The 2nd Japan-Russia Cooperation Symposium on Conservation of Ecosystems Bordering Regions was held on May 13-15 at in Sapporo, Japan. The event was co-organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Environment of Japan and the ISTC. 

Participants reviewed the progress made in the frame of the Russia-Japan cooperative program for the conservation and sustainable use of the ecosystem in bordering areas between Japan and Russia, such as the Sea of Okhotsk. Over 70 participants attended the event, among whom Russian and Japanese scientists and experts, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. 

The main topics of the Symposium were:
· Physical and chemical observations and predictions on the Sea of Okhotsk
· Marine ecosystem, fish and fisheries;
· Marine mammals
· Birds, Sea birds, threatened birds;
· Land mammals, brown bears, bats;
· Ecosystem conservation and management strategies.