The Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Biosphere Reserve is managed by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Biosphere Reserve” (abbr. FSBI “Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve”) – a Research Institute of Nature Conservation and Environmental Education.
The Reserve was founded on June 19, 1945. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification, it is related to IA category — STRICT NATURE RESERVE (State Nature Reserve).
The main objectives:
- conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems, landscapes, rare and endangered species of plants and animals;
- carrying out long-term comprehensive environmental studies;
- preservation and study of unique meadow-steppe vegetation communities and floristic complex, known as “Oka flora”;
- breeding, study and restitution of European bison in their former habitat;
- environmental education.
The territory of the reserve is permanently withdrawn from agricultural use and is kept as a nature standard of the southern suburbs of Moscow.The Museum of Nature is open to the public so that in order everyone could be informed of the activities of the reserve, its flora and fauna. It is allowed to visit the demonstration part of the Bison Breeding Centre.
In the reserve it is forbidden to:
- cut trees and shrubs,
- pick mushrooms and berries,
- hunt and harass animals or birds in any way,
- develop quarries,
- install the cable and other service lines,
- construction, etc.
In the surrounding area of the reserve, a buffer zone is located. It is 2 km wide with the total area of 4710 hectares. It includes the whole Oka floodplain, adjacent to the southern boundary of the reserve, and forest compartments of “Russian forest”, which surround the reserve.
In 1983, in the biosphere reserve, an integrated background monitoring station was created under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Control. It was under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Control. It is Russia’s only station using a complete program of integrated background monitoring and performing surveillance in five international projects of monitoring background pollution.
The Prioksko-Terrasny biosphere reserve
The Reserve has been a part of UNESCO World Wide Network of Biosphere Reserves since 1978. It has had a UNESCO certificate and Biosphere Reserve status since February 19, 1979.
In 2016 to complete the UNESCO requirements the FSBI “Prioksko-Terrasny State Natural Biosphere Reserve”, the Serpukhov district administration, and Puschino city administration, agreed to create the territory of cooperation on the territory of Danky rural settlement and the town of Puschino by signing the agreement on cooperation in the area of sustainable development of the Prioksko-Terrasny Biosphere Reserve with the UNESCO. Since signing the agreement, the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve has included the following territories:
- Core Zone – the territory of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Natural Biosphere Reserve, withdrawn from commercial use and under the authority of the FSBI “Prioksko-Terrasny State Reserve”;
- Buffer Zone – the protected area of the Prioksko-Terrasny State Natural Biosphere Reserve, the territory upon the restrictions of real estate development and hunting by the enactment of protected areas. Only environmentally non-harming kinds of business activity are allowed in this area;
- Transition (Area of Cooperation) Zone – the outside zone of the biosphere reserve inside the city limits of Puschino and Danky rural settlement of the Serpukhov region, but outside the protected area of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve. The zone imposes no additional limitations but the questions of the resources management which are decided by the consensus of the Coordination Board members.
Reference:
The UNESCO program “Man and Biosphere” (hereafter MAB program) exists since 1971 and is an intergovernmental scientific program aimed at improving the relationship between the humankind and the nature. The MAB program is a unique platform for cooperation in the area of research and development, creating the potential and networks for sharing the information, knowledge and experience of three interconnected issues: saving biological diversity, climate change adaptation and sustainable development. The program does not only help to understand the environment better, but also increases the level of science and the scientific community participation in working out the policy measures concerning the rational use of biological diversity.