Siberia’s first Golden Mountains of Altai environmental media contest launched
15 февраля 2012 года

Siberia’s first Golden Mountains of Altai environmental media contest launched  Siberia’s first Golden Mountains of Altai environmental media contest welcomes journalists from the Republic of Altai and the Altai Krai (Region).
Altaiskiy and Tigirekskiy Nature Reserves, in association with WWF, have launched the tradition of annual environmental issues contest for the media.

Siberia’s first media contest targeted solely at environmental issues starts in February 2012 as a result of a joint initiative of the Altaiskiy and Tigirekskiy Nature Reserves and WWF’s Altai-Sayan project. The contest’s primary objective is to find and bring together journalists and media willing to share their views on urgent issues of wildlife conservation in Siberia – its nature reserves and parks, illegal hunting and poaching of rare flora and fauna species, hard work of reserves’ inspectors and other staff members, ecotourism and locals participating in environmental programs. The 2012 Golden Mountains of Altai contest will unite media only from the Altai Krai and the Republic of Altai, though in the future, as the organizers see it, it will embrace much larger territories of the Altai-Sayan ecoregion (Krasnoyarsk Krai, Kemerovo oblast, Republic of Khakassia), pursuant to a joint trans-regional Regulation.
The first encouraging example was set by The Live Taiga environmental media contest, targeting the Far Eastern Federal District media and demonstrating a multi-year track record of successful implementation.
“Inspired by the Far East example we decided to launch a similar contest for the Altai-Sayan ecoregion media”, says Tatyana Ivanitskaya, press-secretary for the WWF’s Altai-Sayan project. “It does make sense, for quite often it is the extensive media coverage that helps face and solve specific environmental tasks and challenges – to stop cutting down trees in the reserve, save a relict lake from industrial pollution, collect money, attract volunteers. A man can do no more than he can. With this in mind, this year we decided to launch the contest only for the Altai Krai and the Altai Republic media, and a separate contest for the Tyva Republic journalists, thus embracing those Siberian regions that boast exceptionally rich and diverse flora and fauna.”
Contest results in four nominations – Ecotourism, Specially Protected Nature Territories, Snow Leopard and Argali, Development of Local Communities for the Nature’s Benefit - will be announced in August 2012, with a winner in each nomination. Winners chosen by the decision of the jury as well as the contest’s Grand Prix will also be announced. The award ceremony coincides with the 80th Anniversary of the Altaiskiy Reserve’s founding and The Snow Leopard Land festival, to be held in September in Gorno-Altaisk, capital of the Altai Republic.
“We aim at attracting other environmental organizations and businesses, for only united efforts may prove effective in natural heritage conservation”, says Svetlana Bondarevskaya, Deputy Director for Environmental Education of the Tigirekskiy Reserve. “It’s quite symbolic that the contest is launched in 2012 – the year which marks the 80th Anniversary of one of Russia’s oldest reserves – The Altaiskiy Reserve (the Altai Republic).”
"The winner of the Grand Prix (granted by our Reserve) is bestowed the opportunity to visit the specially protected nature territories of the Altai Mountains”, says Svetlana Shchigreva, Deputy Director of the Altaiskiy Reserve. “A few days away from civilization in nature's lap are the best impetus for journalists to create their masterpieces, which is truly attested by the Altai Republic’s Universal Sanctuary Commandment media-club, whose members visited the Reserve’s territories in the course of several Altaiskiy Reserve-supported press tours".
The organizers of the environmental media contest are confident that their ideas will strike root, and the contest itself, apart from finding journalists ready to raise public awareness of environmental issues, will also help to teach and bring together both media specialists and beginners interested in the issues.
Attachment: Regulation of The Golden Mountains of Altai environmental media contest and contest application form
Note:
The Altai-Sayan ecoregion (ASE) is included in WWF's Global 200 list of virgin ecosystems of the world identified by WWF experts in 1998 as regions boasting exceptional levels of biodiversity, whose conservation will guarantee 98% conservation of the Earth’s flora and fauna species. The ASE, situated in the very center of Eurasia, lies within the borders of the Altai-Sayan mountain country ecosystem. This integral ecosystem stretches across China, Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
The Altaiskiy State Biosphere Reserve, founded in 1932, is a federal nature conservation, scientific research and environmental education establishment. The key objective of the Reserve is the conservation and research of natural processes and phenomena, the genetic fund of flora and fauna, specific flora and fauna species and communities, typical and unique ecosystems. It’s a specially protected nature territory covering 871,201 ha and including a part of the Teletskoye Lake basin. The number of vascular plant species places the Altaiskiy Reserve second among Russia’s Reserves; it is also one of Russia’s five reserves boasting the richest species diversity (number of living organisms). The Altaiskiy Reserve and the Teletskoye Lake – The Golden Mountains of Altai – were designated a World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. On 29 May 2009 the Altaiskiy Reserve was included in the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

The Tigirekskiy Nature Reserve — established in 1999 with the aim to preserve and study the ecosystems of Western Altai mid-mountain areas — is one of Russia’s youngest reserves. It encompasses the territories of Zmeinogorskiy, Tretyakovskiy and Krasnoshchekovskiy regions in the south-west of Altai Krai. The Reserve covers the total area of 41,505 ha, with 26,257 ha of buffer zone. The relict chern taiga and forest-steppes form the Reserve’s plant complex of exceptional importance. Researchers of the Reserve carry out their studies and describe new species inhabiting the area on an annual basis. The current data suggests that the Reserve is home to 35 rare and endangered vascular plant species, 12 lichen and 3 fungi species registered in the national and regional Red Data Books of Russia. As for the fauna, the Reserve harbors 14 animal, 16 bird, 1 fish and 7 insect species.


Photo source - Internet


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