The opening ceremony was conducted by the Head of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov, and the plenary session «Development of the System of Specially Protected Natural Territories» was launched by Prime Minister of the Republic’s Government Andrey Nazarov.

Olga Pliamina, General Director of the V.I. Vernadsky Nongovernmental Environmental Foundation, gave one of the opening speeches on «Implementation of Environmental Education Projects on the Basis of Specially Protected Natural Areas».
During the plenary session, Olga Pliamina awarded the "Order of V.I. Vernadsky" to the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Bashkortostan’s Republic Azat Basyrov and the Vice-Rector for Administrative and Economic Work, Professor of the Bashkir State Agrarian University Radik Mustafin for merits and achievements in the field of ecology, environmental protection, ensuring environmentally oriented sustainable development in the country and the world.
The Environmental Forum has been a federal platform for constructive dialogue and exchange of experience in the field of environmental protection for eight years and unites specialists and experts from many regions of Russia and foreign countries. Its impeccable organization and successful conduct largely depend on the professional work of the Bashkir Exhibition Company.
As part of the Forum, Olga Pliamina held meetings with members of the scientific community, members of the public, scholarship holders and partners of the Foundation from various regions of Russia participating in the Forum.
In an interview with journalists of the main republican TV channel "BST", Olga Pliamina spoke about long-term cooperation in the field of ecology with organizations and partners in the Republic of Bashkortostan. 
"Bashkortostan has one of the 24 regional commissions of the Foundation's scholarship program. Every year, there are young scientists among the scholarship holders — students and postgraduates from Bashkortostan.
Our cooperation with the Republic began in 2013. One of the formats was interaction with the Bashkortostan Committee of the Russian Federation Commission for UNESCO. The Foundation has consultative status with UNESCO. This determines our cooperation through biosphere reserves, the development of the UNESCO network of geoparks and education programs for sustainable development. By the way, the Yangan-Tau Geopark is still one and the first in Russia.
Our partners from the industrial segment, in particular, from the fuel and energy sector, are also located in Bashkortostan. It should be noted that companies always participate in our environmental contests, become winners and prize-winners. It is not a surprise that Bashkortostan always takes an active part in the Green Spring clean-up marathon. For example, this year the Bashkir State Agrarian University students opened a clean-up day «Green Spring-2024» in Bashkortostan even before the official start of the project, which is scheduled for April 20 in Moscow», - Olga Pliamina noted.