OREANDA-NEWS. October 11, 2011. On the threshold of the International Conference Cranes of PaleoArctic: biology, protection, management, to be held in Volgograd on October 11-16, ITERA held a press briefing in its offices. The briefing was devoted to Flight of Hope, the International Ecological Project aimed at preserving and enlarging the population of sterkh, a unique white crane.  ITERA Oil and Gas Company provides for financial and information support to the Project, which involves ornithologists and specialists of the All-Russia Scientific and Research Institute of Nature of the Ministry for Protection of  Environment and Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, Oksky State Biosphere Reserve, as well as scientists from over a dozen countries. It was not by accident that the briefing was scheduled for October 6. It is the World Day of Protection of dwelling locations when people are urge to consider the state of ecology and, in particular, an issue of preserving inhabitancy of fauna on our planet.

Igor Makarov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ITERA Oil and Gas Company, and George Archibald, founder of Protection of Cranes International Fund (PCIF) took part in the briefing. Participants in the event discussed the results achieved by the Flight of Hope Project with the ITERA participation within the period of 2005 through 2011. During the past years it was possible to create five specialized motor-hang-gliders to help baby sterkhs find their way to their wintering places during seasonal migration. Moreover, on-land infrastructure has been created. Open-air cages for white cranes in Oksky Reserve had been repaired and modernized. Scientists have studied the migration route in detail. They also proved a possibility and suggested organizing wintering not in traditional areas, where birds get to via Afghanistan and Pakistan with intensive hunting for birds, but in a much safer location, such as Uzbekistan. Besides, they in Oksky Reserve improved methods of preparing young birds to the migration flight and a few dozen birds were let free in wild nature.

"The West Siberian population of sterkhs totals about 20 birds. It has been a few dozen years since people began trying to increase the number of sterkhs, but so far they could not radically change the trend. "ITERA could not remain indifferent to such an acute problem and provided assistance to scientists to help them salvage those unique birds", - Igor Makarov, Head of ITERA, said.

George Archibald, in his turn pointed out that "Ornithologists specifically expected to get results from the Flight of Hope Project related to salvation of sterkhs, and he expressed confidence that with the assistance of ITERA the Project would develop actively and successfully".

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 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. Training to technics and tactics of long-distance flights and development of migration ways is very important for baby cranes. 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 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.