Zarubezhneft subsidiaries in the "Exploration and Production" segment operating in the Far North have developed and are implementing corporate Biodiversity Conservation (BCC) Programs. The programs of "ZARUBEZHNEFT-Production Kharyaga" (ZNPH) and JC "RUSVIETPETRO" (RVP) are particularly significant, as these companies operate in the Arctic zone, which is characterized by increased vulnerability.
The ZNPH BCC Program, based on a list of flora and fauna species that serve as indicators of the sustainable state of the Kharyaga field ecosystems, has been implemented since 2018. In 2020, it was updated: the wild reindeer (WR) was included in the new edition as a "flagship" species.
ZNPH monitors the state of the WR population. In 2021, an aerial survey of reindeer was conducted over an area of 1,500 km². The boundaries of the summer range of this species were determined using high-resolution satellite imagery.
During field ground operations in August 2022, reindeer herding teams captured two wild reindeer northwest of the Kharyaga field. Specialists fitted the animals with satellite radio collars. This process is called tagging or marking. The GPS-enabled collars are registered in the Argos program, which allows for tracking the animals' movements and monitoring their future fate.
The BCC Program for valuable wetland communities of the Central Khoreyver Uplift at RVP facilities provides for an inventory of landscapes disturbed by production activities and the development of a map of these territories. In addition, the company conducts work to identify migration routes for wild animals and birds. RVP also implements compensatory measures for the artificial reproduction of aquatic biological resources. Last year, the company's specialists, together with the Northern Branch of "Glavrybvod" and the Onega Fish Hatchery, released 5,555 brown trout fingerlings into the Onega River near the village of Porog (Arkhangelsk Region).
FLIGHT OF HOPE
Since 2002, every second Sunday of September, when wild cranes prepare for their autumn migration to winter in warmer climates, World Crane Day is celebrated at the Oka Nature Reserve. The holiday is usually spent with friends of the Oka Nature Reserve.
Traditionally, these are students from local schools who actively participated in environmental competitions and helped as volunteers, children and grandchildren of employees, as well as friends and guests of the reserve, among whom are Zarubezhneft specialists.
This friendship began as follows. In 2019, Zarubezhneft management decided to support the "Business and Biodiversity" initiative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, which is being implemented as part of the federal project "Conservation of Biodiversity and Development of Ecotourism" (the Project) of the "Ecology" National Project. The initiative is based
on the idea of involving business in the implementation of environmental protection measures. It was also decided to involve
environmental organizations that have been dealing with conservation issues and reserve management for more than half a century — the Oka State Nature Biosphere Reserve (Oka Nature Reserve) and the All-Russian Research Institute for Environmental Protection (VNII Ecology).
In 1979, at the initiative of the International Crane Foundation, the Rare Crane Species Nursery (the Nursery) was established at the Oka Nature Reserve, located in the village of Brykin Bor, Spassky District, Ryazan Region. It is part of the reserve's scientific department and performs two functions: research into crane biology and economic activities related to crane breeding. The main goal of the Nursery is to preserve the gene pool of endangered crane species and populations in Russia, primarily the Russian endemic — the West Siberian population of the Siberian Crane (white crane). Based on the experience of American scientists, the "Flight of Hope" program was developed to restore the West Siberian Siberian Crane population. To this day, the Nursery remains the main link in the work on the reintroduction (return to
nature) of this species.
Today, white cranes live in two separate populations: one in Yakutia, which winters in China, and the other nests in Western Siberia and winters in India and Iran. The West Siberian population of the Siberian Crane is in a critical state — its numbers are estimated to be between 20 and 50 individuals. As a result of active extermination of the West Siberian Siberian Crane population along migration routes, Siberian Cranes were included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in the middle of the last century.
The agreement between the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia and Zarubezhneft is based on the Priority Action Plan for the conservation and restoration of the West Siberian Siberian Crane population in Russia. Work began in 2020. The activities were tentatively divided into two stages: creating conditions for the project's implementation and the implementation of the activities themselves. The first stage involved the reconstruction of the Nursery's infrastructure, the purchase of veterinary drugs and high-quality feed, the procurement of
necessary equipment, measures to restore the Siberian Crane population in the Nursery, and scientific research.
First of all, the main production facilities of the Nursery were repaired: the water supply system, the boiler room, and the feed kitchen. The crane enclosure was repaired and insulated, and a diesel generator was purchased to ensure the uninterrupted operation of equipment and incubators, along with a van-type vehicle for production needs. Parallel to the reconstruction of the Nursery, work on hatching chicks and releasing them into the wild did not stop. Every year, year-old Siberian Crane chicks are released into the wild in the habitat of the West Siberian population in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. In total, more than 160 Siberian Cranes have been released into the wild during the Nursery's operation.
In 2022, for World Crane Day, Zarubezhneft presented the Oka Nature Reserve with a display stand about the crane species that live in the Nursery. In addition to information in the usual text format, it contains an interactive part: via QR codes, a narrator talks about the birds and how they are bred.
Interesting fact: all chicks in the Nursery are given names. As with all rare species, studbooks are kept for Siberian Cranes, so every white crane has a pedigree. This is necessary to form pairs correctly.
EXPEDITIONS
In June 2021, with the company's support, the first expedition to the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was carried out. The expedition involved employees of the Nursery, VNII Ecology, the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the RAS, the Kytalyk National Park, and the Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone of the SB RAS. The uniqueness of this expedition was that such expeditions were last carried out in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In those distant years, eggs of the West Siberian Siberian Crane population were collected, and the chicks from them make up the main part of the breeding stock in the Nursery. For over 40 years, these birds have produced offspring for release into nature and for creating captive populations in zoos and breeding centers. Currently, there are clear signs of aging in the Nursery's "breeding stock." The main goal of the expedition was to bring in "fresh blood" in the form of new birds from the "wild population" of the Siberian Crane. Expanding the genetic diversity of the Siberian Crane group in the Nursery will reduce the percentage of inbreeding in the captive population and increase the viability of birds released into nature to restore the West Siberian population of the species.
On unprotected natural areas of the river basins in the Kytalyk National Park, a route survey of the Siberian Crane population was conducted by helicopter, and three Siberian Crane eggs were successfully collected and delivered to the Nursery from territories not previously represented there. Since a Siberian Crane clutch usually consists of two eggs, but in the vast majority of cases, a pair can only raise one chick while the second dies, taking one egg does not harm the wild population.
During the survey of the territory, the existence of Siberian Crane nesting sites described more than forty years ago was confirmed, a methodology for searching for nests and collecting eggs using a helicopter was refined, and material was collected for analyzing the genetic diversity of the wild Siberian Crane population in Yakutia.
All of 2022 was dedicated to preparing for the next expedition to Yakutia, planned for 2023. Preparatory work was carried out in the Kytalyk National Park, including measures to map Siberian Crane nests using UAVs.
The second expedition started in mid-July 2023. With almost the same team, the participants headed to the Kytalyk National Park, where for the first three days, a survey of the territory was conducted at low altitude using a light single-engine "Sterkh" aircraft. As a result of the flyover, 9 nests were found, and their coordinates were recorded. Specialists collected the eggs using an MI-8 helicopter. They flew to the nest site and landed nearby, took one egg, measured the nest, and collected feathers lost during molting for genetic research. All this was done as quickly as possible to minimize the disturbance to the brooding birds. As a result, seven eggs were collected, from which five chicks subsequently hatched and began their crane lives in the Nursery. In the future, they will form pairs and raise new chicks to replenish the dwindling West Siberian population of the Siberian Crane.
PROMOTING CORPORATE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
In addition to the documentary support of the work, the agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia provided for the participation of Zarubezhneft representatives in events to promote corporate volunteer biodiversity conservation programs to attract the attention of business companies to the problems of supporting endangered animal and bird species (of the 13 species on the verge of total elimination, only 5 receive full financial and resource support from the state and business).
Since 2021, company representatives have presented reports on the implementation of the BCC Program at major national events under the auspices of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia:
NEXT STEPS/FINAL STAGE
2024 will be the final year for the project. Siberian Cranes have a difficult fate — they winter in Iran and Afghanistan, and in these territories, they are shot because local residents traditionally hunt cranes, so not all birds return from wintering. The action plan for the next stage provides for the organization of an alternative wintering ground for Siberian Cranes in Uzbekistan. A unique experiment was once carried out as part of the "Flight of Hope" project in 2012, in one stage of which Russian President Vladimir Putin participated.
As a result, it will be possible to avoid the birds flying over the dangerous territories of Afghanistan and Pakistan and reduce the route length by 2,000 km. In addition, Siberian Cranes will be able to join flocks of Common Cranes that winter in southern Uzbekistan.
During the expedition to Uzbekistan, it is planned to monitor the population and identify the areas of the largest concentration of Common Cranes, assess the food supply in the wintering area, and determine the most promising sites for future Siberian Crane enclosures. A series of meetings will be held with representatives of state and private environmental organizations in Uzbekistan. We will provide more details about this after the project is completed next year.