The Sixth IUCN World Parks Congress, which opened in Sydney on 12 November, will highlight the issues of protecting wild cats in Russia, including the Amur tiger and the Far Eastern leopard. The Russian delegation – over 40 leaders and professionals from 24 nature reserves and national parks, and non-governmental environmental organisations – is led by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi. Land of the Leopard National Park is represented at the Congress by its deputy director for research and environmental education Yelena Salmanova and research fellow Dina Matyukhina.

Events include plenary and stream sessions, exhibitions, roundtables and workshops on conserving natural world heritage. Over 5,000 people from 160 countries have gathered for the World Parks Congress, the largest and most influential international forum on protected areas.

In addition to the permanent exhibition on Russia’s protected areas, on display at the central pavilion in Olympic Park, the organisers planned several Russia-themed sections, including one on protecting wild cats in Russia, in recognition of the international importance of the country’s nature reserves.

The main organiser of the Sixth IUCN World Parks Congress is the World Commission on Protected Areas at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Congress, which is held every ten years, is taking place this year in Sydney on 12-19 November. The agenda for the Congress includes analysing the global experience of implementing the recommendations approved in 2003 when Durban, South Africa, hosted the event.