Phoenix Fund (Фонд "Феникс") is a Russian wildlife and forest conservation organization serving regions of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

, especially Primorski Krai and Khabarovsk Krai. This area includes globally significant biodiversity, including the

Amur leopard The Amur leopard (''Panthera pardus orientalis'') is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as in 2007, only 19–26 wild leo ...

Siberian tiger The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabi ...

, and other predators, as well as a number of recognized

Protected Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s including national parks, wildlife refuges, and nature reserves. Phoenix Fund was founded by Russian and U.S. conservationists and registered in Vladivostok as a Russian

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, non-governmental organization in March 1998. It is headquartered in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

Programs

Phoenix Fund defines its programs as: * Anti-Poaching Activities, with the goal of ending the illegal hunting of tigers, leopards, and other protected species * Resolution of Human-Tiger Conflicts, with the goal of protecting human communities while preventing the killing of tigers * Forest Fire-Fighting * Compensation for Damages of livestock lost to leopards, tigers, and other predators * Ecological Education and Outreach in rural communities of the Russian Far East * Public monitoring of industrial projects, including oil and natural gas development

Mission statement

''A collective biodiversity recovery programme.''

Administration

The founder director of Phoenix Fund is Sergei Bereznuk. He was formerly a tiger inspector in Rosprirodnadzor, Russia's environmental protection agency.

Affiliations

Phoenix Fund is one of the implementing organizations of the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA) and partners with non-governmental organizations in Britain, the United States, Germany, and Finland as well as Russia to conserve the

, and their habitat and ecology. Phoenix is also a member of the 21st Century Tiger#International Tiger Coalition, made up of environmental, zoo and animal protection organizations as well as the traditional Chinese medicine community. Phoenix Fund's other partners include

Wildlife Alliance Wildlife Alliance is an international non-profit forest and wildlife conservation organization with current programs in Cambodia. It is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Phnom Penh. The logo of the organization is the Asian elephan ...

and

Pacific Environment Pacific Environment is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States, founded in 1987. Its objective is to protect the living environment of the Pacific Rim. History The organization was founded 1987 as Pac ...

in the United States, 21st Century Tiger in the United Kingdom, and other international conservation and sustainable development organizations.

History and background

Phoenix Fund was founded by Russian and U.S. conservationists and registered in Vladivostok as a Russian non-profit, non-governmental organization in March 1998. The logo of the organization is the

Phoenix (mythology) The phoenix is an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology (with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predeces ...

, which rises anew from its own ashes after death, a symbol of everlasting revival. The logo was chosen to reflect the rebirth of the Russian Far East's wildlife and habitats following environmental degradation at the end of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In 2006, Sergei Bereznuk received one of the

Whitley Awards (UK) The Whitley Awards are held annually by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) to recognise and celebrate effective grassroots conservation leaders across the Global South. The charity's flagship conservation prizes, worth £40,000 in project funding o ...

for outstanding achievements in nature conservation, related to the protection of the Amur leopard from oil pipeline development. The pipeline was believed to be a grave threat to threatened biodiversity across Siberia and the Russian Far East.BBC, "Pipeline risk to Siberia wildlife," July 15, 2005 In June 2012, Sergei Bereznuk became a winner of Rolex Global Awards for Enterprise for his achievements and innovations in tiger conservation.

References

External links

Phoenix Fund Home Page

Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance

International Tiger Coalition
{{Authority control Environmental organizations based in Russia Nature conservation organisations based in Europe Organizations established in 1998 Forest conservation organizations Forestry in Russia