The Kalmyk State Biosphere Reserve “Black Lands” received three grants for projects to protect and preserve wild animals in their natural habitat.
As reported on the Black Lands website, the Kalmyk reserve was among the 13 winners of the World Wildlife Fund’s small grants competition. A total of 91 applications were submitted for the competition. The project of arranging artificial nesting platforms for birds of prey – the Steppe Eagle and Long-legged Buzzard – on the territory of the Sarpinsky federal reserve became the best in the category “Conservation of rare species of animals”.
The second grant was also provided by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-Russia) for a project aimed at protecting the saiga population in the Northwest Caspian region. With the help of the grant, the reserve will acquire special equipment for fighting steppe fires and for increasing the efficiency of the work of state inspectors.
The reserve researcher Anton Abushin received a grant on the topic “Conservation and study of the steppe eagle in the Republic of Kalmykia” with the support of the Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation (Great Britain). The main goal of this study is to create a long-term monitoring and conservation program for the steppe eagle in Kalmykia.