Preservation of Biological Diversity and Environmental Education

Biological diversity is one of the main factors that define the character and the direction of evolutionary processes in the biosphere. Without preserving biological diversity it is impossible to guarantee the stable development of the biosphere, which is vital for the resolution of global issues of stable social development.

MMC Norilsk Nickel is investing in nature conservation and is currently in the process of adopting international standards of environmental management, and, in so doing, is making its contribution to the preservation of nature on the territories where its production facilities are located.

At the same time, the company is giving support to organisations working in the area of wildlife and nature conservation on the Taimyr and Kola peninsulas.

MMC Norilsk Nickel has been providing assistance to the Putoran state nature reserve and the non-commercial partnership The Working Group on Waterfowl in Northern Eurasia in its work on the "Birds of the Putoran Plateau" project, which is aimed at the study and protection of rare species of bird that live on the Putoran Plateau (Taimyr Peninsula). These birds include the lesser white fronted goose, the yellow billed loon, the red breasted goose, Berwick's swan, the whooper swan, the Baikal teal, the osprey, the peregrine falcon, the gyrfalcon, the golden eagle, the little curlew, and the white tailed eagle. In particular, the company is supporting a project for the preservation of the smallest arctic goose, the lesser white-fronted goose, on the Taimyr Peninsula, which is listed in both the international and Russian Red Lists of endangered species, and this bird has become the symbol of MMC Norilsk Nickel's ecological programme.

The Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company has been working in partnership with the Lapland state natural biosphere reserve, which is situated on the Kola Peninsula, since 1997. MMC Kola provides assistance to the reserve and is engaged in the development of a series of nature conservation and educational projects. For their part, specialists from the reserve monitor the natural environment around the company's facilities and make recommendations regarding methods for regenerating the local environment.