"Leopards are a symbol of our Republic," Rustam Minnikhanov held a meeting on the construction of the Snow Leopard Biological Diversity Conservation Center
The President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov visited the Altai Republic on a working trip. On his working trip, he was accompanied by the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan Alexander Shadrikov. During the visit, the President of Tatarstan and the Head of the region Oleg Khorokhordin held a meeting on the construction of the Center for the Conservation of Biological Diversity "Snow Leopard". The center will be located on the territory of the Karym complex in the Mayminsky district of the republic, its area exceeds 9 thousand hectares.
Rustam Minnikhanov inspected the sites where the laboratory and research complex and aviaries will be located. "The leopard is a symbol of our republic. It is necessary to move on to the practical implementation of our project. We must actively get to work. We have three months to prepare documentation, conduct an expert examination, obtain a construction permit and start construction. Our task is to launch by the fall, do the design, schedule the work and move on to construction. The most difficult task for us is to provide livestock," the President of Tatarstan noted.
The President of the Republic of Tatarstan also stressed that the implementation of the project begins with a snow leopard, and in the future other rare animals will be revived in the center. Among them are manul, Mongolian dzeren, Altai mountain sheep, musk deer, Siberian mountain goat.
Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan Alexander Shadrikov spoke about the pre-project work carried out. As the head of the nature protection department noted, the first stage of the creation of the Snow Leopard scientific center included a veterinary unit, an economic unit, a feed room, an administrative building and enclosures for overexposure of snow leopards in the protected area. At the second stage, it is planned to build a scientific and residential block, at the third – enclosures for breeding all kinds of animals.
Oleg Khorokhordin thanked the President of Tatarstan for choosing the territory of the Altai Republic for the implementation of this important project. "The snow leopard surveys have again shown that the grouping of this rare animal in the Altai Republic is stable and tends to grow. Meetings of this predator with people in the wild have become more frequent. This means that the snow leopard is comfortable in the Altai mountains, and we will make every effort to keep it that way in the future," the Head of the Altai Republic said.
Let us recall that the scientific task of the center is to monitor the condition of animals, their artificial breeding, and the development of methods for the rehabilitation of wounded or weakened wild animals.
The event is being implemented within the framework of the federal project "Conservation of biological diversity and development of ecological tourism" of the national project "Ecology" and is supported by the Ministry of Nature of Russia and included in the Draft comprehensive action plan for the creation of centers in Russia for the study, restoration and reintroduction of snow leopards. The project will be a continuation of the Tatarstan Snow leopard Revival center. The objectives of the project to create the Snow Leopard Center are the conservation, rehabilitation and reintroduction of rare species of mammals, conducting research activities, as well as ecological and educational activities. Such a research center can become a world-class Center.