On 25-27 October, the capital of Mongolia hosted the fifth meeting of the joint Russian-Mongolian commission on environmental protection. Following the meeting, a decision was taken to establish cross-border nature reserves in the Altai-Sayan region. The new reserves will appear within the cross-border specially protected areas of the Mongolian Altai and Sailyugem National Park, as well as Lake Hovsgol National Park in Mongolia and Tunkinsky National Park in Buryatia. The cross-border nature reserves will become areas where both countries will be able to join efforts in efficient conservation of groups of rare animals that migrate and live on both sides of the border.

Participants in the meeting also presented the results of the study and monitoring of snow leopards in the Chikhachyov Range and the Tsagan-Shibetu Range. These groups of snow leopards play a key role in the restoration of the snow leopard population in Russia.

Another important result of the meeting was the decision to approve the programme to monitor the Altai argali in the cross-border areas of Russia and Mongolia on the national level. The parties also agreed to develop a joint programme for preserving and monitoring cross-border groups of snow leopards and to tighten control over the cross-border transport of derivatives listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The joint Russian-Mongolian commission on environmental protection acts in accordance with the Russian-Mongolian Governmental Agreement on Cooperation in Environmental Protection signed on 15 February 1994. This year’s meeting was attended by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Russian Federal Agency for Water Resources, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources directorates for Buryatia, Tyva, Altai and the Altai Territory, as well as representatives from the Ubsunur Hollow Biosphere Reserve, Tunkinsky National Park, the Russian Embassy in Mongolia and WWF Russia.