New Leopard Sanctuary

VLADIVOSTOK. 31 October. VOSTOK-MEDIA. A new federal sanctuary “Leopardoviy” to preserve the rarest cat on the planet – Far Eastern leopard - has been created at the Russian Far East. A decree officially allowing creation of a sanctuary was signed by the Chairman of the Government, Vladimir Putin, on October, 27, 2008.
Sanctuary will consolidate existing preserved territories of the federal sanctuary “Barsoviy” and state zoological sanctuary “Borisovskoe plato” which comprise altogether 169 429 ha in Khasanskiy, Ussuriiskiy and Nadezhdinskiy districts of Primorskiy Krai.
In 1999 WWF worked out a Strategy on preserving Far Eastern leopard in Russia which stated that it was of high importance to consolidate preserved and specially controlled territories. For several years WWF had been trying to negotiate an issue to give sanctuaries “Borisovskoe Plato”, “Kedrovaya Pad” and “Barsoviy” under control of Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology. These sanctuaries were at that time under control of different Ministries. That is the reason why it was impossible to implement a program of leopard population recovery. In 2006 this program was supported by Chairman of the Government, Sergey Ivanov.
After the Governmental decree, the Ministry controls federal sanctuary “Kedrovaya Pad” and two sanctuaries will become a one specially controlled territory – sanctuary “Leopardoviy”.
According to Igor Chestin, Director of WWF in Russia, Ministry of Natural Resources will take appropriate measures in order to efficiently control sanctuaries. WWF, in its turn, has taken special measures to prevent poaching, is now holding talks with Chinese counterparts to create transboundary sanctuaries, preserve them from industrial exploitation, prepare public lectures to inform population and cooperate with custom offices in order to prevent illegal transporting of derivatives. In 2007 WWF constructed a visit-centre for the future Earth of Leopard.
Next step in implementing the preserving program will be consolidation of territories into one under control of Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology.