Eco-Volunteers Help the Pasvik Nature Reserve located Near the Town of Nikel to Purchase Equipment for a New Route

Eco-volunteers have been working together with the Pasvik Nature Reserve for several years. As partners, they have already fulfilled many eco-deals and green projects. This has been done as part of the Nornickel-organised environmental marathon “Let’s Do It,” which is one of the examples of the company’s efforts to address Nikel environmental problems. Marathon volunteers participated in the improvement of the visitors-center area in the nature reserve in Nikel, repaired the house of the Norwegian ornithologist Hans Skoning and the ornithological tower on the island of Varlam and renovated the flooring of the eco-trail on the tourist route in Pasvik.

This season, participants in the Nornickel-organised eco-marathon decided to support the creation of a winter route on the territory of the Pasvik Nature Reserve. To do this, in the summer, along with the nature reserve’s specialists, they determined the location of information stands and evaluated them from the viewpoint of future tourists.

Volunteers usually approach all their projects responsibly, so they decided to try out the equipment and tested the route in the woods wearing snowshoes and with special walking sticks. This equipment made it really convenient to walk through the snow-covered protected area.

There are plans to invite the first visitors to the new winter route of the Pasvik Nature Reserve in 2022, after the end of the Polar Night.

The nature reserve is located on the border of the northern taiga and forest-tundra, within the northern taiga subzone. Its western border coincides with the state border, which runs along the course of the Paz (Paatsjoki) River in its middle reaches. The eastern border runs along the line of engineering structures located near the Nickel-Rayakoski highway. From the north, Pasvik borders with Lake Salmijärvi, where from the south its border is marked by the mouth of the HPP Hevoskoski outlet canal (Hestefoss rapids) and a stream flowing into this mouth. The reserve is located 25 km south-west of the town of Nikel, while the distance from the southern border to the village of Rayakoski is about 30 km.

The length of the northern border is 8 km. The western border runs along 44 km. The southern border is solely 1 km while the eastern border stretches along 42 km. The narrowest part of the river near the Jordanfoss Peninsula is 200 m wide and is located 15 km from the southern border. The width of the land ranges from 350 m (in the southern and northern parts of the nature reserve) to 10 km (in the central part of the nature reserve, by the city of Kalkupya).

The cultural and historical past of this region is diverse. For many centuries, the border position of the reserve has created appealing conditions for interaction between east and west, different peoples and cultures. The twentieth century gave a lot in this respect – armies of different states left traces of their stay here: the British and Finns, Germans and Russians fought for this strategically important piece of land. The modern appearance of the Pasvik River valley has been shaped by the active industrial development of the territory:

• the mining and processing of minerals (near the Nikel settlement),
• the activities of forestry enterprises (before the formation of the reserve),
• the construction and operation of the Pasvik HPP Cascade,
• the construction of border facilities.

The creation of the nature reserve in the Pechenga district of the Murmansk region, which is unfavorable in terms of the ecological situation, was the result of cooperation between Norway and Russia in the field of protection of the northern nature, unique in its beauty and significance. The current support of the nature reserve by Nornickel is also driven by the urge to resolve Nikel environmental problems.

The modern visitor center of the Pasvik Nature Reserve has become a permanent base for the implementation of environmental education programs for residents of the border regions of Russia, Norway and Finland. It was opened in the town of Nikel bordering Norway. Supported by Nornickel, this center also addresses the issues of Nikel pollution and Nikel ecology.

Nornickel has invested over 70 million rubles in the creation of a visitor center in Nikel. It is expected that the visitor center will host scientific forums and events dedicated to the topic of environmental protection, including the Nikel environment.

The Nikel-based visitor center is a place where visitors receive information about the protected natural area, as well as related recreational services. Permanent and temporary exhibitions are organized here, classes are held for children and lectures are given to adults. The visitors can get expert advice on the main attractions and accommodation options available in the reserve, sign up for an excursion, visit a cafe, taste organic products produced in the local park or reserve, purchase booklets, maps and souvenirs. The visitor center is often the starting point for ecological trails. Moreover, the center touches upon the topics related to Nikel ecological problems and potential solutions.

The Pasvik Nature Reserve, within its Russian part, is part of the Pasvik-Inari trilateral transboundary park. It was established by a decree of the Russian government in 1992. The nature reserve is located in the valley of the Pasvik River, which flows out of Lake Inari in Finland, flows through Russia and flows into the Barents Sea in Norway. The area of ​​the reserve is 14.6 thousand hectares. The nature reserve was created with the aim of preserving and studying the northernmost pine forests in Europe, vast wetlands of world importance, waterfowl fauna and for comprehensive monitoring of the northern ecosystems.