Territorial Assessment and Prioritization for Biodiversity Conservation Using the Example of the Center of European Russia

For an adequate assessment and effective management of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the vast and extremely heterogeneous territory of Russia, a multilevel approach is required that integrates the tasks of biodiversity conservation on different hierarchical levels (diversity of ecosystems and species) and on different levels of territorial administration. Using the example of the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation, a preliminary methodology for prioritizing territories for biodiversity conservation at three levels of government (federal district, subjects of the Russian Federation, and municipal districts) is considered. To prioritize the territories, the rarity indicators of generalized ecosystem types within these territories and the value of territories for the conservation of “red-listed” animal and plant species are used. It is shown that the high-priority for biodiversity conservation purposes generalized types of ecosystems can be distinguished both on different territorial levels and in different territories within the same level. There is also a contradiction between the management tasks of preserving the diversity of species, requiring spacious habitats and the conservation of rare ecosystems that have a small area. These contradictions can be resolved through the development of environmental strategies for different levels of territorial administration.