Wise Management
Through wise visitation management, the harm to a site from a group of ten people can be less than from one reckless and ignorant tourist. Unauthorized visits to the islands by wilderness "fans" inflict significant harm on the island ecosystem and disrupt the peace of the animals on the rokeries. Visiting the Ushkani Islands is only allowed with the written permission from the director or vice-director of the Zabaikalsky National Park. As a part of Club Firn and Firn Travel tours to the Ushkany Islands, special attention is focused on nerpa protection measures; moreover, they are working proactively to sensitize their colleagues at tour business operators to the issues at stake and to promote their observance of wise visitation regulations.
Successes and challenges
Through awareness raising, PR campaign measures and partnership initiatives with stakeholders, project organizers are promoting concerted action and a comprehensive approach to Nerpa protection. The project has involved youth from local communities in Ulan-Ude and areas near Lake Baikal; government representatives responsible for Nerpa protection; scientists studying Nerpa protection and sustainable development; and tour operators in the Lake Baikal area and in Germany.
The project has two main components
- promotion of the awareness in local communities in Buryatia, particularly among youth, about the protection of the unique Baikal Nerpa and its environment, and
- partnership and collaboration between scientists, government and civil society in studying and protecting the Nerpa.
The volunteers work established already in 2005 to improve the infrastructure in Bolshoy Chivyrkuy bay facilitated the security activities of regional sea inspectors. The photo safari organized by the tourist company Firn Travel in the spring 2006 offered an alternative to the hunt and became an opportunity to unite the friends of the lake and the travel companies striving for preserving the biodiversity at Lake Baikal.
In 2007 the Nerpa Information Center has been created on the territory of the Zabaikalskiy National Park. The center shelters a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Baikal Seal. The aim of the exhibition is to promote the protection of the Nerpa, to disseminate the ecological knowledge among people and to give them the sense of a tender handling of natural resources.
A travelling exhibition about Nerpa has been created by the Club Firn in 2008 involving the “Nerpa Day” festival. The travelling exhibition stimulates interest among local communities both in Ulan-Ude and in rural communities in Buryatia on this unique species as well as the comprehension of the need for its protection. The project was presented at the Reisepavillon, the Alternative Tourism Trade Fair in Stuttgart to interested stakeholders in Germany. A series of presentations and meetings to stimulate international interest and establish new partnership in promoting the development of Baikal Seals eco-tourism was conducted. The alternative tourism fair has helped our partners to reach the target audience of international tour operators interested in sustainable tourism.
In April, 2008 a three-day promotional Nerpa photo-tour to the Zabaikalsky National Park (also presented at the Reisepavillon, Alternative Tourism Trade Fair in Stuttgart) for tour operators and stakeholders from Buryatia and Irkutsk as well as international participants (Germany) was conducted. Occurrences in the media (internet, newspaper, radio, TV) related to the project activities were registered during the whole project period. The creation of a coloring book – “Nerpa is the Child of Baikal” for preschool and early elementary school children is scheduled for the year 2009. The book will raise awareness of the unique endemic species of Lake Baikal – the Nerpa, its habitat, and problems it faces among the youngest members of local communities in Buryatia. The Nerpa souvenir creation workshops are being conducted for children giving them the opportunity to build skills in souvenir creation and open the door for future work in micro-enterprise and local economic development related to eco-tourism, at the same time enhancing the awareness of the ecological situation and connecting the youth to environmental protection. Due to the little demand for Nerpa skins the problem of Nerpa poaching is not so acute at the moment, but the need for alternative sources of income for the local population is still very urgent. More efforts should be putted into marketing of sustainable tourism at Lake Baikal in order to enlarge the number of tourist visits and into improving local tourist infrastructure. We offer a cooperation possibility to all who shares our intentions to guarantee the preservation of Lake Baikal biodiversity and to protect the unique Baikal Seal - Nerpa.