger in Primorsky Krai and Amur Oblast, and peatland restoration in collaboration with academic centers at Irkutsk State University and international conservation NGOs including Conservation International.

Education and Public Outreach

The society has run school and university outreach modeled on programs from RSPB and partnerships with museums such as the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and educational institutions like Saint Petersburg State University. Initiatives include curricula development, teacher training workshops aligned with standards from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, youth nature clubs akin to Young Pioneers-era ecological groups, public lecture series featuring scholars from the Russian Academy of Sciences and field courses in regions like Kamchatka Krai.

Publications, exhibitions, and citizen science projects have mobilized volunteers through networks in cities such as Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Perm and collaborated with media outlets in Moscow and Saint Petersburg to raise awareness on topics covered by international outlets like Nature (journal) and Science (journal).

International Cooperation and Partnerships

Internationally, the society has cooperated with organizations including the International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wide Fund for Nature, BirdLife International, Greenpeace International, and bilateral programs with agencies like the United States Agency for International Development and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). It has participated in transboundary conservation initiatives with neighboring states such as China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Finland, and engaged in Arctic research networks with institutions like the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Arctic Council.

Cross-border projects addressed migratory routes monitored by groups such as Wetlands International and collaborative research under programs linked to the European Union and the Global Environment Facility, advancing shared conservation goals and scientific exchange with universities including Uppsala University, University of Cambridge, and Harvard University.

Category:Environmental organizations based in Russia