A panel discussion, To Sustainable Development: Business and Biodiversity Conservation, was held as part of the Eastern Economic Forum. The discussion was attended by Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the autonomous non-profit organisation Far Eastern Leopards Sergei Ivanov; Presidential Aide, Head of the Presidential Control Directorate and Chairman of the Supervisory Council of the Amur Tiger Centre Konstantin Chuichenko; Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi; and chief executives of major Russian companies.

The participants discussed public-private programmes and projects to protect rare animals as well as the record of and prospects for socially responsible business practices to ensure the preservation of biological and landscape diversity in the Russian Far East and in Russia as a whole.

“Mr Ivanov was very explicit as to why we prioritise conservation of the Red Data Book species. They are the most sensitive indicator of biological wellbeing in a given territory. As we deal with the tiger, we simultaneously deal with its food sources, that is, other animals. We deal with the habitat. The Amur Tiger Fund was established in the summer of 2013, and it focuses on several areas in its work: fighting poaching, maintaining habitats, environmental education and advancing science,” Mr Chuichenko said.