A national four-day conference of directors of nature reserves and national parks finished in Vladivostok on 8 October. The conference was devoted to the development of the federal system of special protection areas.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi opened the conference on 5 October, saying that the rapid economic development should not have a negative impact on nature. The Minister also said he intended to discuss creating a special protection area on the Russia-Chinese border with his Chinese colleagues as a way to protect the Far Eastern leopard and other rare animals.

"In October, we will be in China for a regular meeting of the intergovernmental working group. We intend to raise this issue there," Mr Donskoi said.

Yelena Salmanova, deputy director for research and environmental education at Land of the Leopard National Park, reported on photo and video monitoring of animals. She said this method could be used to monitor other wild cats in Russia, such as the Amur tiger and snow leopard.

"We can identify every single animal thanks to their unique pattern of spots and stripes. However, it is impossible to use this method with other species," she said.

The conference covered a wide range of issues within five themed sections: environmental protection, research, environmental education, tourism, and promoting the image of nature reserves in view of the 100^th anniversary of the Russian nature reserve network to be marked in 2017.