Tatiana Minayeva, Poland

Biography

From the vast nature reserves of the former Soviet Union to the peatlands of Mongolia and Peru, Tatiana's journey embodies the flow of the Amur-Heilong River she once helped protect.  She has  crossed many boarders. Her journey began as a young researcher, working in roles with the Russian Ministry for Environment where she built transborder conservation corridors spanning five countries. At WWF and Wetlands International, she translated science into action, inspiring oil executives to embrace ecological restoration. Now with Care for Ecosystems in Germany, she champions economic incentives that make conservation profitable while nurturing the next generation through her NGO "ABC-SDG." Her legacy lives in restored peatlands and in the children she inspires to see wetlands not as wastelands, but as essential foundations of life.

Q. What personal experience has shaped or inspired your journey?

When I was 14 years old, nearly 50 years ago, I participated in a school expedition for volunteer work at the Kandalaksha Nature Reserve on Ryashkov Island in the White Sea. At that time, the Nature Reserve had just been designated as a Ramsar Site — “Kandalaksha Bay” (1976). It was during the Soviet era, a period when scientists were actively engaged in establishing the Ramsar Convention. The significance of wetlands was a hot topic of discussion among the staff at the reserve, and that’s how I first learned about their importance. 

As schoolchildren, we primarily worked with the common eider—we measured eggs, monitored expected hatching times, and assisted with ringing the chicks. We also helped with various chores, including cooking in the kitchen and maintaining the research station. One memorable day, a local botanist named Elena Vorobieva invited me to assist her in mapping rare plant species. As we climbed the hills that encircle the centre of the island, I encountered down in the heart of the island something truly captivating—a beautiful peat bog. We went down, and it was like in a fairytale. Soft moss, beautiful flowers and smells. It was love at first sight, and that moment ignited a lifelong passion in me. For almost fifty years, I have dedicated myself to studying, protecting, conserving, and promoting peatlands. 
 

Q. Who is the influential figure who has inspired your actions, and what specifically about them has been motivating?

Throughout my school expeditions in Kandalaksha Bay, I had the privilege of working alongside many remarkable individuals, including Vitaly Bianki, Eveny Ninburg, and my teacher, Valentina Kudryavtseva. Valentina dedicated her career to guiding students on these expeditions each year from 1968 until her retirement and beyond. 

Later, I was fortunate to have Marina Botch, a renowned mire scientist, as my PhD supervisor. Marina’s passion for peatland conservation was truly inspiring. She led the UNESCO Telma program focused on protecting these vital ecosystems and was the first person I encountered who applied the “Wise Use” approach to mire and peatland conservation. What set Marina apart was her ability to engage with various stakeholders, including those in the peat industry, road construction, and the military. She skilfully explained, trained, and influenced them to adopt more sustainable land-use practices—a courageous endeavour, especially considering the challenges of being “different” in the Soviet Union at that time. She was an extraordinary woman. 

Marina also introduced me to many exceptional mire scientists, including Viktor Masing, Hugo Sjors, Kimmo Tolonen, Michael Steiner, Richard Lindsay, Asbjorn Moen and Andreas Gruenig. I had the honour of working and travelling to different peatlands with these dedicated conservationists, which further fuelled my commitment to this cause. 
 

Q. In your conservation efforts for wetlands, what key challenges did you face and how has this experience fuelled your dedication to making a positive impact?

During the first eleven years of my career, I lived in a village 350 km west of Moscow, working in a nature reserve. Despite graduating with excellence from Moscow University, I faced obstacles in pursuing an academic career due to my background as the daughter of a foreigner and a Jewish woman. In this village, scientists like me had to constantly explain the significance and necessity of our work to the local community. There was a pervasive atmosphere of hostility toward the nature reserve and its mission. 

To bridge this gap, we began involving local children in our projects, which inspired them to pursue further education. Today, many of these “nature reserve” children have achieved higher education. We constructed a walking board across the peatland for monitoring, which also allowed locals easier access to berry-picking areas. Additionally, we assisted community members with hay-making. Following perestroika, we facilitated interactions with foreign birdwatchers, who stayed with local families, generating income for the community. Gradually, our efforts were accepted, but this transformation required considerable patience and time. This experience taught me to navigate the delicate balance between local perceptions of nature and the imperative for conservation. 

During this period, I led a project to develop smaller protected areas on peatlands in the Tver region surrounding the nature reserve. This was particularly challenging, both during Soviet times and after perestroika, as the administration and land users were predominantly men while our project team consisted of three young women. It was often difficult to gain their attention and trust. 

Later, I became more involved in international work, including collaboration with the International Peat Society (IPS), which led to cooperation with the Russian Peat Society. This group was largely comprised of traditional, older men who were resistant to anything green. Despite these challenges, we eventually achieved significant progress in promoting the sustainable use of peatlands. Similarly, working with the oil and gas industry was initially daunting, but we managed to implement small yet meaningful changes, including mutual training, methodologies, peatland restoration pilots, and protocols for wise use. 

While working with WWF, I led a project to integrate protected areas, including Ramsar Sites, into regional management. During that time in Russia, it was still possible to engage directly with governors. While many were sceptical, I encountered a few who were genuinely inspired by our initiatives, particularly Mr Sudarenkov, the governor of Kaluga. We accomplished a lot together. 

My tenure at the ministry in the early 2000s left me with positive memories. During that period, Russia experienced a better gender balance within the government, which was filled with talented experts and influential women. Our achievements during that time were substantial, and my involvement with Ramsar’s Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) representing the Russian Federation was also inspiring. 

However, everything changed in 2008, making it increasingly difficult for me to work in Russia due to my dual citizenship and liberal values. I then transitioned to working with Wetlands International in the Netherlands and later Care for Ecosystems in Germany. But that is a different story with its own set of challenges. 
 

Q. As a woman who has made significant strides, where can you say investment is required to accelerate progress and empower women’s actions for wetlands?

Throughout my global experiences, I've observed that women play a crucial role in family-based land use patterns, particularly in land use planning. However, many women lack sufficient knowledge of peatland ecosystem functions and services and often struggle to articulate their traditional knowledge in a way that influences decision-making. Therefore, the first investment needed is in empowering women on the ground by enhancing their expertise and assisting them in framing their own knowledge for better decision-making. 
The second key area for investment involves engaging more girls from underprivileged families in nature conservation work while supporting their education. Educated women who return to their villages, districts, and countries become highly effective changemakers. Thus, investments should focus on engaging and educating girls from local communities, especially those living near wetlands. 

Third, there should be an increase in funding for interdisciplinary teams that work on an integrative approach to assessing the value of wetlands. Research in this area should aim to develop economic incentives that highlight the critical role of wetlands in providing ecosystem services, which are vital for the health and well-being of women and children, and, by extension, for society as a whole. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive sociological studies that examine how various groups, particularly women, are affected by changes in the status of wetlands. This kind of research should be included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. 

The international promotion of peatlands started in 1996 in the Ramsar Convention. By 2004, peatlands were already recognised within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and in 2006, they were included in decisions made by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and only in 2013 we got IPCC guidelines on reporting on peatlands. Time is of the essence, and we must fund these crucial studies now. We do not have 15 years.