OREANDA-NEWS. August 21, 2008. Eight kilometers from Minsk, the Sokoliniy Nature Reserve is an ideal site to observe the kestrel, a species of falcon listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, reported the press-centre of Eurasia Foundation.

Several years ago, the kestrel’s natural habitat was threatened when the reserve near Machulishchi village lost its protected status and developers began to encroach on the site. The local bird population suffered from the invasion until ornithologists at the National Union APB launched a campaign to re-establish the forest as a protected area.

With support from the New Eurasia Establishment through BelISAR, the National Union APB-Birdlife Belarus Akhova ptushshak Batshaushchyny organized local birdwatchers and school groups, winning their support to lobby the local administration to protect this land. The organization took it upon itself to wade through local bureaucracy, file the necessary paperwork and persuade the administration to issue a decree declaring this area a “local nature reserve” on government-owned land.

“We did the paperwork. Now we need to love the land—it’s not just a forest,” Project Coordinator Ruslan Shaikin said. Mr. Shaikin grew up in Machulishchi and learned to love nature in this forest. A former biology teacher, he would bring his students to the forest to teach them about Belarus’ native wildlife. Knowing its beauty was being threatened, he knew he had to act. His connections with local schools helped him organize teachers and students to support the lobbying campaign and then commit to overseeing the land.

As a local reserve, the site has no paid staff for maintenance and relies on student environmental clubs and other nature lovers to keep it clean and healthy. “This is a good example for the community to understand that ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’,” APB Director Viktar Fenchuk said. “Local people can achieve the results they want when they just go for it. Now they understand the importance and significance of nature preserves.”

Due to the success of the Sokoliniy Nature Reserve, APB is continuing to work on protecting other lands for birds, such as the wailers who live in the Pripiyat marshes along the Ukrainian border.