Around 40 grass carp fish have been released into the ponds of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Main Botanic Garden to prevent their eutrophication as part of a special WED celebration organised by UNEP Moscow.

Named ‘Clean Ponds Action,’ the event took place on 15 June in the N.V.Tsitsin Botanic Garden and tied in with the Russian Environmental Specialist Day. It was organised in partnership with the ERAECO Social Movement in the framework of the Ecoprojects of Russia Programme.

In Russia’s climate, grass carp are the most environmentally friendly way of cleaning ponds, as they consume the grass covering them.

A ceremony held for the release of the fish was opened by Professor Alexander Demidov, Director of the N.V.Tsitsin Main Botanic Garden of RAS, Ekaterina Tegina of UNEP Moscow and Natalia Alova, Board Chairman of the ERAECO Social Movement.

Welcoming addresses were delivered by Ksenia Skryleva, Deputy Head of Division at the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Nature Management and Sergey Mustaev, Associate Professor of the Aquiculture and Apiculture of the Russian State Agrarian University - which is named after the renowned Russian Botanist K.A.Timiryasev.

The event participants - around 30 in total - included representatives of the Main Botanic Garden, Russian UNEPcom, the National Sustainable Development Agency, NGOs, business, educational institutions and the media, including UN Radio who interviewed Mr Demidov.

After the fish were released, a round table took place, during which UNEP’s role and activities were presented to participants. Mr. Demidov thanked UNEP for organizing the event and expressed interest in continuing cooperation, including by using the Main Botanic Garden as a platform for environmental educational and awareness raising activities in future. Victor Usov, Executive Director of the Russian UNEPcom – which represents civil society - meanwhile voiced his readiness to facilitate contacts with academia and business representatives.

A discussion with participants was then followed by a reception, rounding off WED celebrations across UNEP’s six regional hubs.

UNEP’s work to strengthen ecosystem management in the pan-European region includes the Carpathian and Tehran Conventions, the Poverty and Environment Initiative and supporting countries to fulfil biodiversity-related international agreements.

To view a UN Radio production on the day, please click here. Please contact ekaterina.tegina@unep.org for information.