Ecological tourism as a health-saving technology: National goals of Russia

Ecological tourism - a safe, comfortable and affordable type of recreation - is a unique management solution that ensures sustainable development of specially protected natural areas, provides workplaces and preserves natural resources, promotes environmental education and public awareness, preservation and promotion of natural and socio-cultural heritage of the country, making accent on socio-cultural values. The potential of ecotourism in Russia is enormous, and its most promising direction is ecological tourism in specially protected natural areas (SPNA), where it may be seen as a source of socio-natural information and the foundation for ecological values. Aimed at environmental protection and protected areas, the national project "Ecology" is declared to be implemented in Russia from 2018 to 2024; the responsible agency is the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology. 

There are 10 federal projects under the National Project, one of which is "Conservation of biological diversity and development of ecological tourism", which implies the creation of at least 24 protected areas throughout Russia, as well as increasing the area of existing protected areas and improving the efficiency of management of the system of protected areas of federal significance. The project passport states that in 2018 Russia had 218 PAs, in 2022 - already 228, and by the end of 2024 should become 235 PAs. According to L. Poplavskaya, Deputy Director of the Roszapovedcentre of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, head of the project office of the federal project "Biodiversity Conservation and Ecotourism Development", 14 million people have visited protected areas in 2022, which is 32% more than in 2021 post-pandemic year. In 2021, as part of the federal project implementation, the development of a draft professional standard for a specialist in protected areas began, defining the necessary list of labour functions. It is expected that by the end of 2024, as a result of the implementation of the training system, a set of regulatory documents will be developed and approved for the training of specialists of higher professional education in the field of protected areas in Russian universities; a new field of higher professional education "Protected Areas" will be opened and students will be enrolled in Russian universities to receive education in this field of training.

The theme of ecological tourism does not leave the TV screens and pages of leading publications. "Rosstat has estimated the value of natural resources in our country at 104 trillion rubles. This is 19% of all national wealth of the country. Obviously, we must use this very carefully. Together with the government, we have prepared a whole set of documents to make Russia one of the key countries in the world not only in terms of the size of its territory, but also in terms of its potential for solving environmental problems." said Sberbank CEO German Gref at the plenary session of the international forum "Eco Altai. Nature's Thread" in October 2023.

Nevertheless, the Expert Council on Nature Conservation recommended the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia, with the involvement of the expert community, to develop a List of nature reserves and national parks to be established during 2025-2034. When determining the lists and priorities for the creation of protected areas, they should be based on scientific justifications and conclusions of experts in the field of biological and landscape diversity. Among the recommendations is to create a list of existing protected areas of federal significance, which should be expanded as a priority, as well as to pay close attention to the creation of protection zones of nature reserves and national parks, for which protection zones have not yet been established.

The very concept of ecological tourism appeared in the context of the Concept of Sustainable Development, which emerged as a result of the environmental crisis. The growth of ecological tourism in the world, according to experts' estimates, is 20-30% per year. Before the 2020 pandemic, the industry brought in up to $1bln a day, and a third of the world's tourists are considered ecotourists. Most often ecotourism is understood as a special form of travel, in which recreation in nature is combined with the knowledge of its objects and phenomena in order to obtain socio-natural information. This term was proposed in the 1980s by Mexican architect, environmentalist, and ecotourism and cultural tourism expert H. Ceballos-Lascurain. It reflects the idea of harmony between recreation and ecology. Another form of the definition of ecotourism is an active form of recreation based on the rational use of natural benefits. In the professional environment there are several definitions of ecotourism, similar in meaning: "ecotourism is all forms of nature tourism in which the main motivation of tourists is to observe and join nature" (International Tourism Organisation, 2001). "Ecotourism - travelling with responsibility to the environment in relation to undisturbed natural areas for the purpose of exploring and enjoying nature and cultural attractions, which promotes nature conservation, has a "soft" impact on the environment, ensures active socio-economic participation of local residents and benefits from these activities" (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

For 25 years, experts have not come to a consensus – calling the same activity ecotourism, natural, green, soft, and even referring to adventure or scientific tourism. Many may still be confused between the terms “Ecotourism”, “Sustainable Tourism”, and “Responsible Travel”. It is important that ecological tourism as a tourist product can be realised in various forms, but it is impossible without a sufficient level of ecological culture of the population. An important aspect is ecological upbringing and education, realised through ecological quests, tours and eco-trails. Ecological trails are organised and specially protected walking and cognitive routes created for the purposes of environmental education through information boards installed along the way; QR codes and audio guides can be used along the route. They are laid in national parks and landscape preserves. The format of eco-trails allows tourists not only to visit the protected corners of protected areas, but also to minimise the harm that a human being can do to wildlife. The problem of construction and operation of eco-trails could be solved by fixing the legal status of a "trail" in the Russian legislative system. In 2021, Prime Minister M. Mishustin argues, the government considers the development of ecotourism in Russia one of the most promising areas. In 2022, the development of eco-trails caused heated discussions in connection with the ongoing discussion of the law on tourism activities. By 15.09.2022, Rostourism was obligated to prepare a regulatory framework for the creation of a system of eco-trails in order to enshrine the concept at the legislative level, but in October 2022, this administrative body was abolished and its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Economic Development.

Eco-trails of the Volga region
However, initiatives to implement ecotourism projects in Russia still persist. For example, on World Tourism Day, 27 September 2023, the Russian Geographical Society opened an eco-trail in the Volga region. The RGO Eco-trail on the Volga is a route more than 50 km long from the famous village of Shiryaevo, where the world-famous artist Ilya Repin searched for burlaks, to the village of Tornovoye. RGO plans to connect several Volga regions into a large route. The Volga River bend is rich in rare species of flora and fauna, endemics are present, and the combination of cultural, historical and natural monuments in such a narrow stretch of terrain due to the geological history of the right bank of the river is truly unique. Today the nature of the Samarskaya Luka protected area not only pleases with its views, but also offers many ways to study it along the entire length of the 50 km route. It covers a significant part of the Samarskaya Luka, bringing together the most interesting objects. The trail is suitable for tourists of any fitness level, and the viewpoints along the bank of the Volga River will not leave anyone indifferent. 6 km of the equipped route in the heart of the Zhigulev Mountains are marked with information stands that offer variety of information about the history and unique features of the area.

In February 2023, the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin instructed to pay close attention to the development of a national system of ecological trails as sources of socio-natural information, which should contribute to the preservation of the population's health-saving resource and improve their quality of life. On July 2023, Chairman of the Russian Government M. Mishustin announced that the Cabinet of Ministers will redistribute about 1.5 billion rubles for the development of eco-tourism. 

In his Address to the Federal Assembly in February 2024, Russian President emphasised the key goals to be achieved by 2030 in the tourism sector. Under the National Project "Tourism and Hospitality Industry", it is planned to almost double the number of tourist trips (up to 140 million) by 2030, as well as to increase the contribution of tourism to the country's GDP to 5%. One of the goals is to create an eco-tourism infrastructure, including eco-trails and hiking trails in all national parks of the country. These funds will be used to create infrastructure in SPNAs and protected areas. Tourists will have to be organised in such a way as to avoid risks to the unique ecosystems of different regions. Obviously, the improvement of such areas will require special engineering and transport solutions, which will be the subject of further heated discussions at thematic conferences and forums.
On 7 May, Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for his fifth presidential term, which will last until 2030. The President approved a strategic document (National Goals) defining the key directions of the country's development until 2030, with continuation until 2036. The decree establishes seven fundamental goals, including population conservation, human health and well-being, as well as ecological well-being: environmental protection and ecological safety, development of ecotourism, which was mentioned previously.

Photos by Zaur Karamyzov, a member of Russian Geographical Society, director of the Union of Photographers and Cinematographers “Novator”