The field station in Shapsha is the main platform where Yugra State University implements international research projects in the area of ecology and natural resource management.

The Government of KMAO ? Yugra, in its resolution dated January 27, 2006, decided to allocate funding from the Autonomous Okrug budget to acquire state-of-the-art field lab equipment to support the development of the Center.

Areas of work performed at the International Field Station:

1. Obtaining reliable factual data on the volume of natural and industrial emissions of carbon-containing gases (СО2 and methane) and accumulation of carbon dioxide in peat, soils and live biomass of forest and swampland ecosystems.
2. Determining the role of peatlands in maintaining the gas composition of the atmosphere, which is critical for calculating and adjusting the established quotas of greenhouse emissions in the context of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.
3. Mobilizing financial and intellectual resources for a comprehensive study into development patterns of natural and manmade ecosystems and their role in maintaining the ecological balance as a platform for the regions sustainable socio-economiс development.
4. Integrating the field station into the International Network of Environmental Monitoring and Global Climate Change.
5. Academic and professional upgrading for experts, young scholars and students, making arrangements for internships and study abroad as part of international projects.
6. Arranging visits to the field station for western scientists and experts, developing scientific and environmental tourism on the basis of the field station.
7. Building a positive image of the region at the federal and international levels as a region committed to harmonizing relations between nature and society and investing into the study of global socio-ecological issues.

Agreement has been reached on cooperation with the following organizations:

• Utrecht University (Netherlands);
• University of Greifswald (Germany);
• Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (Jena, Germany);
• National Institute of Environmental Studies, Center for Global

Environmental Change (Tsukuba, Japan).