Central Siberia is a great place for ecotourism. Thanks to a new unique website www.ecosiberia.org offering well-structured ecotourist information in English, German and Russian, the public anywhere in the world can now learn about the beauty of the region, its protected areas and cultural monuments. The ECOSIBERIA website, replete with excellent photos, has been developed within a broader project: ‘Enhancing biodiversity conservation and ecotourism in Russia’, which supports sustainable ecotourism initiatives and assists Russian protected areas in developing best practice in conservation and ecotourism. The project, implemented in Central Siberia as its pilot region, was developed within the PECE (Partners for Environmental Co-operation in Europe) Initiative financed by Defra (UK). The project was also supported by funds from the UNDP/GEF project: ‘Biodiversity conservation of the Altai-Sayan eco-region’ and the National Fund ‘Strana Zapovednaya’.

The ECOSIBERIA website (www.ecosiberia.org) has been envisioned as a key marketing instrument to promote genuine ecotourism development and lure tourists and investors alike to this largely unspoilt part of our planet that offers much more than the notorious Siberian cold. Two UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites, ancient monuments as old as the Egyptian pyramids, pristine nature with fascinating wildlife and exquisite local cuisine are just a few of many attractions on offer in the region. The launch of the ECOSIBERIA website is only the first step. There are further plans to gradually expand the contents of the website, especially to feature more locally provided ecotourism services and products (e.g. guided tours, accommodation, transport, entertainment, souvenirs, etc.).

ECOSIBERIA is a non-profit consortium of Machaon International (Slovakia), Fieldfare International Ecological Development Plc (UK) and Russian partners Environmental Education Centre Zapovedniks, Ecotourism Development Fund Dersu Uzala and Association of Ecotourism.

19/07/2008