OREANDA-NEWS. February 21, 2012. Within the framework of the Flight of Hope Project supported by ITERA Oil and Gas Company and aimed at preserving and increasing the white crane population – Sterkhs, a group of Russian ornithologists arrived in Uzbekistan. The expedition will focus on preparation of alternative wintering grounds for Sterkhs.

The Flight of Hope Project is based on a unique method designed by US scientists when people train white cranes grown up in a natural preserve to fly by means of motor-hang-gliders and lead them to their wintering grounds.  Russian ornithologists from the All-Russia Scientific and Research Institute of Nature, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Oka State Natural Biosphere Reserve along with scientists from more than ten countries of the world joined their efforts to implement the method in Russia 10 years ago.  The Flight of Hope entered into its active stage in 2005 when ITERA Oil and Gas Company became a general sponsor of the Project.

Traditionally, Sterkhs’ seasonal migration route runs from YaNAO through entire Western Siberia and ends in India.  This year, it is decided to make a unique experiment: to move the wintering ground from India to Uzbekistan.  As a result, the birds’ migration over dangerous territories of Afghanistan and Pakistan would be excluded and the route length would be shortened by 2 000 km.  In addition, Sterkhs would be able to join gray crane flocks that pass winter in the South of Uzbekistan.

For baby birds to grow and mature by the beginning of preparation to the new migration route in August, they must be born one or one and a half months earlier than usual.  It is necessary for them to be physically strong regardless of how they are delivered to the wintering ground – following a motor-hang glider or in special boxes in an aircraft.  With this purpose, daylight duration in adult Sterkhs’ aviaries in the Oka Reserve will be artificially increased to stimulate early produce of offspring.

The expedition to Uzbekistan would include monitoring of gray crane population quantity and identification of major concentration locations, evaluation of fodder base in winter grounds, identification of the most promising locations for future Sterkhs’ aviaries.  A number of meetings with representatives of public and private environment organizations in Uzbekistan will be held.  Russia will be represented by Aleksander Sorokin, the National Sterkh Program Coordinator, and Yury Markin, the Oka Reserve Director.  The Uzbek party will be represented in the dialogue by representatives of the State Biological Control of the State Committee of Nature Protection and the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Igor Makarov, Head of ITERA Oil and Gas Company, said: This has been our pleasure for many years to support such an important environmental project.  And this year is not an exception.  In addition to financial participation, we intend to strengthen information support: the issue of endangered white cranes must be spoken of.  Our representative office in Turkmenistan will also join the expedition that has been launched today. We wish all the participants good luck, and we believe in good results.

Sterkh is one of the rare species of cranes that nest in Yamal. Indigenous and small peoples of the Far North consider cranes sacred birds. In recent years, those beautiful birds approached the danger of total disappearance.  ITERA, being a socially oriented company, for which Yamal is one of its business regions, made a decision to provide possible assistance to salvation of sterkhs.

Flight of Hope is a Program developed by the Russian ornithologists from the All-Russia Scientific and Research Institute of Nature aimed at salvation of white cranes. Release to nature of baby birds grown up in a natural preserve is of principal importance for the Program.ITERA Oil and Gas Company has been the Project’s general sponsor since 2005.  To train specific parameters of migration to baby cranes, especial extralight motor-hang-gliders had been constructed.  As a result of special training, the young birds grown up in a natural preserve perceive a motor-hang-glider as a leader of a flock and follow it to a wintering place.   They make stop-overs for rest in suitable places chosen by scientist in advance.

Oka State Natural Biosphere Reserve located in the Eastern part of Meshcherskaya lowland was established in 1935.  One of the principal objectives of the Reserve is to preserve natural complexes that are typical for the Region including all their components, to study natural processes and phenomena, and to develop scientific grounds for protection of the environment.  The Reserve also carries out experimental work for sterkh breeding and subsequent release to nature. It is on base of the local white crane reserve that the Flight of Hope is being implemented.

ITERA Oil and Gas Company is one of the large independent producers and sellers of natural gas in the Russian Federation.  ITERA has been developing its natural gas production in the Yamalo-Nenetz Autonomous District since 1998. The Company has invested over USD  2 billion in development of the gas industry.  ITERA was the first private company to commission gas fields in the North of Russia. ITERA produced over 245 billion cu m of natural gas at the gas fields it has been developing.