“Taiga” ( “ТАЙГА” in Russian）is a natural forest mainly consisting of conifers in arctic and subarctic zones. For us living in Japan, Taiga is far away, but closely connected with our everyday lives. There are actually very few people in Japan who know about these forests. If the number of people who know them does not increase, they may disappear in secret.

We thought “we must do something, before it is too late, in order to pass these forests on to future generations,” and that is when the Taiga Forum was started. In December 2009, we opened this website to communicate with as many people as possible regarding the Taiga forests located in Bikin river basin, far east Russia.

One of the largest Taiga is located in Primorsky Krai (Maritime Province), Russia. Bikin River, which is sourced from Sikhote-Alin Mountains, runs throughout the area. Aiming to preserve this forest for future generations, the Taiga Forum has committed to various kinds of initiatives through a diversified collaboration between a wide range of sectors including NGOs, businesses, researchers, artists, and local people. More specifically, to share information on how precious the Taiga and the Bikin River basin are, we have so far focused on the following projects:

• Conducting various events to publicize the Taiga in Bikin river basin as well as the ‘Tour to see the Taiga’ for Japanese people who wish to visit and chat firsthand with indigenous people living there
• Shooting of the documentary film (“Messages from the Taiga”) to show the true nature of the Taiga, culture and traditions of indigenous people living there
• Supporting local people to make their community sustainable at the same time to protect Bikin river basin. Such activities include: (i) developing alternative forest utilization to wood cutting, (ii) encouraging the utilization of non-timber forest products, and (iii) tackling with energy/waste issues
• Lobbing the Government of Russia and international community to push forward the conservation/preservation of Bikin river basin.

“What are the Taiga forests like?” “How do they connect with my life?” “If we can protect them, what the future will be like?” “So what can I do to protect them?” “What is the Taiga Forum?” — If you have such curiosities, please do visit our website. All our staff members are trying our best to make you feel that “It’s nice to know about the Taiga forests,” “I think I will find what I can do.” ?We hope that the Taiga will bring you many encounters.

Instructions for browsing our website

Back to top page: how to do it?

You can easily come back to the top page from every page. Just click the logo of “TAIGA FORUM” (with an image of the Taiga landscape) at the top left corner.

About the left column of the page

We hope you enjoy reading the following columns:

• Faces, Voices, Spirits: to encounter the Taiga through people
  Interviews and dialogues with people who live with the Taiga and who are committed to conservation of it
• BORN TO BE WILD: our friends born in Bikin
  What is the wildlife like in the Taiga? Enjoy to find various creatures, ranging from a big Siberian tiger to a small Amur hedgehog, thriving in Bikin river basin.
• TAIGA EXPLORERS: let’s go to Bikin
  Check the useful travel information about hands-on nature/traditional activities in the Taiga forests. You can also read the travel reports written by some who joined the Taiga tour.
• TO BE, OR NOT TO BE: activity logs of the Taiga Forum staff
  The purpose of this corner is to connect staff members of the Taiga Forum with you. Hope you check their enthusiastic messages and field reports.
• FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: biodiversity and village life
  Seeing is protecting. Have a look-in the pictures taken by local people, tourists and the Taiga Forum staff. You will find wonderful nature in Bikin river basin and living of Udege people there.

About the middle column of the page

In the middle column, the newest five articles are displayed.

About the right column of the page

What’s the temperature in Russia?

In “WEATHER / ПОГОДА” corner, you can always check the weather and temperature (the highest showed in red, the lowest in blue) in three main areas of our activity: Khabarovsk, Krasnyj Jar, and Vladivostok in far east Russia.

If you would like to know more details about the Taiga Forum, please also click the followings:

• About the Taiga Forum
• Messages from Our Leaders
• Basic Information on The Taiga and Bikin River
• Become a Taiga Supporter
• Contact Us

When you click each keyword, relevant articles are picked up by keyword searches.

You may add comments to individual articles by filling in the blank below each article. We welcome your comments and remarks. After being confirmed by our staff, your comments will be uploaded to the website. You may occasionally receive replies from our staff.