The Laboratory's main research direction is developing and improving the scientific basis for biodiversity conservation, and optimizing the system and methods of protecting, reproducing, and sustainably using bioresources, taking into account ecological, geographical, economic, and social factors. The research includes: developing the scientific basis for strategies and action plans in the field of biodiversity conservation, including the conservation of individual populations, species, and ecosystems; studying the impact of various factors on wild fauna and flora (including rare and endangered, commercial, alien, and epidemiologically significant species), as well as on their habitats; regulating the use of terrestrial vertebrate resources; improving criteria for assessing the state of biodiversity objects; providing scientific support for the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and the regional Red Data Books of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation; providing scientific support for fulfilling Russia's obligations under international agreements; performing the functions of the CITES Scientific Authority of Russia; providing information support in the field of biodiversity conservation to government authorities, business entities, public organizations, and the media; participating in the creation of computer databases on the status of rare and endangered species (subspecies, populations) of terrestrial fauna in Russia, taking IUCN recommendations into account, and ranking them by conservation status; participating in the creation of international, national, and regional databases and information retrieval systems on various aspects of biodiversity conservation and bioresource use, and creating databases on the flora and fauna of nature reserves; organizing work on the preparation of the next edition of the Red Data Book of Russia and a number of regional Red Data Books.