OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2009. Ministry of Agriculture, Fish Industry and Ecology of the Republic of Karelia hosted the Russian-Finnish meeting concerning issues of bilateral cooperation in the sphere of environmental protection.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fish Industry and Ecology of the Republic of Karelia Irina Guzova welcomed Finnish colleagues. Top counsellor of the Ministry of Environment of Finland, Deputy Director of the department of regional and bilateral cooperation Martti Poutanen and senior staff scientist of the Forest Service of Finland Aimo Saano have told about international cooperation between especially protected natural territories in Finland and Russia. In particular, ther have pointed out activization of work between the Paanajarvi National Park (the Republic of Karelia) and Oulanka National Park (Finland). Cooperation with Kalevalsky National Park has been established. Realization of projects on preservation of seals in Lake Ladoga proceeds.

Special attention at the meeting was paid to problems of Fennoscandia, the extensive physiographic area in the north of Europe uniting Scandinavia, Kola peninsula, Finland and Karelia. The basic value of this territory that has given the object of heritage this figurative name is exclusive variety of presented there zones of ecosystems which precisely, in a classic style, replace each other in the direction from the north to the south. On the part of Russia, the so-called green belt of Fennoscandia consists of a number of existing and created specially protected natural reservations (SPNR) possessing various nature conservation statuses that have stretched over one thousand kilometers along the Russia's state border on Norway and Finland.

As the vice-president on research of Presidium of Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Kryshen has emphasized, the green belt of Fennoscandia is a perfect example of international cooperation. Session of the Eurocommission held in the beginning of November discussed issues of preservation of the environment. In particular, it was mentioned that the concept of the green belt of Fennoscandia, that has initially occured as result of international cooperation and joining of efforts directed on realization of principles of steady development at which interests of еру society in economic development and preservation of nature are combined harmoniously, has been settled by now.

The Finnish colleagues have told about the new project of Neighbourliness which is supposed to be launched in the first six months of 2010. It is planned to be implemented within the the green belt of Fennoscandia, and will concern both issues of nature preservation, and tasks of social and economic development of territories.

Participants have emphasized necessity of development of the general criteria for analysis and assessment of problems of SPNR in the entire frontier territory. Importance of studying scientific achievements and their practices in management of SPNR has been pointed out.

At the meeting there has been offered to establish the International Resource Center of Protected Territories of the green belt of Fennoscandia and the Fund of Problems of SPNR of the green belt of Fennoscandia and the necessity to study the mechanism of their formation and activity.