Mikhail Fridman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Group Consortium and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Bank, and Igor Chestin, Director of WWF-Russia, signed a cooperation agreement that will foster greater understanding of environmental issues in Russia.

The primary intent of WWF-Russia and Alfa Group is to fund environmental projects and draw attention to environmental issues related to the protection of nature and wildlife preservation in Russia.

The agreement will focus on the program “Living Planet”, whose purpose is to preserve major “Treasurers of the Earth” — including 200 world eco-regions, support for rare and endangered animal species, and changing the of use of natural recourses.

“Preservation of Russia’s natural and cultural heritage is an indispensable condition for intangible and material prosperity of the nation, that is why we have resolved to extend a wide-range support to the Fund”, — said Mikhail Fridman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Group Consortium.

According to Igor Chestin, Director of WWF-Russia, the agreement signed with Alfa Group means a beginning of strategic cooperation with Russian financial industrial groups, showing that today’s business community in Russia has a deep understanding of the global problems faced by humanity, and is undertaking its responsibility to the future generations.

In addition to funding the projects and initiatives held under the auspices of WWF-Russia, Alfa Group intends to provide for a wide-scale promotion of the Fund’s ideas among their employees and partners, and also to integrate the Fund’s ideas into their corporate communications.

The agreement was signed within the framework of the first international conference “Business, Charity and Mass Media”.