ENG / RUS Natural Heritage Protection Fund

Central Sikhote-Alin

Status of component parts: State Biosphere Nature Reserve, Nature Preserve Area: 1.55 million ha Situation: Included into the World Heritage List in 2001 Criteria: (x)

Southern parts of the Russian Far East compose one of the largest regions where massifs of ancient coniferous and broad-leaf forests still exist. Besides, the impact of human activities on this region has been very insignificant. A very complicated and bright picture of mutual integration and mixture of different flora and fauna representatives characterize this area. This region maintains the largest number of rare and endangered species, the greater part of which cannot be encountered anywhere else. Almost 1,200 vascular plant species represent the flora of the Sikhote-Alin. This area inhabits 71 mammal and 370 bird species.

The mountain Sikhote-Alin land is the last among the world's large habitats of Amur tiger. Numerous rare and endangered species (Amur ghoral, black bear, Japanese and hooded cranes, black storks, merganser, fish owl, ginseng and rosy rhodiola, etc.) require taking special measures aimed at their conservation in their natural environment.

© Natural Heritage Protection Fund 2000-2009, unless otherwise indicated.
Satellite image mosaic processing © ScanEx R&D Center, 2009.