Russian Federation

Taimyrsky Biosphere Reserve is located in the northern Siberian lowlands on the Taimyr Peninsula. The site is a cluster biosphere reserve with three core areas (one covering part of Lake Taimyr), each with a relatively narrow surrounding buffer zone, and which are protected collectively as the Taimyr State Reserve. The area represents a highly important breeding site for birds in the northern part of the East Atlantic flyway. The biosphere reserve covers pristine tundra and steppe habitats as well as the northernmost forest communities with larch and dwarf birch.
Some 3,600 people of six ethnic groups live within the biosphere reserve (1994) who make their living from trapping, fishing and reindeer husbandry. The biosphere reserve aims to enhance their traditional culture and protect their landscape from mining, logging and hunting pressures. There are good records of ecological research and monitoring of vegetation dynamics and air and water pollution in the area.