The Northern Forum held a Second workshop on Natural Protected Areas. This workshop is a continuation of the first meeting of such class in Yakutsk that was held in fall 2012. The Second workshop was organized by Leningrad oblast Natural Resources Committee.

Three-day workshop was dedicated to discussing mechanisms on implementation of Protected Areas legal regime. Participants from Russian regions and members of the Northern Forum have exchanged their view and experience on this topic. Representatives from 7 Russian subnationals have taken part in the workshop, along with scientists, representatives of Northwest Russia PA Association, environmental regime enforcement, University teachers, WWF and IUCN experts.

Other topics on the workshop have included: current condition and perspectives of Protected Areas development, PA legal enforcement actions, state management of Pas, raising loyalty and awareness of the locals to the PAs, legal aspects of PA land registration etc. Themes like Environmental Tourism, alternative timber resource use and PA information for city building issues.

The workshop was opened by a chairman of Nature resources committee of Leningrad oblast, Sergei Kuryshkin, permanent Sakha Republic representative in St.Petersburg Galina Makarova and the Northern Forum acting executive Mikhail Pogodaev. Working part of the workshop was opened by the NF Deputy Director Anastasia Bozhedonova, who gave a presentation on a role of interregional and international cooperation between the Northern regions in conservation of the Northern environment and biodiversity.

Head of Protected Areas dept. of Nature resources committee of Leningrad oblast, Fedor Stulov has been a participant of the original PA workshop in Yakutsk in 2012, so he has preserved the spirit of enthusiasm and openness gained in Yakutsk in discussion of different questions on development and management of the PAs.

Workshop participants thought through a payment system of PA inspectors, their number, their authority, organizing joint methods, a GIS system and most importantly – the scientific work as a complement to all Protected Areas activity.

The participants have approved a Condition of the Northern Forum Working group on a Protected Areas Management Project and have chosen the working group’s leader – Sakha Deputy Minister of Nature Protection Yakov Sivtsev.

As a part of the workshop, the participants were taken to and shown one of the Leningrad oblast Protected Areas – a Sablinsky complex nature property with caves, waterfall and natural labyrinths.

The next workshop is to be held in Khanty-Mansiyskiy AO, well-known for its rich experience of Protected Areas management.