Amur Green Belt – the network of protected areas in the Amur River Basin

Strategic Assessment conducted within Ecoregional Conservation Action Plan for Russian Far East Ecoregional Complex (ECAPRFE-2003) has shown that in the beginning of this century the Amur/Heilong basin face point of bifurcation in development strategies. River ecosystem processes are still largely unaltered, but depletion of biological resources, agricultural development and pollution already create basin-wide problems and generate strong incentive for basin-wide river management regime. Most likely development scenario envisions further integration between Russian Far East, North East China and Eastern Mongolia, and that calls for development of comprehensive environmental standards within common nature resource management framework. In Amur/Heilong river basin the
protection of biodiversity rich forest and wetland areas is a corner-stone and the most urgent task to be included in this common agenda. WWF network, possessing substantial expertise in this field and having capable offices in every country of the basin has unique opportunity to initiate formation of this transboundary ecosystem conservation regime.