The Great Eurasian Natural Tract as an Object of World Importance

The tasks of establishing an ecological network are presented, outlining some outcome of the long-term study of the Great Eurasian Natural Tract (Backbone), which is a continuous series of natural ecological systems from the Pacific Ocean to Fennoscandia. The story of the tract’s detection is briefly told as a modern geographical discovery. Its delineation is based on the map of Russia’s biomes resulting from remote-sensing analysis with field verification and other open data. Information about changing the area of natural ecosystems and variations of phytomass stock in various biomes are given. The authors give a monetary assessment of the ecosystem services of the Great Eurasian Natural Tract (GEANT), and a short-term forecast of changes in the productivity of its ecosystems is proposed. The issues of GEANT management are discussed: the inclusion of the concept of the ecological network in the Strategy for the Development of a System of Specially Protected Natural Areas in the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2030 and the creation of a state agency that would supervise the territorial conservation. It is proposed to consolidate the GEANT’s status legally as a unique world natural heritage.