Pasvik Zapovednik

Location: Municipality of Pechenga, Murmansk Region, Russia
Area: 147 km² in Russia
Establishment: 1992 (Russia)
Management: Pasvik Zapovednik

The Russian part of the park was established in 1992. The aim of the protection is to:

• conserve the parts of the river Pasvik where the original river bed is intact
• conserve a wetland area that is very important as a nesting and resting area for numerous water bird species
• conserve and study the northern pine forest
• conserve the local elk population
• monitor the northern ecosystems
• conserve a classical locality with a rich natural and cultural history of great scientific and educational value

327 species of vascular plants and more than 30 species of mammals have been found so far on the area. For example the populations of elk and bear are vital. An ornithological tower was built on Vaarlam Island in 1995. In 1998 the house of a famous ornithologist Hans Schaanning was rebuilt and it is nowadays a field base and a museum. Especially the ornithological research has long traditions in Pasvik and over 200 species of birds has been observed in the area. The valley and the surroundings are important nesting areas for various bird species, especially for waterfowls.

Pasvik Zapovednik is part of the monitoring system in Russia. The main scientific aim of Pasvik Zapovednik is all-year-round control and registration of all changes in each component of nature from relief and meteorological data to plant and animal species and their quantity. The regulative observations from each Zapovednik are compiled in "Nature Chronicles of Zapovednik". Pasvik Zapovednik is the first who start to publish "Nature Chronicles", and researchers can use today all information about nature conditions in each year from 1993 to modern times.