The 70th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) closed in Sochi on 5 October. Representatives of Russia’s specially protected natural areas took part in the event for the first time.

A roundtable discussion “The Polar bear in Russia: Protection and restoration” was held as part of the forum. The participants discussed conservation of polar bears in Russia and ways to prevent illegal trade in bear skins.

Deputy Director of Russian Arctic National Park Ivan Mizin made a presentation on Preserving Polar Bears in the Russian Specially Protected Natural Areas. In his report, he spoke about the estimation of the number of polar bears, the international cooperation necessary to protect this marine mammal and the national park’s achievements in studying and preserving the species.

Director of the Taymyr Nature Reserve Viktor Matasov also presented a report. He spoke about the current situation regarding polar bears on Taymyr and the experience of Russian scientists in preserving and studying the rare species. Preventing conflict situations between polar bears and humans is an important element of all the conservation programmes. This  is especially important for areas of Taymyr such as Tsvetkov Cape, the Pronchishcheva Bay and Dikson where there are many geologists and meteorologists.

The participants in the roundtable discussion will submit their recommendations to the final resolution of the CITES Standing Committee’s meeting.