Campaign to save Amur leopard territory
Thursday 28 April 2005
ZSL continues its opposition to the oil pipeline route threatening the remaining 30 Amur leopards
ZSL is participating in a global campaign against plans to build an oil pipeline through Amur leopard territory to a terminal in the richly biodiverse area of the Amur Bay. At our request, the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) has written to Russia’s President Putin expressing concern about this project.
The campaign is working. More and more prominent Russians, including the president of the prestigious Academy of Science, oppose building the terminal in Russia’s foremost “biodiversity hotspot”. In early April, our partner organisation Phoenix sent protestors to meet Japanese business investors inspecting the coastline, much to the dismay of their Russian hosts. Meanwhile, initial building activities in the Amur Bay – illegal under Russian law at present – have been stopped.
Russian oil company Transneft, responsible for this pipeline, needs foreign investment, and the London-based Barclays Capital Bank is involved in a loan to them of $250 million. We hope that Barclays will suggest changing this terminal location before making these funds available.
The final decision on the route is expected in July. Let’s hope Russia will give the Amur leopard a second chance!
