The Volga-Akhtuba floodplain is the world’s largest river valley. Its potential is actively used by humans and the valley suffers from anthropogenic pressure.

Restoration of degraded wetlands on the territory of the Biosphere Reserve has been underway since 2008 as part of international UNDP/GEF projects.
In order to ensure the sustainable existence of floodplain ecosystems in the management of economic activities, a system of evaluation by biological indicators was developed.

In 2015, the model area for the restoration of wetlands using the system of estimated indicators was chosen by the channel from Erik Kashirin, which supplies three floodplain lakes.
To improve the hydrological situation, the channel was cleared. In order to speed up the process of biodiversity restoration, technologies have been tested for the biogenic stabilization of shores and the replacement of invasive plant species by local species, which have created ecological niches for fauna. The recovery area was more than 9,000 ha.

The model of biodiversity restoration creates the prerequisites for its replication, which is confirmed by the plans of the regional authorities and the financing of activities within the framework of federal programmes in Russia.

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