Ecology

In 2020, JSC UTLC ERA implemented a project to restore the tugay deer population in Kazakhstan. The joint initiative by JSC UTLC ERA and WWF Russia is an important step towards the increase of the tugay deer population in the Syr Darya River Valley, Kazakhstan. Through this project, we are contributing to the development of the regional ecosystem and to the increase of the Red Book species population in Central Asia. The initiative brought about a 20% increase of the deer population in one of the wild groups.

In 2022, we are implementing the initiative to increase the population of wild European bison in the Turmon Natural Reserve located in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. European bison is the only surviving buffalo species in Europe. Under the project, the reserve population will increase by eight animals, thus increasing the number of bison in the region by 42%.

A tugai forest restoration project is underway to maintain
the ecosystem in the Southern Pribalkhashye region
in Kazakhstan after the fires. Over 39,700 trees with total area
of 14 hectares have been planted from 2022 through 2024 under the initiative. The tugai forests are a vital biotope for the Bukhara deer and other ungulates, and these forests are also a natural water regulator.

In 2023, 22 Pharo cattle and 15 wild horses were relocated under the joint project of the Customer Sporovsky Biological Reserve and UTLC ERA JSC to restore the flood plain meadows. This first experiment in reintroducing horses into Belarus will start
with restoring the species population at the sites of its historical habitat. Free grazing by the animals will significantly improve
and preserve the unique, rare and threatened regional biotope. The initiative was continued into 2024 together
with the Customer Naliboksky Forest and based on its results, the habitat of the wild horses was expanded by creating a new population group of 35 horses.

The Greenland whale population is decreasing every year.
The UTLC ERA and Nature and People foundation project
is aimed at developing and introducing comprehensive steps
to protect the species. Under the initiative, a research expedition was conducted that perfected new tracing technologies
and placing tracers on Greenland whales for tracking movements of individuals for subsequent research to increase
the population.