Appreciation of the importance of the green corridors between nature conservation areas (protected natural territories) has been growing across the globe in recent years. The countries of Europe and the Caucasus successfully form the Emerald Pan-European Network of important sites protecting biodiversity, including the EC Network Nature-2000. In 2010, the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Ministry of the Environment of Finland, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the development of the Green Belt of Fennoscandia.

The Symposium will evaluate the success of the ongoing projects on ecological networking as well as identify factors and challenges affecting their progress. It aims to bring together stakeholders from the sectors of research, conservation, and industrial management as well as governmental policies, in order to increase mutual understanding and elaborate solutions for the possible conflicts of interests.

Preliminary topics for sessions:

  1. Territorial nature conservation as an important component for regional development. Patterns of ecological networks in different areas and under various geographical conditions.
  2. Problems of guaranteeing the efficiency of the protected areas.
  3. Establishment and functions of regional networks of protected areas.
  4. Establishment of the Pan-European Ecological Network and Inter-Regional Ecological Networks: Emerald Network / Natura-2000, Green Belt of Fennoscandia.
  5. The state of the largest natural wilderness systems and ecological corridors of Northern Eurasia. Trans-boundary conservation areas.
  6. Territorial problems of rare species protection, and the Red Data Books.
  7. Ecosystem services of protected areas and the concept of regional ‘green economy’.
  8. Urban nature conservation and its place in the regional natural ecological framework.
  9. Environmental education and schooling, ecological tourism in the protected areas.

Preliminary topics of round tables:

  1. Integration of the protected natural areas into the economy.
  2. Territorial nature conservation and mining industries: compatibility of the incompatibles.
  3. Environmental aspects of tourism in the protected territories.

The main organizers of the event are Kola Science Center RAS, Institute of North Industrial Ecology Problems of Kola Science Center RAS, Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden of Kola Science Center RAS, Institute of Geography RAS, Russian Geographical Society, Murmansk branch of Russian Botanical Society, and the Project Office for the Development of the Arctic (PORA).

For more details, see the attached information letter.

Federal Research Center "Kola Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences" has been a UArctic member since 2001.