2008 Alaska Park Science Symposium
October 14, 2008
The International Cooperation of Natural Biosphere Zapovednik Khanka
Yuriy P. Sushitskiy1
1Lake Khanka International Park, Spassk-Dal'niy, Primor'e, Russia
The far eastern federal natural biosphere zapovednik (strict nature reserve) Khanka received its name from the name of the largest freshwater body in the Far East of Russia—Lake Khanka. The zapovednik occupies part of the Khanka and Sungacha lowlands. Several major rivers flow into Lake Khanka, and only one flows out of it—the Sungacha, which flows into the Ussuri. The territory of the zapovednik consists of 5 separate parts. At the present time the core of the zapovednik occupies 39,289 hectares (97,085 acres), the protected (buffer) zone is 75,510 hectares (186,589 acres), and the zone of cooperation is 158,400 hectares (391,415 acres, 612 sq. mi.). Since 1976, in response to the Ramsar Convention, this territory has been awarded the status of wetlands area of international significance.
In April, 1996, the governments of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China signed an agreement to create, on the basis of the Khanka zapovednik in Russia and the Chinese zapovednik Xingkai Hu, an international Russian-Chinese zapovednik Lake Khanka. The greatest results in the facilitation of joint efforts between the two zapovedniks have been achieved in the area of ecological education. Since April, 2005, there have been conducted joint studies of the migration of birds and exchange of their results.
On June 29, 2005, the UNESCO commission Man and Biosphere made the decision to award the status of a biosphere to the federal natural zapovednik Khanka.
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