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In 1999, supported by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, we brought
four Russian interns to our offices in Missoula, Montana, to receive
conservation GIS training. We met the first intern, Dr. Vladimir Shamov,
in May 1999, during a GIS training seminar we presented in Khabarovsk
for Pacific salmon biologists. The second intern, Vadim Kirinchenko,
joined us from the Kamchatka League of Independent Experts (KLIE). Our
GIS lab has been mentoring the KLIE since 1996, when we first introduced
them to GIS as a tool for conservation. Our final two interns, Andrei
Klepikov and Mikhail Paltsyn, came to Missoula from the Katunsky
Biosphere Reserve in the Altai Republic. Earlier this year, we obtained
a donation of GIS software for the Katunsky Biosphere Reserve, and in
November our GIS Program Director Mike Beltz spent two weeks in the
reserve providing instruction and technical support for the
conservationists using this software. |
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Dr. Vladimir Shamov
Institute for Water and Ecological Problems,
Khabarovsk, Russia
Vladimir is a hydrologist from Khabarovsk Krai in
the Russian Far East. Dr. Shamov works for the
Institute for Water and Ecological Problems (IVEP)
in downtown Khabarovsk. In addition to receiving GIS
training and mentorship from our International Program, Vladimir wrote a
successful grant to the ESRI Conservation Program and received donations
of ArcView and Spatial Analyst software. The bulk of Vladimir's GIS work
is focused on modeling the relationship between water and forest health
in the vast taiga region of Khabarovsk. Contact Vladimir at vshamov@ivep.as.khb.ru
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Vadim Kirichenko
Kamchatka League of Independent Experts,
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia
Vadim is a conservationist and a GIS specialist
working on protection of natural habitat in the
Kamchatka Peninsula. Besides being world famous for
its volcanoes, Kamchatka has the highest population
density of brown bears in the world and plays an
extremely significant role in sustaining the populations of Pacific
salmon species.
Vadim's group applies GIS to analyze the condition of ecosystems in
Kamchatka and to study the impact to these ecosystems from industrial
development projects such as logging, pipeline construction, thermal
power station functioning and illegal fishing. You can write a message
to League at liga@klie.ru
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Mikhail Paltsyn (left) and Andrei Klepikov (right)
Katunsky Biosphere Reserve, Ust-Koksa, Altai
Republic, Russia
Continuing to study and protect wildlife habitats
in Altai, our intern from 1998 Mikhail Paltsyn
accepted the invitation to be the Scientific
Director for Katunsky Biosphere Reserve. Located in
Central Siberia, this reserve is one of the most pristine mountain areas
remaining in the world, it provides critical habitat to the snow leopard
(Uncia uncia) and many endemic plant species. Andrei Klepikov is the
Reserve's GIS Technician.
Mikhail and Andrei used our GIS lab to improve their GIS skills, and
worked on various datasets for the area that covers the Reserve and
adjacent territories. These spatial datasets will help the Reserve's
administration in studying local fauna and flora and in identification
of the priority areas for protection, as well as in making suggestions
on optimal land use in the territories adjacent to the Reserve. They
also applied for a Conservation Technology Support Program grant, which
was successful and resulted in donation of a brand new computer and a
large format plotter for the Reserve's GIS lab in the year 2000. You can
contact Mikhail at
paltsyn@mail.ru.
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