The Ministry of Natural Resources, after criticism from environmental defenders, changed its mind about lifting environmental bans on Wrangel Island

The Ministry of Nature has changed the draft new regulations on the Enemy Island nature reserve after criticism from environmental activists, reports the Kedr media. In the fall of 2022, the ministry proposed lifting the restriction on testing and construction of test sites throughout the Chukotka Nature Reserve. The campaign against this project was led by Greenpeace and WWF - as a result, almost five thousand citizens of the Russian Federation left negative reviews on the project.

Greenpeace pointed out that the reserve is a key habitat for polar bears and endangered plants and animals. As biogeographer Vitaly Zemlyansky told DOXA, “the ancient flora of Beringia, the land bridge between America and Eurasia, which went under water following the end of the last glaciation, was preserved on the island. The island’s 23 plant species are endemic and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.” In 2004, the Wrangel Island Nature Reserve was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In recent months, the campaign launched by international environmental organizations against the exploitation of the reserve by the military has become the reason for the defeat of these organizations. On November 11, 2022, the Duma of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug announced the termination of the contract with WWF, justifying this, among other things, by the organization’s “interest” in Wrangel Island, “to which the United States is already expressing its claims,” and on March 10, 2023, the Ministry of Justice included WWF in the list of “foreign agents.” " On May 19, the Prosecutor General's Office recognized Greenpeace as an “undesirable organization,” after which its Russian branch announced its closure.