In 2021, Rosneft will continue to implement the program for the conservation of the Arctic ecosystems biological diversity. The representatives of the Company announced this at a press conference held in Moscow. The first expedition this year of the Rosneft's Arctic Scientific Centre and the Institute of Ecology and Evolution named after A. Severtsov of the Russian Academy of Sciences is now working on the island of Alexandra Land of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. In difficult meteorological conditions of the polar spring, scientists are studying the behaviour of polar bears during the period when females leave their ancestral dens. The research of the Red Book predator will be continued during the ice-free period during another joint expedition scheduled for August and September this year, the place of research is Cape Desire of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

The polar bear is one of the key bioindicator species, the population of which is being studied by Rosneft specialists. As part of the press conference, a presentation of a new ecological atlas “Species - biological indicators of the Arctic marine ecosystems state” took place, which describes over sixty representatives of the flora and fauna of the northern latitudes and assesses the biodiversity in the licensed areas of Rosneft. The Atlas was prepared jointly with the nongovernmental development institute “Innopraktika” and was a continuation of the extensive work on the generalisation and systematisation of data obtained during the Company's long-term environmental research in the Russian seas. Another fresh scientific work was presented to the attention of the press - “Ecological Atlas. Barents Sea”, which contains more than 55 thematic maps-schemes of the water area and coastal zone, many graphs, diagrams, summary tables and artistic illustrations. Digital versions of the atlases are available to a large audience on the Company's official website.

The press conference also summed up the results of Arctic expeditions to study the population of Ivory gull and wild reindeer, which were organised by Rosneft together with scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and the Siberian Federal University (SFU).

On the islands of Sedov and Vize in the north-eastern part of the Kara Sea, ornithologists studied for two months the nesting sites and abundance of Ivory gulls, the rarest, scarce and poorly studied species of Arctic birds. For the research, camera traps and GPS trackers were used - with their help, for the first time in Russia scientists obtained high-resolution data on the movement of seagulls.

The studies of the wild reindeer were carried out near the migration routes and wintering grounds of the Taimyr-Evenk population - in the vicinity of the Essey and Yeromo lakes. The most ambitious in the history of the project (started in 2014) comprehensive monitoring of animals was carried out using photo and video filming, including from unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite imagery to determine the characteristics of the habitat.

Studies of key animal species allow scientists to draw conclusions about the state of the ecosystem, assess the impact of climate warming and anthropogenic pollution on the Arctic fragile nature. Rosneft considers the data obtained during scientific expeditions when planning economic activities and develops new innovative solutions for conducting socially responsible business.

Rosneft
Information Division
April 15, 2021

Keywords: Environmental News 2021