MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. The practice of assessing the nature's conditions around Nornickel's enterprises, which the Russian Academy of Sciences continues, could be organized across the country with support from the state and from industrial companies, Nornickel's Vice President on Ecology and Industrial Security Stanislav Seleznev told TASS.
"It would be great to attract the state, so that this comprehensive review could be organized across the country, so that we could assess what we have," he said. "When was it last time that we got 1,000 km inside the taiga from the Perm Region to see what happens there? We could have a look at what happens around 20 km from our industrial assets, but this country is much bigger. I believe, it would be great if we could form a row, which would move crossing the country to see its biodiversity, to see what is growing, who is running, to count everyone and everything."
Businesses are not likely to manage this work on their own, he continued, and this process could be managed by the state - the Ministry of Natural Resources.
"We also need a program to support the biodiversity," he said. "It's all in a complex. To support the nature's harmony and our relations with the nature, so that we could understand how our enterprises affect everything around us."
The basic biodiversity survey continues the work, which the Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch began in 2020. Since the Great Norilsk Expedition this work has extended into another three regions. The survey’s purpose is to identify Nornickel’s impact zones and to assess biodiversity in areas of Nornickel’s operations. The research results will be used in building out a corporate biodiversity management system and biodiversity monitoring and conservation programs.