From snow leopard to tiger, Nepal and Russia share many common predators and preys in their ecosystems. As the global climate is changing and human mobility is rising, their ecosystems, however, are threatened. Given the growing trend of environmental disasters, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree declaring the year 2017 as the year of ecology in the Russian Federation.

Inaugurated jointly by Minister of Population and Environment Jay Dev Joshi and former minister of Science and Technology and Environment and chairman for the Year of Ecology organizing committee Ganesh Shah, the exhibition will last for a month in the Russian Culture Center.

From photos of snow leopard and other members in the natural environments, the exhibition covers the entire eco-system of Russia, depicting the big and diverse landmass of the Russian Federation.

“As the global environment is changing, there is a bigger threat for ecosystems. This is the right time to highlight the importance of such places. Nepal appreciates the Russian Federation’s efforts to save the ecology,” said minister Joshi.

“Russian Federation has many places of ecological value as a water fountain of the world. This is what one can see from the photo exhibition,” said Ganesh Shah, addressing the inaugural program.

Organized by Year of Ecology and Russian Centre of Science and Culture, the photo exhibition, “Natural parks and environmental protection in Russia,” which is dedicated to the Year of Ecology as declared in the Russian Federation for the year 2017, displayed photos from different parts of Russia.

“The objective of making 2017 the Year of Ecology is to attract the society’s attention to environmental problems, maintain ecological diversity and protect the ecological security of the country," said director of RCSC. Based on expert opinions, it has been revealed that the current situation in the field of ecology is getting worse every year. Deteriorating conditions of soil, polluted water, desalination of sea, increasing level of the average temperature, all this is leading to the melting glaciers and reduction in the protective ozone layer in the atmosphere. With these measures, government of Russian Federation intends in 2017 to improve the overall environmental situation in the country.”

“Already at present time in Russia, there are more than 13000 protected areas; in 2017 the number of protected areas and zones will be increased. In the course of the proposed program, there will be 168 events dedicated to the environmental issues. This year in Russia, the development of conservation system is planned. Currently in Russia, there are 103 nature reserves. The purpose of such reserves are not only the preservation of the natural landscape and increasing the number of wildlife species, but also the maintenance of the populations of endangered species, purifying natural water sources and improvement of air composition,” said the director of RCSC.

For Nepal, the exhibition has its own importance as Nepal can learn from Russia and Nepal can share its success with Russian Federation.