Nauru

In 2013, the One Million Trees programme was launched with the intention of bringing more greenery to Moscow’s citizens. As of now, Moscow ranks among the greenest cities worldwide, with 54% public green space. The project was initiated to plant individual trees in gardens, streets, and inner yards of apartment buildings. Unique about the One Million Trees programme is the bottom-up approach used in the implementation: planting locations and species are chosen by local residents via a digital app. Gardeners closely manage the trees and shrubs for the first 12 months – the most challenging period of their growth cycle. Since 2013, more than four million trees have been planted. In 2021, Moscow has further pledged its green development under the global “Trees in Cities Challenge” of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The next priorities are adding new trees to public parks and increasing monitoring of urban canopy.

In 1999, the Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP) took on a leading role in long-term whale research in Russia with researchers gathering data in Kamchatka (1999-2016+) and the Commander Islands (2007-2016+). Teams of 10-20 Russian researchers have pursued a wide variety of studies on killer whales, humpback whales, Baird’s beaked whales and North Pacific right whales, including photo-ID, transect and sighting surveys, acoustic surveys, leading to greater protection efforts.

As the world heads towards a more sustainable future, business and government leaders face challenges on how to reconcile conservation and development.

IUCN-led Independent, Scientific and Technical Advisory Panels (ISTAPs) are helping to address complex and often contentious issues concerning natural resource use. They offer unbiased, scientific advice to reduce a project’s impacts on nature and identify solutions that can contribute to conservation while meeting economic and development goals.

The first ISTAP to be created was the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), in 2004. WGWAP provides independent advice to Sakhalin Energy on how to minimise risks associated with its operations on gray whales and their habitat while working with other actors to ensure the whale’s long-term conservation. The whales’ feeding areas near Sakhalin Island, off the Russian coast – a region with large offshore oil and gas deposits – are vital for maintaining the population.