As regards nature, the Leningrad Region ranks among the most interesting places in Europe. Its deciduous and coniferous forests, raised and lowland bogs, coasts and rivers have combined to form highly diverse natural complexes with a rich flora and fauna. A major migratory route, which passes above the region, is yearly travelled by millions of birds, which stop to rest at the shallow areas of the Gulf of Finland, Lake Ladoga and numerous smaller lakes. The region boasts of rare plants and animals - the lady's slipper, the pasqueflower, the osprey and the Ladoga ringed seal to name a few. There are many curious geological and hydrological objects - ridges and caves, glacial lakes and outcrops of ancients rocks. Journeying across the region, one can enjoy a stunning diversity of landscapes - from moraine valleys, river canyons and hilly plains to the skerries of the Gulf of Vyborg and northern Ladoga.

The unique nature of the Leningrad Region deserves careful management. Conservation tasks are becoming a priority now that the thriving economy brings about intensive industrial, agricultural and recreational development of the region. For implementation of the sustainable development strategy, which would ensure harmony between economic prosperity and conservation of natural values, a complex of measures is necessary. A network of protected areas (PAs) is an important component of this complex.

Protected areas - nature reserves, sanctuaries, natural monuments, etc. - serve the purpose of preserving valuable natural objects: rare and typical parts of forests, meadows, wetlands and other ecosystems, rare and abundant plant and animal species and their habitats, traditional flyways and wintering places of birds, migration routes and spawning sites of fish and so on. Together with other elements of natural complexes, PAs strengthen the ecological frame of the region and maintain a high biodiversity level. They are also an important tool of solving various tasks concerning interaction between nature and man. For successful performance, PAs should occupy a certain percentage of the area of the natural zone where they are situated. PAs network is especially important in regions with a high anthropogenic load.

The Leningrad Region government realizes the paramount importance of PAs for sustainable development of the region. There are 40 protected areas in the Leningrad Region, whose total area is about 6% of the region's area. Lands of PAs are fully or partly withdrawn from tenure, special protection regimes and restrictions on nature management apply on them. At some PAs, environmental activities and scientific research are performed. The first volume of the Red Date Book of Nature of the Leningrad Region (1999), a product of many specialists' efforts, is devoted exclusively to the PAs.

The Leningrad Region government takes measures for expansion and improvement of PAs network. In 2007 a new PA, the Lebiazhii Sanctuary, was founded. A normative and legal basis of PAs functioning is being developed and management plans of certain areas elaborated. The Leningrad Region is the only region in the Russian Federation to launch a special programme of PAs development. The regional special programme "Support and Development of Protected Areas of the Leningrad Region until 2010" is aimed at conservation of the Leningrad Region environment through elaborating a long-term development strategy and securing effective functioning of the regional PAs network. One of the actions of this programme was the creation of the web-site you are now at.

A number of international environmental projects is carried out on PAs of the Leningrad Region, including:

• The LIFE project "Integration of Regional Protected Areas of the Leningrad Region (Russian Federation) into European Context" (2005-2007).
• The programme "GAP analysis of PAs Network in the North-western Russia", launched in 2007 within the framework of the neighbourhood cooperation between Finland and Russia.
• The project "Development and Application of Survey Methodologies for Biologically Valuable Forests South of the Taiga", in collaboration with Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (2006-2008).
• The project "People, Nature and Harbours" within the framework of the South-East Finland-Russia Neighbourhood Programme.

The purpose of this web-site is to increase public awareness of PAs and to promote environmental education. It deals with the natural values of the Leningrad Region PAs, their management, prospects of development, challenges and solutions. The site visitors will also find a lot of useful practical information on the PAs, including descriptions and maps. These materials might turn out to be a starting point whence people could set off on their own discoveries of the PAs values. It is important to remember that "protected" does not necessarily mean "inaccessible". Nature management regimes of the Leningrad region PAs ban the activities incompatible conservation aims but generally permit those that do not harm the environment, such as recreation. Provided a civilized attitude of visitors, PAs may provide excellent opportunities for city-dwellers to relax close to nature. Hopefully, this web-site will contribute to the preservation of the rich nature of the Leningrad Region and thus to our common well-being.