UNESCO opposes the destruction of the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve.

In the coming days, we will continue the fight for the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve. We need to expand our efforts and secure lasting protection for this wildlife sanctuary. We're already preparing the next phase — the second wave. So far, everything is moving in the right direction.

For now, I want to share with our headquarters an official document issued by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. This is the intergovernmental body responsible for overseeing how States fulfill their obligations to protect World Heritage properties. Its role is to assess the condition of these sites, identify threats, and require corrective measures when necessary. On July 21, 2026, at the height of our campaign against the destruction of the reserve, the Committee reviewed the issue during its 48th session and strongly criticized the Glukhoye geological exploration project. UNESCO states that any activity related to mineral extraction poses potentially significant environmental risks to the property's Outstanding Universal Value.

UNESCO experts also warn that the exploration site is located upstream of the river system, meaning the work could damage critical aquatic ecosystems and disrupt the ecological connectivity of habitats used by the Amur tiger and other large mammals. They call for all mining-related activities to be prohibited until a comprehensive international impact assessment has been completed. Furthermore, the Committee states that any attempt to weaken the site's legal protection in order to facilitate mineral extraction is incompatible with the requirements of the World Heritage Convention.

I am publishing the official document so everyone can examine it in greater detail.

[p_link url='https://whc.unesco.org/document/226808' size='1.3 MB' target="_blank"]Download the document (PDF)[/p_link]

Meanwhile, we are preparing the next wave of our campaign. This time, we will try to work directly through our allies in Moscow and do everything possible to keep the reserve out of the hands of profit-driven commercial interests. We keep fighting, my friends. We keep fighting.