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Part 2.5. Monitoring of biodiversity Traditionally, according to the multi-year Russian practice, ministries and sectoral agencies-users of natural resources, including biological ones, has been making inventory and control of these resources. These state bodies have special divisions that are responsible for control and defining the policy in the conservation of a specific resource type. In its turn, this dictated in the past and has been dictating today a set of biota monitoring parameters with a wide range of tools to evaluate the status of objects as that of resources. This situation has changed to some extent after the creation of an independent ministry (presently - RF SCEP) to the management of which were transferred: control over the status of rare and threatened species, control over the fulfillment of international agreements and conventions in biodiversity conservation, development of local forms of nature protection and monitoring of the conserved biota and ecosystem status, and other functions. However, the advancement of this progressive trend for separating biodiversity conservation use and control functions has been slowing down since recently. Alternatively, a tendency to going back to the past practice and switching over the control functions for individual biological resources to sectoral agencies has been observed in the last years. Nevertheless, a system of monitoring over various objects, which can be looked at as an element of the national system, has been generated in the course of many years. The best progress has been achieved in sectoral monitoring of abiotic factors, including, first of all, monitoring of air and soil contamination, quality of surface waters and their resources, geological environment, its quality and resources, etc. A focal point for this work is RF State Committee on Hydrometeorology and Environment Monitoring. In addition, the Federal Forest Service and RF Ministry of Agriculture and Food incorporate divisions that execute control over the environment and ecosystem status on territories in their jurisdiction (forests, agrolands). Of special note is the monitoring program Chronicles of Nature - annual master data bulletin on the status of protected areas, conserved plant and animal populations, and interesting natural objects. Some of zapovedniks have been keeping record of their Chronicles for 40 - 50 years. They list continuous data on the number of animals, biological diversity, and ecosystem dynamics as well as climate observation data. With such a highly developed network of biological stations (zapovedniks) available, for many years Russia has been having access to credible information on biodiversity changes on pilot territories in all natural zones and principal physico-geographic regions. In terms of the vast territory and a variety of physico-geographic regions and ecological situation as a whole in different parts of the country, a differential approach taking in account regional specifics is most reasonable for Russia. Independent sectors cannot provide it as they locate observation posts in line with the distribution of the resource they use. The state is still lacking a federal-level body and infrastructure for collection, processing, analysis and verification of the information supplied by sectoral ministries, scientific institutions and other sources. A complex of priority parameters for monitoring of biodiversity components being vital for their conservation and sustainable use is being prepared. The effort to identify a scope of anthropogenic factors that produce the strongest impact on biodiversity and are taken into account in the monitoring of their status is underway. The Integral State Ecological Monitoring System (ISEMS) as a cross-sectoral informational-measuring system is being generated to establish the national monitoring system and provide informational support to the nature protection management in Russia. It will function at two vertical levels - federal and administrative-territorial to be linked with relative environmental management levels. At the federal level, this work has been initiated in a number of RF subjects (Amur, Kaluga, Kurgan and Kirov oblasts). In a number of regions, regional informational-analytical centers equipped with advanced computer technologies, including GIS data processing, are in operation. Quarantine monitoring. An issue of invasive microorganisms has two components - ecological and biotic. From the ecological standpoint, the appearance of a new organism inside the country is a disaster, a threat to aboriginal plant and animal populations and potential degradation of wild and agrarian ecosystems. In the context of the biotic aspect, invasion of species-introducents leads to a buildup of the biodiversity level, occasionally - to forcing out of indigenous species. The RF State Plants Quarantine Service is coordinated by the RF Ministry of Agriculture and Food. It comprises the following organizations:
Comprehensive quarantine monitoring of organisms being imported to the RF territory and evaluation of consequences caused by their import results from the efficient work of quarantine inspections, biological (taxonomic) training grade of quarantine inspectors, availability of an advanced informational system and links with scientific institutions possessing specific information on entomology, botany, phytopathology, virusology, and agronomy (Zoological Institute RAS, MSU Zoological museum, All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Phytopathology, etc.). A weak point in the quarantine monitoring is an average low level of biological education of plants quarantine inspectors and lack of an informational system (GIS) and database on spreading of quarantine organisms both throughout Russia and the Earth. Russian quarantine service is focused on only monitoring and protection of forestry and agriculture from a very limited number of invasive organisms (plants, pests, fungi, bacteria). With regard to the biological safety of wild ecosystems, flora and fauna, limited data on forest and agrarian ecosystems has been accumulated. No survey of genetic neoplasms is conducted. To foster quarantine monitoring, the development and minimum support to the taxonomic research of organisms, aboriginal flora and fauna in terms of their biological pollution and genetic neoplasms (produced by biotechnology, resulting from gene drift and hybridization) are needed. The situation also calls for the creation of a coordinating informational center for the collection and processing of information from plants quarantine services, veterinary service and scientific institutions. Monitoring of the status of commercially used fauna (the State Registration Service for Hunting Resources). Annual evaluation of the commercially used fauna resources is fulfilled by the RF Gosokhotuchet (the State Registration Service for Hunting Resources) under the Department of Protection and Rational Use of Hunting Resources within the RF Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Once in 5 years the registration results are generalized in special bulletins (Resources of principal species...,1996). The bulletins contain data on the number of 18 game animal species in individual regions of Russia and dynamics of hunting lands. Monitoring of the game animal population status is being carried out in 69 Russian Federation subjects. Key census methods are as follows: - censuring by snow tracks in winter; - aerial counts of ungulates; - autumn strip transect counts of forest and field game; - census studies by game drive in snowless regions. Systematic registration of the animal number started at the end of the 50-s. Currently the central link of the RF Gosokhotuchet processes 33 000- 35 000 registration cards of animal tracks every year (Annex 5.1.31). The total length of survey transects amounts to 320,000 km per year. Computer technologies are employed for calculating density of animal populations. Yet, collection, initial processing and communication of information still fail in the utilization of advanced technologies. The Global Environment Facility project Conservation of Biodiversity in Russia envisages financial support to the establishment of the national database and GIS on commercial mammals in 1998. Computer data processing, development of computer communication with data providers-participants of annual fauna registration will make evaluations more precise and valuable for hunting management. Key indicators of biodiversity monitoring in Russia. The existing monitoring system of Russia is specific of an extremely sectoral approach and lack of clear coordination. The most complete data on the status of biodiversity, ecosystems and landscapes serving as habitats for plants and animals, and on country's biological resources are available in the annual State Report on the Status of Environment in the Russian Federation. It has been published since 1989 and contains information received from all ministries and sectoral state agencies, including those associated with biodiversity conservation and use of biological resources. Though a lot of biodiversity status indicators stay unused and are stored in sectoral archives. Below is given a list of biodiversity monitoring indicators and system of survey and control over its status employed in Russia (Table 18). Table 18 List of key indicators for biodiversity monitoring in Russia and bodies responsible for its execution
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PREFACE
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