EXPLORE Central Sikhote-Alin with this slideshow, check the location map and get all the facts and information below.
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Location and Values: Central Sikhote-Alin is located in the Russian Far East, bordering the Sea of Japan. It is a serial site with three separate components covering a vast temperate forest wilderness in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, from sea level to 1830m in altitude. The area lies in a zone of overlap between the arctic taiga and subtropics and is subject to warm wet summers and severe icy winters. Its biodiversity values are exceptional in terms of the overall number of plant and animal species, as well as the concentration of rare, endemic and endangered species. The region provides the largest remaining habitat for the extremely rare Siberian (Amur) tiger, and supports important populations of other southern species (such as Himalayan Black Bear) alongside species typical of more northern regions such as lynx and brown bear. Similar mixed coniferous/deciduous forests at these latitudes (44-49oN) in western Europe and North America have mostly been cut, making preservation of this intact ecosystem all the more important.
Conservation Status and Prospects. According to IUCN’s Conservation Outlook Assessment (2017) the conservation status of the Central Sikhote-Alin is ‘good, with some concerns’. The IUCN report notes the impressive long-term conservation monitoring programme and commends recent improvements in management of the site. It notes, however, that some external threats remain, including illegal use of resources, climate change and fire. Funding for management of the site has been increased, and is now sufficient to address the relatively low level of threats.
Links:
Google Earth
UNESCO Official Website
IUCN Conservation Outlook
UNEP-WCMC Site Description
Birdlife IBA
Slideshow description
The slideshow introduces Central Sikhote-Alin with a portfolio of photos by Sue Stolton and Nigel Dudley (Equilibrium Research) and Chimed Ochir Bazarsad from visits in 2015 and 2017. They illustrate the landscape features of this outstanding place, together with some of the typical plants and animals. The elusive Siberian (Amur) tiger features in several of the photos, but only in the form of footprints, droppings, camera traps and signboard illustrations. The slideshow begins with a series of wooded landscapes taken in early spring before the trees came into leaf, and continues with photos of the long coastal portion of the site. The final part of the slideshow illustrates the Bikin River Valley section of the site, which was added as an extension in 2018.
Factfile
Website Category: Temperate & Boreal Forests
Area: 15,668 km2
Inscribed: 2001 (Extended 2018)
Criteria:
- Natural habitat for biodiversity (x);
- Significant number of rare, endemic and/or endangered species (x)
