Russia will open nine new sanctuaries and 13 national parks with a total area of 3.8 million hectares by 2020, the Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Ministry said.

The ministry adopted territorial planning schedules in the development of specially protected natural territories of federal significance for the period until 2020.

"For the first time the development of a schedule of specially protected natural territories was planned based on an analysis of all the available information on the biological diversity in our country," the biodiversity program coordinator at WWF-Russia, Vladimir Krever, said.

New sanctuaries will appear on the Russian Kuril Islands in the Pacific Ocean and in the Russian Murmansk region. The territories of nine sanctuaries and one national park will also be extended. Also protected marine zones will be created with an area of over one million hectares.

It is planned that specially protected natural territories of federal significance will constitute 2.9 percent from the total territory of Russia instead of the 2.7 percent they currently occupy.

Russian biodiversity was analyzed by the World Wildlife Fund in 2006-2008 at the Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Ministry's request. Based on the information, the WWF estimated the sufficiency and efficiency of the existing Russian sanctuaries and natural parks and suggested a plan to develop them.

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti)