The "green" Arctic: how ecosystems of the north are being restored in Russia

Active development of the Arctic means taking care of the region's ecology so that human activities do not lead to increased emissions into the atmosphere or soil and water pollution. In this regard, the government, public figures and all large companies operating in the Arctic are implementing global programs for the protection and restoration of ecosystems. The result of their work and their overall contribution to the ecology of the region was summarized in the recent Arctic Dossier, a national report detailing government and corporate programs to restore ecosystems. For more information about Russia's contribution to environmental protection in the Arctic— see the Izvestia article.

The ecological situation in the Arctic

The Arctic is one of the most pollution—sensitive regions in Russia. At the same time, it is also one of the most important for the exploration and exploitation of the subsurface of the regions, which makes the task of restoring disturbed ecosystems especially important. As part of the global environmental initiative, the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), Russia pays special attention to the Arctic zone.

— Russia is the largest Arctic power. Therefore, its ecological improvement is one of our priorities. (...) In the Arctic zone, in order to protect ecosystems, we have created specially protected natural territories at the federal level with a total area of about 40 million hectares, which is the largest contribution among the Arctic states," said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev.

The Arctic Dossier, a national report on Russia's contribution to the restoration of Arctic ecosystems, was also prepared as part of the UN Decade. It talks about environmental protection projects, land reclamation, modernization of the scientific expedition fleet, the work of businesses and volunteers to preserve and restore Arctic ecosystems.

According to him, in general, there are several areas of anthropogenic impact on the environment in the region.: These include air pollution, marine and surface water pollution, impacts on land resources and their degradation, soil pollution, impacts on biodiversity, and more.

At the same time, the main sources of pollution are gas and oil producing enterprises, mining and processing companies, ferrous and non—ferrous metallurgy, fuel and energy complex and other industries, as well as automobile, railway and marine transport. At the same time, many of these enterprises make an immeasurable contribution to the restoration and protection of the environment.

"The region is very promising from the point of view of economic activity, but at the same time it is very vulnerable — ecosystems take a long time to recover," Roman Pukalov, director of environmental programs at the All—Russian NGO Green Patrol, told Izvestia.

The main consequence of the harmful effects of human activity in the region is climate change, which is particularly pronounced here. So, if global warming (the average temperature on the planet) is currently estimated at 1-1.2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial period, then in the Moscow region alone over the past 50 years, the average temperature has increased by two degrees, and in the Arctic – by three. And for the Arctic region, these are significant changes, which, first of all, lead to the melting of permafrost. This, in turn, can cause global problems for humans, because houses, bridges, railways, pipelines, etc. have been built in permafrost zones (which occupy about 60% of the country's territory). In case of melting, foundations will sag and there will be a risk of collapse of many structures, the expert explained.

He added that melting triggers a "domino effect," as it releases large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, which further aggressively affects the atmosphere. This, in turn, accelerates climate warming and ice melting.

In Russia, this problem is being solved through partnerships between representatives of various sectors. For example, government agencies, municipal authorities, scientists, businesses, and indigenous peoples of the North are involved in ecosystem restoration. Public organizations and volunteers also played an important role. Due to this, both in the process of developing strategies and in their implementation, the most up-to-date scientific developments, technological business opportunities, and the opinion of local residents are taken into account. All this increases the effectiveness of programs.

Government and business contributions

The Arctic Dossier contains an extensive list of initiatives, both current and already implemented, aimed at restoring the natural ecosystems of the North. Among them, the authors of the report highlighted the elimination of accumulated environmental damage, the cleaning of Arctic specially protected areas, the reclamation of disturbed lands and the reduction of the negative impact of industry. In addition, reforestation and landscaping of territories are carried out there, measures are being taken to restore and protect biodiversity. However, the creation of new specially protected natural territories, the total area of which in the Arctic reaches 39 million hectares, is of particular importance. Moreover, this is the largest single contribution within the framework of the UN Decade among the polar countries.

"In the official UN standards on ecosystem restoration, the conservation of "wild" natural areas is considered as part of a restoration continuum that includes a full range of measures, from reducing anthropogenic impact to ecological restoration and rewilding," the national report says.

This approach contributes well to the restoration of ecosystems, due to the fact that they can develop naturally with minimal intervention. In turn, they contribute to the self-restoration of populations, even the return of extinct species.

Russian companies are conducting a large number of projects in the Arctic, including the development of the territory and the Arctic shelf. Since 2021, according to the Russian government, the number of enterprises in the region has increased almost 11 times. This is not least due to the fact that the government encourages such companies by providing them with various benefits and support measures.

The downside of active industrial activity is the inevitable harm to the environment, but business is currently paying a lot of attention to this problem. Large companies are developing areas for ecosystem restoration, including through the modernization of production facilities to minimize and, if possible, minimize possible damage.

The contribution of business to the ecology of the Arctic is reflected in several specialized ratings. The most popular of them is the Polar Index. Companies" is an annual rating of companies whose geography of activity affects the region. It covers 24 large public enterprises operating in the Russian Arctic. The first places in it for 2024 were taken, for example, by PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel and PJSC T Plus. The top ten also includes such companies as Gazprom Neft, Gazprom, Severstal, Zarubezhneft, and Alrosa.

How the Arctic ecology is protected

Among the environmental programs implemented by large companies in the region, scientists single out the "Sulfur Program" of Norilsk Nickel, which has already achieved a significant reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions by almost 400 thousand tons in 2024. The full implementation of the Sulfur Program after 2027 will reduce sulfur dioxide emissions into the atmosphere at the Norilsk site by almost 10 times compared to the data at the time of its launch.

"This is an example of tremendous progress, none of the other companies has reached such figures yet — this is a decrease of 25%, almost 400 thousand tons," Alexey Knizhnikov, head of the Business Environmental Responsibility Department at the secretariat of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia.

He pointed out that this example is an indicator that the most ambitious emission reduction goals are achievable if there is a sincere intention to achieve them. He also noted Severstal's efforts to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere. These efforts contribute to the restoration of biological diversity, both on land and in water, said Knizhnikov.

In addition, among Gazprom Neft's programs, the drafters of the report noted programs to protect and increase the diversity of Arctic nature. The company's specialists constantly use camera traps and video equipment to monitor seabirds and mammals, including Red Book ones, and monitor changes on the shelf.

"The restoration of aquatic ecosystems is also extremely important for the Russian Arctic, including because indigenous peoples depend on these resources to forage there," he said.

The second most important task after reducing harmful emissions is the monitoring of permafrost, which reaches almost to Lake Baikal. In particular, this task is extremely important for oil workers, Roman Pukalov noted.

In this area, the achievements of Norilsk Nickel are also being noted, which, in partnership with the Polar State University, for the first time developed a regional permafrost background monitoring system. The data can be used to study the state and dynamics of permafrost in natural conditions.

Large businesses in the Arctic are also implementing programs to restore biological diversity. As Alexey Knizhnikov explained, an increase in the population of Red Book species is the main indicator of ecosystem restoration. All large companies operating in the Arctic are developing biodiversity conservation programs, and indicator species mark the success of all such projects.

Alexey Knizhnikov noted two problems that have yet to be solved. The first of these is to prevent the entry of invasive species, the spread of which is facilitated by shipping in the region.

— Invasive species both on land and at sea are detrimental to all ecosystems. We all know about hogweed, but the sea has its own invasive species. And for companies operating in the Arctic, an important focus should be to ensure proper measures to prevent the introduction of invasive species due to increased shipping volumes," he explained.

The second direction is the need to solve the problem of the so—called historical heritage – the disturbed lands and abandoned industries that have remained in the Arctic since Soviet times. According to the expert, only the state and large enterprises of the region could help finance the reclamation of such territories.