Russia, Sakhalin

This book is dedicated to one of the most unique species of Russian fauna -- Steller's sea eagle, one of the most spectacular eagles in the world. It covers its biology, ecology, evolution, and conservation, and is based on original data collected in different parts of its range, supplemented with information from the literature.

An independent scientific review panel was formed under the auspices of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) to review the results of research on belugas (Delphinapterus leucas), or white whales, in the Sakhalin–Amur region of eastern Russia and to assess the sustainability of recent live-capture removals.

IUCN, as a neutral forum for objectively-based consensus seeking, is facing an ever-increasing demand to conduct independent scientific reviews of controversial development projects. As IUCN gains experience in conducting such processes, it is important to document which approaches lead to success and which ones cause problems, and to draw all these lessons into a more established methodology.

The population of western gray whales numbers only about 100 animals and is classified on IUCN's Red List as "critically endangered".