We received the proposal of Olga Krever, Deputy Director of FSBU "Information and Analytical Center for Support of Reserve Business" Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia

Currently, the work on the draft List of species of animal world listed in the Red Book of Russian Federation is nearing completion. In the near future, the draft List will be taken for expert opinion in the Russian Academy of Sciences and for approval in the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, after which it will be approved by the order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia and registered with the Ministry of Justice of Russia.

The Sakhalin Taimen is also included in this list.

The current version of the List provides for three groups of categories for each object: Categories of rarity (used earlier in the Red Book of Russian Federation), categories of threat of disappearance (equivalent to IUCN categories) and environmental status (three states: First environmental status where immediate action is required, including the development of conservation strategies and/or rehabilitation programmes, second environmental status where one or more environmental measures are required, third environmental status where general protection measures are sufficient for Red Book sites). The assignment to the first environmental status makes it possible to raise the question of inclusion of the species in the List of animal objects requiring priority measures for preservation and restoration (priority species).

Such a list was approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the federal project "Conservation of biological diversity and development of ecological tourism" of the national project "Ecology" and currently includes 11 priority objects (10 mammals and 1 bird – white crane). A draft Roadmap has been developed for each priority site and will soon be adopted by a Working Group established for the relevant purposes under a federal project (comprising sections for each priority site). The activities of the Roadmap will be financed, inter alia, from the funds of commercial companies within the framework of the Business and Biodiversity Initiative (the relevant Working Group, including representatives of more than 20 commercial companies, was established within the framework of the project by the order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia).

The project office of the federal project received a proposal from Sakhalin Energy to include the Sakhalin taimen in the List of priority species of the project. Formally, the Sakhalin Taimen will meet the criteria of priority species if it has the FIRST environmental status in the Red Book and a Rehabilitation Program is developed for it.

The draft Action Plan was developed by specialists, it is advisable to send it officially to the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia for further development and approval (the official procedure provides for consideration of the draft by the Expert Section on Round and Fish of the Commission on Rare and Endangered Animals, Plants and Mushrooms).

In addition, if the Sakhalin taimen experts believe that it is advisable to include it in the List of Priority Objects of the Federal Project, a letter should be sent to the Section of Experts on Cyclostoma and Fish of the Red Book Commission with a proposal to transfer the Sakhalin taimen from environmental status II (Sakhalin taimen is now assigned the second primary protection status) to the environmental status I (which will allow to offer to include Sakhalin taimen to List of priority objects).

If Sakhalin taimen will be included in the List of Priority Objects of the Federal Project, Sakhalin Energy is ready to support its restoration activities (but is ready to do so only officially within the framework of the Federal Project, i.e. if the time is among the priority objects of the FP)"

I really didn't want to miss that moment. At first Lev Anatolyevich Zhivotovsky wrote a letter from himself to the section of experts on round and fish, then we wrote such a letter (it was signed by 8 people, and then other specialists expressed support for it. The next day there was a message from the Secretary of the Section of Experts on Cyclostoma and Fish Nicholay Ivanovich Shilin: with a minimum margin - 6 against 5 won the point of view of supporters of transfer of environmental status from category II to category I.