In September 2023, employees of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of RAS V.V. Rozhnov and senior researcher A.A. Yachmennikov visited the People's Republic of China (Harbin), where they discussed the prospects for cooperation between the IEE RAS, which has existed since 2016, with the Institute of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Academy of Sciences of Heilongjiang Province. The negotiators discussed further scientific work and joint plans.
At the reporting scientific conference on September 19, V.V. Rozhnov and A.A. Yachmennikov discussed with their Chinese colleagues the results of international cooperation obtained for the period 2017-2023. The conference presented materials published on the results of research that continues the ideology of the work being carried out in Russia.
In addition, employees of the IEE RAS took part in a round table within the framework of a scientific session devoted to the topic of conservation and restoration of populations of large cats (Amur tiger, Far Eastern leopard) in the territory of the People's Republic of China - Academic seminar on conservation and restoration of tiger and leopard population.
At the official international level, the necessary documents were agreed upon confirming the extension of cooperation between the IEE RAS and the Institute of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Academy of Sciences of Heilongjiang Province, the text of the Memorandum confirming the extension of the agreement on the Joint Sino-Russian Innovative Research Center of Ecology (Ecology Center) was finalized and agreed upon in Russian and Chinese languages, the document was prepared for signing by the representatives of the Russian and Chinese Institutes. The Memorandum of the Sixth Joint Meeting of the Ecology Center in China was also signed.
After the completion of official events, the Russian-Chinese team began implementing the next stage of the joint program - research devoted to the development of a system for distributing eco-products necessary for restoring the ecological metastructure of Heilongjiang Province. The structure of key core zones and corridors will unite remaining mammal habitats into a single functioning system and will restore the exchange of biological information between fragmented habitat areas. Field work took place on the territory of the Lesser Khingan mountain system (districts of the cities of Yichun, Hegang, Zhinshantong). The purpose of the field work was to verify on the ground a methodology for assessing the suitability of animals for crossing - both representatives of the food supply of tigers and leopards, and rare species of large cats. Roads of different categories (highway, regional road, small roads) were studied at their intersections with previously calculated environmental corridors. According to the scheme previously prepared by Ivan Kotlov, the first 30 points of intersection of roads and ecological corridors were worked out and provided with descriptions of factors limiting the settlement and movement of animals. Engineering solutions are also in development.