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

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

, especially Primorski Krai and

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is located in the Russian Far East and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative centre of the krai is the types of ...

. This area includes globally significant biodiversity, including the Amur leopard,

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

, 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 or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

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), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

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

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

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 Amur leopard,

, 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 movement, conservation organization with current programs in Cambodia. It is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Phnom Penh. The logo of the organizatio ...

and Pacific Environment 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 a Legendary creature, legendary immortal bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Originating in Greek mythology, it has analogs in many cultures, such as Egyptian mythology, Egyptian and Persian mythology. Ass ...

, 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 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. 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