notice of assignment of accounts receivable form

Notice of Assignment of Accounts Receivable (Assignor to Non-assigning Party)

This Notice of Assignment of Accounts Receivable template should be used to provide notice to the non-assigning party (typically the buyer of goods) that the seller (assignor) has assigned its right to receive payment for such goods to the assignee. This template contains practical guidance and drafting notes. For general information regarding assignments, see Commercial Contracts Assignment.

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Notice of Assignment of Accounts Receivable Under the PPSA: What Every Factor Should Know

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INTRODUCTION

Factoring is the legal relationship between a financial institution (the “Factor”) and a business (the “Client”) selling goods or providing services to a trade customer (the “Customer”), pursuant to which the Factor purchases the accounts receivable owing to the Client by its Customer. The Courts in Ontario have determined that a factoring agreement creates a security interest and, as such, is subject to the provisions of the Ontario Personal Property Security Act R.S.O. 1990 c.P.10 (the “PPSA”). This means, among other things, that the Factor must register a financing statement against the Client under the PPSA claiming a security interest in the Client’s accounts receivable. A factoring agreement may be on a notification or a non-notification basis.

A factoring agreement on a notification basis requires that the Client’s Customer be notified regarding the purchase of the accounts receivable by the Factor and the assignment of the accounts receivable by the Client to the Factor. One purpose of notifying the Customer is to require the Customer to make payment on the accounts receivable directly to the Factor, instead of to the Client.

A notice of assignment is governed by Section 40(2) of the PPSA, which states that an account debtor (i.e., the Customer) may pay the assignor (i.e., the Client) until the Customer receives notice, reasonably identifying the relevant rights, that the accounts receivable have been assigned. If requested by the Customer, the Factor is required, within a reasonable period of time, to furnish proof of the assignment and, if the Factor fails to do so, the Customer may pay the Client.

What constitutes adequate notice of an assignment of accounts receivable? The PPSA does not set out a statutory form of notice of assignment. In RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. v. Krones Machinery Co. Limited , 2010 ONSC 2372, C. W. Hourigan J. of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice was required to review a notification of assignment and to determine whether it was adequate. The Court’s decision is an important guide to the essential elements that should be included in the notice of assignment.

The facts were as follows:

1. On July 14, 2005, RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. (“RPG”) entered into a factoring agreement with its client Kennedy Automation Limited (“Kennedy”), pursuant to which RPG agreed to purchase certain of Kennedy’s accounts receivable, including accounts receivable due from its customer Krones Machinery Co. Limited (“Krones”).

2. On July 14, 2005, Kennedy faxed a notification of assignment to Krones, which read as follows:

“NOTIFICATION OF ASSIGNMENT

In order to grow and serve you better, we have retained the services of RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. to accelerate and stabilize our cash flow. Through their accounts receivable program, RPG has purchased and we have assigned to them all of our right, title and interest in all currently outstanding as well as all future accounts receivable from your company.

We request that all payments be made payable and mailed directly to:

RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc. (“RPG”)

Suite 300, 221 Lakeshore Road East

Oakville, ON L6J 1H7

Tel (905) 338-8777 (800) 837-0265

Fax (905) 842-0242

This notice of assignment and payment instructions will remain in full force and effect until RPG advises you otherwise in writing. Please note that their receipt of payment is the only valid discharge of the debt and that RPG’s interest has been registered under the Personal Property Security Act of the Province of Ontario.

Although this notification is effective upon receipt by you, in order to complete RPG’s records, we would appreciate your acknowledgement of this notification and your confirmation that:

• the invoices on the attached statement are for goods and/ or services completed to your satisfaction (please note any exceptions or simply provide a listing from your accounts payable); and
• that payments will be scheduled in accordance with the invoice terms and that your accounts payable records have been modified to ensure payment of the full invoice amounts directly to RPG or you will notify RPG of any disputes or potential chargebacks in a timely manner.

Please fax and mail the signed copy of this letter to RPG Receivables Purchase Group Inc., who shall be entitled to rely upon your notification and confirmation as a separate agreement made between you and them. Thanks for your help and cooperation. We look forward to serving you in the future.”

3. On August 5, 2006, Krones executed the notification of assignment and returned the executed copy to RPG.

4. In 2007, Kennedy entered into agreements with Krones for the supply of services and materials to Krones in relation to various projects including projects in Etobicoke, Edmonton, and Moncton.

5. Before Kennedy submitted its invoices to Krones, Kennedy provided the invoices to RPG and RPG stamped each invoice as follows:

“NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT All payments hereunder have been assigned and are to be made directly to:

RPG RECEIVABLES PURCHASE GROUP INC.

221 Lakeshore Road East, Suite 300

Any offsets or claims should be reported to:

(905) 338-8777 Ontario

(800) 837-0265

Fax (905) 842-0242”

6. Krones paid 13 of the 16 invoices issued by Kennedy. RPG did not receive any notice from Krones regarding any disputes, off-sets, chargebacks or claims arising out of the Edmonton or Etobicoke projects.

7. At or about the time that the three unpaid invoices were rendered, Kennedy began to experience difficulty in paying its subcontractors on the Moncton project.

8. When the Moncton project ran into difficulty, Krones stopped making payments on the Edmonton and Etobicoke invoices in a timely fashion.

9. RPG commenced an action against Krones in respect of the unpaid invoices for the Moncton project that RPG had factored.

10. Krones also commenced an action for damages against Kennedy relating to the Moncton project.

11. Krones denied liability in respect of the unpaid invoices on the grounds that it had a right to set- off due to alleged overpayments, chargebacks, and damages relating to the Moncton project. It also raised issues with respect to the validity of the assignment of the invoices by Kennedy to RPG and the validity of the invoices.

12. The Court decided in favour of RPG and granted it summary judgment in the amount of $183,172.61, plus interest, for payment of the three outstanding invoices.

THE DEFENCE OF SET-OFF

The primary defence of Krones was that it had a valid defence of set- off. In reviewing this defence, the Court referred to the legal principle of “mutuality”. In order to establish a valid claim of legal set-off, there must be mutuality which requires that the debts be between the same parties and that the debts be in the same right. The Court stated that this mutuality is lost where the debt has been assigned to another party (i.e., the Factor), unless the rights to set-off have accrued between the debtor (i.e., the Customer) and the original creditor (i.e., the Client) prior to receipt of the notice of assignment by the debtor. At the time that the accounts receivable owing by Krones to Kennedy were assigned to RPG, no right of set- off had accrued in respect of the alleged overpayments, chargebacks, and damages relating to the Moncton property. Therefore, Krones had no legal right to set-off, because the mutuality required for this defence was lost when the accounts receivable were assigned by Kennedy to RPG.

The Court also reviewed the purchase order for the Moncton project to see whether it contained a contractual right of set-off. The Court rejected this claim by Krones and found that there was no contractual right of set-off.

Finally, the Court considered the issue of equitable set-off and concluded that it was not available to Krones.

OTHER DEFENCES

In its other defences, Krones took issue with the validity of the invoices and the validity of the assignment by Kennedy to RPG. Krones argued that the notification of the assignment was limited to the invoice attached to the notification of assignment. The Court rejected this argument for three reasons:

1. This argument ignored the clear statement in the notice of assignment that “RPG has purchased and we have assigned to them all of our right, title and interest in all currently outstanding as well all future accounts receivable from your company”.

2. Each of the disputed invoices contained a stamped notification of assignment; and

3. Krones paid RPG directly for 13 of the 16 invoices. The Court also rejected a number of other arguments raised by Krones in its defence relating to the validity of the invoices.

CONCLUSIONS

In a notification factoring arrangement, a Factor needs to protect its interest in the purchased accounts receivable by giving written notice of the assignment to the Client’s Customer. According to Section 40(2) of the PPSA, the Customer may continue to pay the Client until the Customer receives notice that the accounts receivable have been assigned to the Factor. However, the PPSA does not set out a statutory form of notice, nor does the PPSA deal with any right of set- off that the Customer may claim with respect to the purchased accounts receivable. In general, a Factor can only “step into the shoes” of his Client and assert the same right that his Client has against the Customer. This means that, if the Customer has any right to claim a set-off against the accounts receivable owing to the Client, then the Factor is required to accept the reduction in payment as a result of any legitimate claim asserted by the Customer.

In order to protect its interest in the purchased accounts receivable, the Factor should send a notice of assignment, which when signed by the Customer, should accomplish the following purposes:

1. it should require the Customer to make payment on the purchased invoices directly to the Factor, instead of to the Client;

2. it should request the Customer to verify the accuracy of the purchased invoices;

3. it should eliminate the Customer’s right to claim any set-off or reduction in the amount payable on the accounts receivable in respect of the Client’s obligations arising after the delivery of the notice; and

4. It should create an enforceable direct contract between the Factor and the Customer.

Since the notification of assignment in the RPG case has been given the “judicial seal of approval”, it is recommended that this form be used by a Factor in Ontario. It is also recommended that the Factor follow the procedure referred to in the RPG case pursuant to which the Customer is requested to acknowledge and confirm the terms of the notification of assignment and return a signed copy to the Factor.

The Court in RPG also referred to the “stamped notification of assignment” on each of the disputed invoices as one of the reasons for rejecting the Customer’s defences. For this reason, it is recommended that this form of stamp also be used by a Factor in Ontario on each factored invoice before the invoice is submitted to the Customer.

If a Factor follows the above procedures, then the Factor should be able to collect from the Customer on the invoice, regardless of what issues arise between the Client and the Customer subsequent to the delivery of the notice of assignment. If the Customer refuses to acknowledge and sign the notice of assignment, then the Factor will have limited recourse against the Customer and will have to make a business decision regarding the risk involved in funding the invoice. Even if the Customer acknowledges and signs the notice of assignment, the Factor will still have to be on the alert for any future disputes between the Client and the Customer. For example, the form of notification used in the RPG case requires the Customer to notify the Factor of “any disputes or potential chargebacks” and the stamp on the invoices in this case requires the Customer to report “any offsets or claims”. If the Customer notifies the Factor about any such disputes, chargebacks, offsets, or claims, then the Factor will also have to evaluate the funding of the invoice.

A properly drafted notice of assignment will put the Factor in a stronger position to resist any reduction in payment claimed by the Customer. As a practical matter, however, the Factor should also try to confirm with the Customer prior to funding an invoice that there are no disputes between the Customer and the Client. This extra step could avoid the time and expense of litigation over the purchased accounts receivable.

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What is a Notice of Assignment? (Invoice Factoring)

A Notice of Assignment (NOA) is a document that factoring companies send to the end-customers of their clients. This document informs end-customers of the factoring financing relationship. Clients usually have some concerns when they learn that a factor will notify their customers. This article addresses these concerns and explains how the NOA works, why it is needed, and how to discuss it with customers. This article covers the following topics:

• How are factoring transactions structured?
• How are customer payments handled?
• What is the notice of assignment?
• What will your customers think?
• Financing programs that don’t use a notice of assignment

1. How are factoring transactions structured?

Invoice factoring is a type of financing that helps companies with cash flow problems due to slow-paying invoices. Factoring transactions are not structured like a conventional business loan. Instead, a business sells its receivables to a factoring company in exchange for a payment.

In most transactions, a factoring company buys your receivables and pays for them in two installments. Your get the first installment, called the advance, shortly after selling the invoices. This installment provides immediate cash flow to your business. It usually covers 70% to 90% of the invoice.

The factor deposits the remaining 10% to 30% that was not advanced, less the cost of service, as a second installment once your client pays in full. This second installment settles the transaction. Factoring programs work as revolving lines, and clients can use them as often as needed.

2. How are customer payments handled?

One of the reasons factors offer this service to small companies is that they take a more “hands-on” approach than conventional lenders. An important part of this “hands-on” approach is notifying the end-customer that the invoices have been purchased and payments have to be remitted to the factor. This notification is done through a Notice of Assignment.

3. What is a notice of assignment?

The use of an NOA is standard and common in the factoring industry. It is sent to the customer’s Accounts Payable department. The NOA advises the end-customer:

• That a factoring company is managing receivables
• That the proceeds of their invoices have been assigned to the factor
• That payment must be submitted to a new address (usually a bank lockbox)
• Of other items specific to the factor

From the perspective of the factoring company, this letter is critical. In an invoice factoring transaction, you sell the intangible financial rights to your receivables. Since receivables are not physical goods, the NOA allows the factoring company to notify your customers that the financial rights to the invoice have been sold to them.

4. What will your customers think?

Some clients have concerns about sending this letter to their customers. This concern is entirely understandable, and factoring companies will work with you to address this concern.

Keep in mind that invoice factoring is a very common financing tool. Many small and midsize companies use it to finance operations and growth. As a matter of fact, your customer is probably aware of factoring and how it works.

Each factoring company has its preferred way of handling the NOA. Most companies suggest that the business owner tell their client that an NOA is forthcoming. This discussion gives them a chance to explain the process and address customer questions. Here are some ideas to keep in mind as you speak to clients.

a) Factoring benefits them

Using factoring benefits your customers financially. Factoring allows you to provide customers with 30- to 60-day payment terms while also offering them good service. This approach allows your customers to use their cash more effectively. Offering terms without factoring is difficult, especially if the business is growing.

b) Your company still provides services and support

You need to explain to customers that little is actually changing. Your company still provides all the services and support. They still communicate with you and your employees regularly.

c) Your company is not in trouble

Factoring does not necessarily mean that your company is in trouble. You may need to remind your customers that companies use factoring to achieve many objectives. This is true for any type of financing, including loans and lines of credit. Factoring is just a tool that smooths your cash flow.

5. Financing programs that don’t use an NOA

Some companies may avoid using an NOA if they qualify for some enhanced forms of receivables financing. There are two possible alternatives.

a) Non-notification factoring

A non-notification factoring plan works just like a regular factoring plan with a couple of exceptions. The most important difference is that the customer does not receive a conventional Notice of Assignment. Your customers still send payments to a new address. However, they are not told that the address belongs to the factor. Most factoring companies that offer this service send the change of address using your regular letterhead.

To qualify for non-notification factoring, companies have to meet these criteria:

• Minimum of $300,000 monthly revenues
• Track record longer than a year
• Reliable financial reports
• No serious financial difficulties

If your company qualifies for non-notification factoring, you should consider sales ledger financing instead. The qualification requirements are similar, but we believe sales ledger financing is a better solution.

b) Sales ledger financing

A sales ledger financing line operates much like a receivables line of credit . Your company can draw up to 90% of its outstanding receivables at any given time. These lines are much more flexible than a non-notification line. They operate with a borrowing certificate, so there is no need to submit a factoring schedule of accounts each time you need funds.

The finance company still handles payments. However, your customer does not get a Notice of Assignment. Instead, they get a letter indicating that the payment address has changed.

The qualification requirements are similar to the qualification requirements of non-notification factoring. We believe it is a better solution because advances are flexible, and lines usually have daily rates. This feature allows you to have better cost control. The qualification requirements include:

• Minimum 1- to 2-year track record
• Good receivables management systems

Get more information

Are you looking for a factoring quote ? We are a leading factoring company and can provide high advances at low rates. For information, call (877) 300 3258.

Note: The Notice of Assignment document and your factoring contracts are very important documents. Have a lawyer review and explain them to you to ensure you understand them. This article is not intended as legal advice.

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Assignment of Accounts Receivable: Meaning, Considerations

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a degree in accounting and finance from DePaul University.

Investopedia / Jiaqi Zhou

What Is Assignment of Accounts Receivable?

Assignment of accounts receivable is a lending agreement whereby the borrower assigns accounts receivable to the lending institution. In exchange for this assignment of accounts receivable, the borrower receives a loan for a percentage, which could be as high as 100%, of the accounts receivable.

The borrower pays interest, a service charge on the loan, and the assigned receivables serve as collateral. If the borrower fails to repay the loan, the agreement allows the lender to collect the assigned receivables.

Key Takeaways

• Assignment of accounts receivable is a method of debt financing whereby the lender takes over the borrowing company's receivables.
• This form of alternative financing is often seen as less desirable, as it can be quite costly to the borrower, with APRs as high as 100% annualized.
• Usually, new and rapidly growing firms or those that cannot find traditional financing elsewhere will seek this method.
• Accounts receivable are considered to be liquid assets.
• If a borrower doesn't repay their loan, the assignment of accounts agreement protects the lender.

Understanding Assignment of Accounts Receivable

With an assignment of accounts receivable, the borrower retains ownership of the assigned receivables and therefore retains the risk that some accounts receivable will not be repaid. In this case, the lending institution may demand payment directly from the borrower. This arrangement is called an "assignment of accounts receivable with recourse." Assignment of accounts receivable should not be confused with pledging or with accounts receivable financing .

An assignment of accounts receivable has been typically more expensive than other forms of borrowing. Often, companies that use it are unable to obtain less costly options. Sometimes it is used by companies that are growing rapidly or otherwise have too little cash on hand to fund their operations.

New startups in Fintech, like C2FO, are addressing this segment of the supply chain finance by creating marketplaces for account receivables. Liduidx is another Fintech company providing solutions through digitization of this process and connecting funding providers.

Financiers may be willing to structure accounts receivable financing agreements in different ways with various potential provisions.​

Special Considerations

Accounts receivable (AR, or simply "receivables") refer to a firm's outstanding balances of invoices billed to customers that haven't been paid yet. Accounts receivables are reported on a company’s balance sheet as an asset, usually a current asset with invoice payments due within one year.

Accounts receivable are considered to be a relatively liquid asset . As such, these funds due are of potential value for lenders and financiers. Some companies may see their accounts receivable as a burden since they are expected to be paid but require collections and cannot be converted to cash immediately. As such, accounts receivable assignment may be attractive to certain firms.

The process of assignment of accounts receivable, along with other forms of financing, is often known as factoring, and the companies that focus on it may be called factoring companies. Factoring companies will usually focus substantially on the business of accounts receivable financing, but factoring, in general, a product of any financier.

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What is a Notice of Assignment?

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When you enter a factoring contract, you agree to sell your invoices, or accounts receivable, to a factoring company or third party that gives you a cash advance. This third party will then become your company’s collection department on these invoices. To notify your clients of this change of invoice ownership, the financial provider will send them a Notice of Assignment (NOA).

If you’re considering factoring your accounts receivable, you may be wondering what an NOA contains and what effects it may have on your customers and business. In this guide, we’ll cover the components of an NOA, how your factoring company sends them, and their role in the factoring process.

What is a NOA in Factoring?

A notice of assignment is a simple letter from a third party to your customers. It legally explains that a change of invoice ownership has occurred, informing your clients that a third party (bank, factoring company, financing company) will now manage and collect accounts receivable. The NOA will provide a remittance address so customers can update their payment information. The purpose of this communication is to notify your customers of a change in the collection process.

What Is a Notice of Assignment?

Understand how implementing a Notice of Assignment with Porter Capital’s factoring services can fast-track your receivables!

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How Do Factoring Companies Notify Your Customers?

Factoring is more common than ever and clients range from NYC modeling agencies and namesake branded product line manufacturers, to small startup companies selling gourmet food items. No company is too large or too small to factor their invoices and many work with big box stores that demand longer payment terms to have products on their shelves. These 90 to 120 day payment terms can make factoring a necessity for smooth cash flow.

Your customers will receive the NOA as a letter in the mail to sign and return. Your business will also receive a copy of this letter. Ensure you fully understand the language used in the NOA and your responsibilities in the transition process. Sometimes business owners worry about their customers’ reactions to receiving an NOA. Invoice factoring is becoming an increasingly popular and acceptable means for financing businesses across many industries, so your customers may already be accustomed to the process. You can alert your clients about a coming NOA, proactively resolving any questions or concerns that may arise.

Why Is a NOA in Factoring Important?

When you enter a factoring contract, you agree to sell the intangible financial rights to your invoices and receive cash up front for those invoices. Because the rights are intangible, factoring companies need legal language that outlines ownership of the AR. Once the NOA is completed, a business receives the cash advance while the factor waits for invoice payments. The NOA is a critical part of the financial relationship and protects the financing provider in the event of misdirected payments. An NOA ensures all parties are aware of their responsibilities throughout the factoring process so everyone can enjoy the benefits.

Components of a NOA Document

The NOA document will contain a few vital pieces of information, including:

• Notification that accounts receivable have been assigned and is payable to a third party
• An updated payment address.
• An explanation of customer liability in the event of a misdirected payment.

Each component of the NOA ensures the factoring relationship runs smoothly by giving customers the information they need to make correct payments. It may also outline steps for your company to take if you receive a misdirected payment.

Contact Porter Capital for a Factoring Quote

When you need to improve your cash flow, consider invoice factoring with Porter Capital. With over 30 years in the business, we can offer you and your customers the reliable and trustworthy services you expect and deserve. We will help you find the best solutions for your specific business demands, enabling you to enjoy greater stability and flexibility.

Work with a trusted factoring company to expand your business, get ahead of the competition and increase customer satisfaction. Contact us online today to receive a quote for our factoring services.

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Notice of Assignment of Accounts Receivable (Assignee to Non-Assigning Party)

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Assignment of Debtor Account, Notice

TO: __________________ _____________________ _____________________

Re:  Your account with __________________________

Your account with __________________________ has been transferred to ___________________________. Effective immediately, all payments in regard to this account must be made to ___________ ________________ at the following address: __________________________________ __________________________________

You will not receive credit for payments made to ______________________. ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE TO ___________________________.

Dated: ___________________

__________________________________ for ____________________________

cc Party to Whom the Payments are to be Sent

Assignment of Debtor Account, Notice Review list

This review list is provided to inform you about this document in question and assist you in its preparation.  This Assignment notice can be used in a variety of circumstances ranging from outright selling a debt or Accounts Receivable, to a host of other circumstances.  We recommend you copy the party to whom the payments are sent to fulfill your obligations to them as well as to inform the debtor that this has been done.

1. Mail and fax notices to the debtor.  Send a copy to the new party and keep a copy in the file of your transaction with them.

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13 February 2023

Notice of Assignment in Factoring in the U.S

When a business uses invoice factoring, they transfer ownership of its accounts receivable to a factoring company, which then has the responsibility to collect payment for those invoices.

Therefore, a document is issued to alert its customers of this. This is known as a notice of assignment.

Meaning of Notice of Assignment

A notice of assignment is a document that notifies clients that a factoring company has acquired ownership of their accounts receivable, or invoices, from the original business.

The notice's objective is to alert customers to the ownership change and specify who should receive payments.

Importance of Notice of Assignment

A notice of assignment is vital because it officially notifies customers that the ownership of an invoice has changed hands and that they should now direct payments to the factoring company.

The notice helps ensure that payments are sent to the appropriate parties , avoiding misunderstandings and potential conflicts and preventing uncertainty.

In the event of a disagreement, having a detailed and official notice of assignment can safeguard the legal interests of both the company and the factoring company.

Impact of Notice of Assignment on Businesses

The possible impacts faced by businesses by using a factoring company and sending their customers a notice of assignment are:

1. Enhanced customer relationships: By providing clear and official notification to customers of the change in ownership of invoices, a business can help maintain and strengthen its relationship with them.

2. Improved cash flow: By transferring ownership of invoices to a factoring company, a business can receive payment more quickly and improve its overall cash flow.

3. Increased operational efficiency: By using a factoring company to manage the collections process, a business can free up internal resources and focus on its core operations, leading to increased efficiency.

4. Reduced risk: By transferring the responsibility of collecting payment to a factoring company, a business can reduce its exposure to the risk of non-payment and bad debt.

However, before deciding to utilize factoring , it's crucial to consider any potential drawbacks, such as losing control over the collection process and the expense of the factoring service.

Factors Covered in a Notice of Assignment The main sections covered are:

• The company's accounts receivable have been transferred to a third-party financial institution, and payment should now be made to them
• The customer should now send payments to a new address, typically a secure payment processing location
• The customer will be responsible if they make a payment to the wrong address

Information in a Notice of Assignment

In a factoring notice of assignment, the following details are covered to notify the business’ customer about the transfer of ownership of accounts receivable:

• Particulars of the accounts receivable being assigned , including the amount and invoice numbers
• Details of the factor and the client/debtor
• Specifics of the assignment of the accounts receivable, including the effective date and any conditions of the assignment
• Instructions for the customer on how to direct future payments to the factor
• Any other relevant terms and conditions of the factoring agreement

What Happens When an Obligor Doesn’t Receive Notice of Agreement

A business that sells its accounts receivables (invoices) to a third-party factor must send a notice of agreement to its customers.

The purpose of the notice is to inform the customer that the factor has taken ownership of the invoice, and the payments should be made directly to the factor instead of the business.

If the customer does not receive the notice, they may continue to make the payments to the business, leading to confusion, delayed payments to the factor and potential disputes.

In some cases, the customer may have the right to demand a return of the payment made to the factor or stop payment if the notice of assignment was not correctly given.

How to Receive Notice of Agreement

A factoring notice of agreement is typically provided by the factoring company or third-party factor that has purchased the accounts receivable (invoices) from the business.

The notice is usually generated by the factor and given to the business to send to its customers.

The business may also be responsible for ensuring that the notice of assignment is delivered correctly to its customers.

Some factoring companies provide templates or sample notices that the business can use.

Requirements for a Notice of Assignment

To obtain a notice of assignment (NOA) from a factoring company, the following requirements are necessary:

• Monthly revenue of at least $300,000
• A stable financial track record of 1-2 years
• Accurate and trustworthy financial reports
• Effective management of accounts receivable
• No significant financial difficulties

1. Who Sends a Factoring Notice of Assignment? A factoring notice of assignment is typically sent by the business that has sold its accounts receivables or invoices to a third-party factor or factoring company.

The factor usually provides the notice of assignment, and the business may have to sign a factoring agreement with the factor to obtain the notice.

The notice informs the business’ customers that the factor has taken over the ownership of the invoices, and the payments should be made directly to the factoring company instead of the business.

2. How Much Does a Notice of Assignment Cost? The cost for issuing a notice of assignment in factor can differ based on various elements, such as the amount assigned, the state where the assignment is taking place and the particular provisions of the assignment agreement.

This cost may include legal fees, filing paperwork fees and other administrative expenses. It's crucial to examine the assignment agreement thoroughly to determine the precise cost and be aware of any additional fees that may be incurred.

3. How Long Does a Notice of Assignment Take? The duration of issuing a notice of assignment in factoring can differ based on particular circumstances. Usually, the process can take anywhere between a few days to weeks.

The length of the time may be influenced by factors such as the state in which the assignment is getting issued, the complexity of the assignment agreement and the accessibility of relevant parties.

Moreover, the time needed for the notice of assignment may be affected by any legal challenges or hindrances.

4. Does Notice of Assessment Mean You Owe Money? In the United States, a notice of assessment usually implies that you owe money to the government.

However, it is contingent on particular circumstances. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sends out the notice of assessment to inform taxpayers of any modification to their tax obligations.

If the notice displays an increase in the amount owed, it implies that the taxpayer has an outstanding balance with the IRS and should pay it promptly to prevent further interest and penalties.

On the other hand, if it shows a decrease in the amount owed, it showcases that the taxpayer has paid more taxes than required and may be eligible for a refund.

It is, therefore, always advisable to thoroughly examine the notice and to get help from a professional.

5. Is Notice of Agreement a Proof of Debt? A notice of agreement alone is not considered proof of a debt. The document merely outlines the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties involved.

It is not enough evidence to confirm the presence of debt but rather serves as a record of the agreement between the parties.

To establish proof of debt, other financial documents such as receipts, invoices or other documentation may be necessary.

The specific requirements for proving a debt depend upon the type of debt and the laws of the jurisdiction where it is being established.

6. What is a Letter of Release? A letter of release from a factoring company is a declaration that a debt has been satisfied and is no longer the company's responsibility.

In factoring, a business sells its accounts receivable to a factoring company for a fee to receive cash quickly.

Upon receiving the payment on the accounts receivable by the business’ customer, the factoring company issues a letter of release, confirming that the debt has been fully paid off and the company is no longer obligated to it.

The letter serves as proof that the debt has been fully resolved. It can be used to clear the debt from the business's financial records.

The specifics of the letter of release, including the terms and conditions, will depend on the particular factoring agreement and the laws in the jurisdiction where it is formed and drafted.

Siddhi Parekh

Finance manager at drip capital.

Table of Content

• Information in a NOA
• What Happens When an Obligor Doesn’t Receive NOA
• How to Receive NOA
• Requirements for NOA

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Notice of Assignment of Accounts Receivable (Assignor to Non-Assigning Party) | Practical Law

Notice of Assignment of Accounts Receivable (Assignor to Non-Assigning Party)

Practical law standard document w-007-0305  (approx. 10 pages).

Notice of assignment in invoice factoring

Many businesses that are underserved by banks - such as startups and those engaged in international trade - are turning to alternative funding solutions, such as invoice factoring, to access liquid capital, reaping the rewards in speed, efficiency, and simplicity. However, each of these financial services includes documentation to ensure a smooth process and to avoid relationships or contracts breaking down. For example, in an invoice factoring agreement, the finance provider must issue a 'notice of assignment'.

In this guide, Stenn explains what a notice of assignment is and its role in an invoice factoring agreement.

What is a notice of assignment (NOA)?

A notice of assignment is issued in an invoice factoring agreement - in which an intermediary provider buys a company's accounts receivable and assumes responsibility for chasing payment from the debtors.

In this agreement, the factoring company must advise each debtor that it has taken ownership of the right to collection.

A notice of assignment (NOA) is the legal document presented to the owing party, proving that the invoice factoring company is eligible to assume ownership of debts owed to their client. It's a legal agreement that informs accounts payable that a third party will receive invoice payments instead of the original invoice owner.

What is included in an NOA?

A notice of assignment (NOA) is a legal document that must be drafted in a certain format, with several key elements that must be included. These are essential in providing the terms, contract information and stipulations of the debts being bought:

• Proof of Assignment: All notices of assignment must include proof of debt ownership. This must include a warning that accounts payable shall now be directed to a third party, who that third party is and the accounts that need to be paid.
• Address: The notice of assignment must include a new payment address associated with the factoring provider.
• Liability Warning: An explanation and warning of the parameters for customer liability in the event of a misdirected payment and the repercussions for missed payments.

Why is an NOA important in factoring?

A notice of assignment is important in factoring as it gives the debtor a clear outline of whom further payments will be sent to, and the third party now involved in taking over debt liability.

It also provides a factoring company with proof that they now have ownership over those liabilities. This allows for smooth and effective cross-party communication and outlines the responsibilities of both parties in binding legal terms.

This represents an important part of the invoice factoring process - as the exporter signs over ownership of its invoice, allowing it to continue offering attractive delayed payment terms to importers without risking bad debt or being unable to meet its own accounts payable obligations. The importer simply has to amend payment details when paying the invoice, with no further obligations or expectations.

Plus, an NOA is one of only two documents that a client needs to sign to qualify for invoice factoring with Stenn - and this process is fully online, making it easy to apply in just minutes.  

For more information on invoice factoring and the process of applying for finance with Stenn, check out our helpful video .

How will it affect business?

When a notice of assignment has been issued, the invoice factoring company takes control of the debts as a third party, and the previous owner of those debts receives an advance on owed payments quickly.

The significant consideration for any company accessing invoice factoring - and therefore notice of assignment - is the fees associated with the service. Invoice factoring providers buy customer invoices at a slight discount, meaning the client doesn't receive the full invoice amount owed.

No major aspects of the debt change for the owing party, which simply amends the company to which it submits full payment of its accounts payable. However, some stipulations of mispayments may change as may the terms by which repayments can be enforced.

This includes the supplier-buyer relationship, which remains unchanged. Invoice factoring services simply allow the buyer to enjoy longer payment terms while the supplier gets immediate access to liquid capital, which it can invest in improving its offering long-term.

Access invoice factoring with Stenn

Are you engaged in overseas trade with delayed payment terms? Do you need a liquid capital injection to help cover your own accounts payable in the short term or to fund business growth? Simply submit your unpaid invoices for an instant working capital boost.

Stenn finances invoices for hundreds of small and medium-sized importers and exporters with manageable payment terms. And we only require two documents to be signed to qualify for funding, so we don't need to see your credit score.

Apply for financing with Stenn today or find out about the other financing options available to your business in our Resource Hub - including guides to:

• Invoice financing
• Revenue-based financing
• Stock financing
• Business Lines lines of credit
• Alternative lending options for e-commerce businesses

  About the Authors

This article is authored by the Stenn research team and is part of our educational series.

Stenn is the largest and  fastest-growing online platform  for financing small and medium-sized businesses engaged in international trade. It is based in London, provides financing services in 74 countries and is backed by financial giants like  HSBC ,  Barclays ,  Natixis  and many others.

Stenn provides liquid cash to SMEs within the global financial system. On stenn.com you can apply online for  financing and trade credit protection  from  $10 000 to $10 million (USD) . Only  two documents  are required.  No collateral  is needed and  funds are transferred within 48 hours  of approval.

Check the  financing limit available on your deal  or go straight to Stenn's  easy online application form .

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• You may copy the content to your website page but only if you acknowledge this website as the source of the material and provide a backlink to this article.
• You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content in any other way. 

Disclaimer : The above article has been prepared on the basis of Stenn's understanding of the subject. It is for information only and doesn't constitute advice or recommendation. Whilst every care has been taken in preparing this article, we cannot guarantee that inaccuracies will not occur. Stenn International Ltd. will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of anything published above. All those applying for credit should seek professional advice when doing so.

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The Role of a Notice of Assignment in Invoice Factoring

• April 27, 2023

When using invoice factoring, you sell and assign the rights, title, and interest in your accounts receivable to a factoring company. The rights you assign include the right to receive payment for the accounts receivable. A Notice of Assignment is a document that is used to notify your customers that you have sold accounts receivable to a factor.

What is Included in a Notice of Assignment?

A Notice of Assignment (“NOA”) is a letter sent by the factoring company (“factor”) to your customers (aka “account debtors”) notifying them that the ownership of your accounts receivable, or invoices, has changed hands to the factor, and payments should be made in accordance with the instructions provided.

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) provides guidance on certain information that must be included in the NOA in order to make it effective.  The notice must:

• Advise your customer, the account debtor, that the amount/ invoice due has been assigned to the factoring company
• Advise that payment is to be made to the factoring company and not any other party
• Include remittance details so your customer is informed how payment should be made
• Be signed by the factoring company or the client

In some cases, the NOA may include language that deems continued use of your services to be consent to the terms of the NOA. The factor can, however, require your customers to sign and return a copy of the NOA to acknowledge receipt. Enforceability of a NOA is reliant on proof of receipt by the account debtor therefore, it is important to send the notice in a manner that provides proof of receipt by the account debtor.

The factor may revoke an NOA by sending a signed and notarized release notification to your customers. They will revoke an NOA if you decide not to factor an account any longer or if the factoring relationship has been terminated. An NOA can only be revoked if the account has no outstanding invoice balances.

The Importance of Sending a NOA to Your Customers

The NOA informs the parties to a factoring transaction of their responsibilities and provides the remittance details needed to make payments, so your factoring relationship flows smoothly without interruption. It also protects the factor in case you, the client, receive the payment instead of the factoring company.

From a legal perspective, a NOA explains to your customers that any payments made to you instead of the factor will not satisfy their obligation to pay outstanding invoices. Your customers may be held liable for payments made to you if they ignore the NOA or do not update accounts payable information.

If your customers continue to pay you for factored invoices, and you deposit those payments into your bank account, it is important to note that you may be responsible for penalties and additional fees for the extra time it takes for the factor to receive payment. Your factoring agreement may also include a misdirected payment fee you will have to pay if you fail to send the misdirected payments to the factor.

The best way to avoid any penalties or additional fees is to monitor customer compliance with the terms of the NOA, and take steps immediately to correct any situations where customers are misdirecting payments to your company instead of the factoring company.

Handling of Payments for Non-Factored Invoices

When you factor your accounts receivable, you agree to direct all payments for all current and future invoices to the factor, including payments for invoices you did not factor. This avoids the confusion that would otherwise occur, ensures the factoring company receives every payment, and streamlines the payment process. It prevents your customer from needing to maintain two vendors in their accounting system with differing payment instructions and reduces the likelihood of misdirected payments.

Your factoring agreement will include a procedure for handling payments for non-factored invoices. This may include sending you the total amount in a reserve release or applying the payments to open invoices and sending you the difference. Typically, when a factor receives payment for a non-factored invoice, the proceeds will be forwarded to you once the funds clear their bank account. Make sure you understand the procedure so that you comply with the NOA and avoid possible confusion affecting your relationship with your customer and the factor.

Explaining Your Decision to Factor to Your Customers

Before you begin a factoring relationship and your customers receive a NOA, it is always a good idea to explain to your customers why you have decided to factor their invoices.

Your customer should understand that your decision to factor is a positive step intended to improve your finances. Factoring is not a loan. Factoring provides access to working capital and cash flow so you can purchase materials/supplies, improve staffing and facilities to meet or exceed customer requirements and take on new or larger projects.

Invoice factoring allows you to continue offering the same payment terms your customers currently enjoy. Furthermore, you may be able to offer better payment terms based on the factoring facility.

It’s important to let customers know that outside of invoicing, their relationship will not change. You will still be providing the highest level of quality products and services. Customers want to be assured their business will not be impacted by your decision. The more you can do to assure customers that most things will not change, the more likely they will be comfortable

—–

The NOA is an important document that facilitates invoice factoring. It explains how payments are to be handled so that transactions flow smoothly between your company, customers and the factoring company.

Capstone is a leading commercial finance company that provides a range of financial products designed to meet the cash flow and working capital needs of nearly any type of business, including trade financing, invoice factoring, and PO financing. Contact Capstone at (212) 755-3636 to learn how invoice factoring can accelerate the conversion of your accounts receivable into immediate cash.

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• General Form of Factoring Agreement - Assignment of Accounts...

Notice Of Assignment Factoring Sample

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How to fill out Assignment Of Receivables ?

Show more info, assignment of receivables agreement form rating, notice of assignment trucking pdf form popularity, ar factoring other form names, factoring agreement template faq, what is assignment of accounts receivable.

Assignment of accounts receivable is a lending agreement whereby the borrower assigns accounts receivable to the lending institution.The borrower pays interest and a service charge on the loan and the assigned receivables serve as collateral.

How does a factoring agreement work?

The factoring company pays you the bulk of the invoiced amount immediately, typically up to 80-90% of the value, after verifying that the invoices are valid. Your customers pay the factoring company directly.The factoring company pays you the remaining invoice amount minus their fee once they've been paid in full.

What happens when you collect accounts receivable?

At the point of delivering the goods or services, the company debits Accounts Receivable and credits Sales Revenues or Service Revenues. When an account receivable is collected 30 days later, the asset account Accounts Receivable is reduced and the asset account Cash is increased.

How does assignment of accounts receivable differ from factoring?

It is not uncommon that companies with cash flow problems or those that have a desire to be paid on expedited terms assign their accounts receivables as collateral for a secured loan or they factor them.In the case of factoring, the contractor sells its accounts receivable to the financial institution or the factor.

What is a notice of assignment in trucking?

What is a Notice of Assignment? The Notice of Assignment is a simple letter that the factor company will send to your customers whose invoices you are factoring.

What is the purpose of assigning accounts receivable?

The purpose of assigning accounts receivable is to provide collateral in order to obtain a loan. To illustrate, let's assume that a corporation receives a special order from a new customer whose credit rating is superb.

What does collection of accounts receivable mean?

The simplest definition of accounts receivable is money owed to an entity by its customers. Correspondingly, the amount not yet received is credit and, of course, the amount still owed past the due date is collections.

What is a factoring agreement?

What Is a Factoring Agreement? A company and a factor enter into an agreement in which the factor purchases a company's accounts receivable (such purchased accounts are called factored accounts), collects on the factored accounts, then pays the company the purchase price of the accounts.

Factoring Notice Of Assignment Trusted and secure by over 3 million people of the world’s leading companies

Primorsky (Krai)

The region’s capital is Vladivostok and differs from other Russian cities, not only in its Pacific location, but also in its spicy combination of European and Asian, both in its appearance and in the habits of its inhabitants.

It’s not particularly cute to go around calling the city “the Russian San Francisco” - just cheesy. The only similarities between the two are the hills and the beautiful bridges. The city actually has a much closer relative - Istanbul. 

Calling Vladivostok ‘Russian San Francisco’ is bad form, both in relation to San Fran and to Vladik itself. The only similarities are the hills and beautiful bridges. The city has a closer “relative” - Istanbul, Turkey.

When a Russian military detachment was looking for a stronghold on the Sea of ​​Japan and finally found a convenient bay, its outlines and relief reminded them of Constantinople (now Istanbul), well known to them. By analogy, the bay was called the ‘Golden Horn’ and the strait was called the ‘Eastern Bosphorus’.

• Places - Siberia and the Russian Far East

Russian Far East

The Russian Far East is a region in eastern Russia that includes the territories that run along the Pacific coast and the Amur River, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin island and the Kuril Islands. It is a cold, inhospitable and sparsely populated area with stunning scenery, rich fisheries, virgin forest, remote towns, Siberian tigers and Aumur leopards. Sometimes the Russian Far East is regarded as part of Siberia.

Rachel Dickinson wrote in The Atlantic: Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District is huge — 2.4 million square miles, roughly twice the size of India — and takes up one-third of the country, but only 6.7 million people populate that vast space. (The district’s biggest city is Vladivostok — best known for being the last stop on the Trans-Siberian Railroad and home to the Russian Pacific fleet.) Provideniya was once a thriving military town with a population as high as 10,000; today the population is about 2,000. Most of the ethnic Russians have left, ceding the city to the region’s indigenous people. Now the government is struggling to stem the tide of people leaving the desolate Far East. [Source: Rachel Dickinson, The Atlantic, July/August 2009]

The entire Russian Pacific coastline extends for almost 16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles). The formal dividing line between Siberia and the Far East are the borders of the Khabarovsk territory and Magadan region, which extends between 160 kilometers (100 miles) to 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) inland from the Russia's east coast. Siberia, the Russian Far East and Kamchatka were largely covered by glaciers during the last Ice Age, which ended about 10,000 years ago. In the Soviet era, the Far East had its share of gulags and labor camps, Maksim Gorky called it " land of chains and ice." Since the break up of the Soviet Union, its people have largely been forgotten. The whole region would probably be forgotten if it weren't so rich in resources.

The Far East only has 6.7 million people and its population is falling. There used to be around 8 million people there. Eighty percent of the people live in the cities but have a strong ties to the land: hunting, fishing or picking berries and mushrooms whenever they get the chance. Some places only exist because the government subsidizes them, providing the people with shipped-in food and cheap energy for heat. In the early 2000s, the government has decided it has spent too much supporting these people and told them they have to move. In some places the people refused to move and the government cut off their water and heat and they still stayed. In recent years thing have stabilized somewhat as more money has flowed in from oil, natural gas, minerals, fishing and timber.

What the Russian Far East lacks in historical sites, old cities and museums — compared to the European parts of Russia and even Siberia — it makes up for with a wide variety of beautiful scenery and adventures. The Amur Rive boast sturgeons the size of whales. In the Primorskiy territory you can find rocky islands, steep cliffs, Siberian tigers and Amur leopards. There are isolated beaches on rivers and the see. If you like taiga, there lots of that along with wild mountains and many places to go hiking, fishing, hunting and camping. On Kamchatka there are dozens of very active 's volcanoes. Further north are some of the best places in the world to see walruses, polar bears and whales. Khabarovsk and Vladivostok are two major cities that define the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian Railway and have plenty of urban activities.

The Far Eastern Federal District is the largest of the eight federal districts of Russia but the least populated. The 11 federal subjects are: 1) Amur Oblast: 361,900 square kilometers, 830,103 people, capital: Blagoveshchensk 2) Republic of Buryatia: 351,300 square kilometers,, 971,021 people, capital: Ulan-Ude 3) Jewish Autonomous Oblast: 36,300 square kilometers, 176,558 people, capital: Birobidzhan 4) Zabaykalsky Krai: 431,900 square kilometers, 1,107,107 people, capital: Chita 5) Kamchatka Krai: 464,300 square kilometers, 322,079 people, capital: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 6) Magadan Oblast: 462,500 square kilometers, 156,996 people, capital: Magadan 7) Primorsky Krai: 164,700 square kilometers, 1,956,497 people, capital: Vladivostok 8) Sakha Republic: 3,083,500 square kilometers, 958,528, people capital: Yakutsk 9) Sakhalin Oblast: 87,100 square kilometers, 497,973 people, capital: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 10) Khabarovsk Krai: 787,600 square kilometers, 1,343,869 people, capital: Khabarovsk 11) Chukotka Autonomous Okrug: 721,500 square kilometers, 50,526 people, capital: Anadyr

Traveling in the Far East is troublesome. There are few roads, and they are in poor conditions. Many places can’t be reached by road anyway. Rivers are frozen much of the year. Helicopters can cost as much as US$500 an hour to rent. Corruption is rampant and it seems like everyone wants a cut. Even if paperwork is in order customs officials, police an other authorities demand, sometimes, huge outrageous "fees."

Economics of the Far East

The Far East is rich in gold, diamonds, oil, natural gas, minerals, timber and fish. It accounts for more than 60 percent of Russia's total sea harvest and fishing is the region’s leading industry, providing jobs for more than 150,000 people. People in the Far East should be rich from the wealth generated from fishing, timber and minerals but that is not necessarily the case. In the case of timber, in the early 2000s, local communities were supposed to get 30 percent of the profits but in reality Moscow took 80 percent and local officials took the rest.

In the early 2000s, gas and oil companies could not pay their workers and utility companies couldn’t pay the oil and gas companies and as a result electricity was only on for a few hours a day. Workers were among the last to receive their wages, factories were cannibalized of scrap metal and parts, students studied in sub-freezing classrooms, and people died at early ages. Those that could afford it moved away.

Many foreign companies were equally frustrated. The U.S. wood product giant Weyerhaueser, Korea's Hyundai conglomerate and Australian mining companies arrived in east Russia with high hopes but after some time there either packed up and left or scaled down their staff down to a skeletal crew.

Ussuri River

The Ussuri River forms the border between Russia and China in southern Khabarovsk Krai and . Primorsky Karia. A right tributary of the Amur, it is 897 kilometers long, with a basin area of more than 193,000 square kilometers. The Ussuri River originates in the spurs of the central Sikhote-Alin. Once it descends into it the valley, the river becomes flat and gentle but has a steep rocky coast. In many area there are meandering channels.

Among the tributaries of the Ussuri are: 1) the upper river: Izvilinka, Sokolovka, Matveyevka and Pavlivka. 2) the left tributaries: Arsen'evka, Muling, Naoli River and Songacha River; 3) and the right tributaries: Pavlovka, Zhuravlovka, Big Ussurka, Bikin and Khor.

In Khabarovsk Krai, near the village of Kazakevichevo, Ussuri River flows into the shallow Kazakevichevo channel and after that the confluence of the Ussuri is called the Amur channel. The Amur channel empties into the Amur River in the center of the city of Khabarovsk. The Ussuri is a full-flowing river from May to August. In the summer and when the ice breaks there are frequent floods. Ice on the Ussuri breaks up in April and forms in November. The water is used for water supply. Above Lesozavodsk the river is navigable. Previously it was widely used for timber floating.

The Ussuri River is good for fishing and rich in fish. Gudgeon, crucian carp, common carp, trout, burbot, pike, catfish, flax and grayling are all caught as are Kaluga sturgeon, which can reach a huge size (eight meters recorded in the Amur River). The river is a spawning ground for salmon and chum salmon. In the waters of the Ussuri fish mountain rivers are found near the bottom fish. Mountain fish comes to the Ussuri in the spring to spawn.

Ussuri Taiga and Dersu Uzala

The Ussuri taiga is a forest different from the normal Russian taiga. Located between the Ussuri and Amur Rivers in the Far East and dominated by the Sikhot Alim Mountains, it is a monsoon forest filled with plants and animals found nowhere else in Siberia or Russia and instead are similar to those found in China, Korea and even the Himalayas. In the forest there is s lush undergrowth, with lianas and ferns. Wildlife include Siberian tigers, Asian black bears, Amur leopards and even tree frogs. The Siberian Tiger Project is located here. The 1970 Akira Kurosawa Oscar-winning film “Dersu Uzala,” and the book it was based on, about a Tungus trapper, was set here.

Ian Frazier wrote in The New Yorker: ““Dersu Uzala,” the memoir and narrative of exploration by Vladimir K. Arsenyev, begins in 1902, when Arsenyev is a young Army officer assigned the job of exploring and mapping the almost unknown regions east and northeast of Vladivostok, including Lake Khanka and the upper watershed of the Ussuri River. The name for the whole area is the Primorskii Krai—the By-the-Sea Region. It and much of the Khabarovskii Krai, just to the north of it, consist of a unique kind of Pacific forest in which tall hardwoods hung with vines grow beside conifers almost equally high, and the lushness of the foliage, especially along the watercourses, often becomes quite jungly. [Source: Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, August 10 and 17, 2009, Frazier is author of “Travels in Siberia” (2010) ]

“In Arsenyev’s time, this jungle-taiga was full of wildlife, with species ranging from the flying squirrel and the wild boar to the Siberian tiger. Back then (and even recently) tigers could also be seen on the outskirts of Vladivostok, where they sometimes made forays to kill and carry off dogs. Arsenyev describes how tigers in the forest sometimes bellowed like red deer to attract the deer during mating season; the tiger’s imitation betrayed itself only at the end of the bellow, when it trailed off into a purr.

“The humans one was likely to meet in this nearly trackless forest were Chinese medicine hunters, bandits, inhabitants of little Korean settlements, and hunter-trappers of wild game. Dersu Uzala, a trapper whom Arsenyev and his men come upon early in their 1902 journey, is a Siberian native of the Nanai tribe whose wife and children have died of smallpox and who now is alone. After their meeting, Dersu becomes the party’s guide. The book is about Arsenyev’s adventures with Dersu on this journey and others, their friendship, and Dersu’s decline and end.

“In the nineteen-seventies, a Soviet film studio produced a movie of “Dersu Uzala,” directed by Akira Kurosawa. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film of 1975. The movie is long and slow-paced, like a passage through the forest, and wonderfully evokes the Primorskii country. I own a cassette of the movie and in my many viewings of it even picked up some useful fractured Russian from the distinctive way Dersu talks.

Udegeh: People Who Live with Siberian Tigers

The Udegeh live around the Sikhotealin Mountains in the Far East, also home to many Siberian tigers, and traditionally survived by hunting in the forest. Their ancestors were farmers and members of the Zhurdzhen empire, which ruled parts of what is now China, Mongolia and Russia. In the 13th century, Zhurdzhen was defeated by Genghis Khan and the Mongols and survived in scattered communities in the forest, where they became nomadic hunters to survive and formed their own language and culture, called Udegeh. There are only about 2,000 Udegeh left. The largest group lives in a village called Krasnyr, about 175 miles southeast of Khabarovsk.

The Udegeh live in wooden houses that often have painted gables with images of bears, dogs, devils and pagan goddesses. Their villages are surrounded by forests, and in the winter deep snow. They primarily live on animals they hunt such as sable, mink, squirrel, deer and boar. They often earn what little money they have by collecting wild ginseng in the forest or selling furs.

About 80 Siberian tigers live in the Udegeh hunting grounds. The Udegeh worship tigers, which are considered sinful to kill. One Udegeh hunter told the Washington Post, "The tiger and the Udegeh people are the same."

In the 1920s, the Udegeh were organized into hunting cooperatives by the Soviets. They sold furs to the Soviets and were able to keep their culture alive even though the Communists frowned upon their pagan beliefs and shaman practices. Today most young Udegeh wear Russian clothes and few of them speak the old language. Intermarriage is common and there are few pure blood Udegeh left. In the early 1990s, the Udegeh were involved in a dispute with the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai, who wanted to log the Udegeh's hunting ground.

See Separate Article PEOPLE OF THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST factsanddetails.com

Ussuriisk (kilometer 9177 on the Trans-Siberian, an hour and a half drive from Vladivostok) contains a "Chinese Bazaar" that is more like a separate town. The market operates all night and approximately 2,000 Chinese traders live semi-permanently in metal freight containers near their stalls.

The Museum of History and Local Lore and the famous 800-year-old stone turtle will introduce you to the history of this city. At the end of summer, tourists come to see the city's blooming lotuses. In the winter, you can enjoy a swim in an outdoor pool, surrounded by snowy fir trees. There is a historical park of everyday life and customs of the Russian people called “Emerald Valley” located five kilometers away from the city . Various events are held here, including the celebration of Kupala Night, jousting tournaments, Christmas and Maslenitsa festivities.

Ussuriisk is located near the border with China and North Korea and stands at the confluence of the Komarovka, Rakovka and Razdolnaya. The city was founded in 1866 by Russians from Voronezh and Astrakhan province in East Russia and the Capian Sea area. The town began to grow when the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began in the area.

Places Where the Siberian Tigers Live

Siberian tigers today are confined primarily to the Ussuri Taiga, a forest different from the normal Russian taiga. Located between the Ussuri and Amur Rivers in the Far East and dominated by the Sikhot Alim Mountains, it is a monsoon forest filled with plants and animals found nowhere else in Siberia or Russia and instead are similar to those found in China, Korea and even the Himalayas. In the forest there is s lush undergrowth, with lianas and ferns. Wildlife include Siberian tigers, Asian black bears, Amur leopards and even tree frogs. The Siberian Tiger Project is located here. The 1970 Akira Kurosawa film Dersu Uzala, about a Tungus trapper, was set here.

Sikhot Alin Reserve and Kedrovaya Pad Reserve within the Ussuri Taiga are the last homes of the Siberian tiger. The largest wildlife sanctuaries in the Far East, they embrace 1,350 square miles of forested mountains, coastline and clear rivers. Other animals found in Sikhot Alin reserve and Kedrovaya Pad reserve include brown bears, Amur leopard (of which only 20 to 30 remain), the Manchurian deer, roe deer, goral (a rare mountain goat), Asian black bears, salmon, lynx, wolf and squirrels with tassels on their ears, azure winged magpies and the emerald-colored papilio bianor maackii butterfly. Over 350 different species of bird have been sen here.

Dunishenko and Kulikov wrote: “In the 19th century, aside from the Sikhote-Alin and Malyi Khingan portions of Russia, tigers were found in southeastern Transcaucasia, in the Balkhash basin, in Iran, China and Korea. Now the Amur tiger is found only in Russia’s Primorskii and southern Khabarovskii Krais. This is all that remains of an enormous tiger population that formerly numbered in the thousands and that lived mostly in China. In the spring of 1998, one of the authors of this booklet took part in an international scientific study investigating the best tiger habitat remaining in the Chinese province of Jilin. We found three to five tigers there, mostly along the Russian border. Our general impression is that there are no more than twenty or thirty Amur tigers in all of China. [Source: “The Amur Tiger” by Yury Dunishenko and Alexander Kulikov, The Wildlife Foundation, 1999 ~~]

The general area where Siberian tigers lives is called the Primorskii or Primorye, a region of the southeast Russian Far East that embraces Vladivistok. John Vaillant wrote in “The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival”: “Primorye, which is also known as the Maritime Territory, is about the size of Washington state. Tucked into the southeast corner of Russia by the Sea of Japan, it is a thickly forested and mountainous region that combines the backwoods claustrophobia of Appalachia with the frontier roughness of the Yukon. Industry here is of the crudest kind: logging, mining, fishing, and hunting, all of which are complicated by poor wages, corrupt officials, thriving black markets — and some of the world's largest cats.” [Source: John Vaillant. “The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival” (Knopf, 2010)]

Nezhino (100 kilometers north of Vladivostok, 20 kilometers east of the Chinese border) is used as a base for people who track Siberian tigers. They are particularly easy to track in the winter, if you can initially locate some tracks, when they leave big paw prints in the snow. Tigers tracking tours began being offered in 2005.

See Separate Articles: SIBERIAN TIGERS factsanddetails.com ; PLACES WHERE THE SIBERIAN TIGERS LIVE factsanddetails.com ; HUMANS, SCIENTISTS, CENSUSES AND SIBERIAN TIGERS factsanddetails.com ; ENDANGERED SIBERIAN TIGERS factsanddetails.com ; SIBERIAN TIGERS CONSERVATION factsanddetails.com ; SIBERIAN TIGER ATTACKS factsanddetails.com .

Ussuri Nature Reserve and Lake Khanka

Ussuri Nature Reserve (100 kilometers north of Vladivostok) is specially protected natural area located in the southern Sikhote-Alina range, It is rich in virgin liana conifer-deciduous forests, which have been cut down in other parts of the Russian Far East and the neighboring countries. The reserve is named after Academician Vladimir L. Komarov, a Russian botanist who studied the flora of East Asia. He first gave a description of the area, visiting her in 1913.

The reserve was created in 1932 and since then has significantly increased its area, which now amounts to 4,040 square kilometers. The reserve embraces lowlands and mountains and foot hools formed by the the southern spurs of the Sikhote-Alin (Przewalski Mountains). The average elevation is 300-400 meters above sea level. The highest peaks are 650-700 meters high. There are also mountain rivers in canyon-like narrow valleys and small waterfalls. Summers are warm and humid. Winters are moderately severe with little snow. The coldest month is January (average temperature of -17.9 degrees C). The warmest month is August 19.7 degrees).

The flora of the reserve is composed almost entirely of forest species, mainly those found in cedar-broadleaf forests, which are are characterized by high species diversity and different from ecosystems found in Russia and elsewhere in the former U.S.S.R. A typical plot of pine forests, contains trees, shrubs and vines from 50-60 species. Among the many rare plants and ginseng, hard juniper, mountain peony and Chinese Prinsep

The fauna of the reserve is typical of coniferous and deciduous forests: wild boar, red deer, musk deer, and black bear. Among the birds are common warblers, blue nightingale, nuthatch and grouse. The reserve is home to the largest beetle fauna of Russia: It is interesting that several attempts to "diversify" the species composition of fauna — through the the introduction of sika deer and Barguzin sable — did not work as hoped. Most of the reserve is off limits to visitors. Among the places that one can visit are the rehabilitation center for the education of orphaned bear cubs. Reserve staff tell the story of each bear and describe it character and habits. There is also a nature trail and small museum.

Lake Khanka (200 kilometers from Vladivostok) has an average depth of 4.5 meters and is home to more than 300 species of bird and 75 species of fish. Trips to the lake includes stops at the villages of Kamen-Rybolov and Troitskoye on the west side of the lake and a trip to Gaivoron, near the town of Spassk-Dalniy, where there is a 10,000 square meter open air cage with a family of Siberian tigers. The cage is made of a transparent metallic net. The enclose incorporates the surrounding forest so you can see the tiger is a pretty close facsimile to how they lin nature.

Biodiversity of the Ussuriskii Taiga Forest

Siberian tigers inhabits the Ussuriskii taiga forest, a coniferous broadleaf forest that specifically favors the so-called Manchurian forest type. The Manchurian forests are located in riparian areas and are particularly high in biodiversity. John Goodrich of NPR wrote: “The most bio-diverse region in all of Russia lies on a chunk of land sandwiched between China and the Pacific Ocean. There, in Russia's Far East, subarctic animals — such as caribou and wolves — mingle with tigers and other species of the subtropics. It was very nearly a perfect habitat for the tigers — until humans showed up. The tigers that populate this region are commonly referred to as Siberian tigers, but they are more accurately known as the Amur tiger. "Imagine a creature that has the agility and appetite of the cat and the mass of an industrial refrigerator," Vaillant tells NPR's Linda Wertheimer. "The Amur tiger can weigh over 500 pounds and can be more than 10 feet long nose to tail." [Source: John Goodrich, NPR, September 14, 2010]

Dunishenko and Kulikov wrote: "The range of biodiversity experienced by the early explorers in the Ussuriskii taiga forest is hard to imagine. Read Vladimir Arsenev and Nikolai Przhevalskii and you’ll realize that the region’s present-day richness is but a sad remnant of what was once found here. The fact is, that not all that long ago there was a lot more to be found in our taiga. Old-timers can still vividly recall the herds of deer, numbering in the hundreds, that migrated the lightly snow covered regions of China, the incessant moan in the taiga when red Manchurian deer were mating, the endless waves of birds, the rivers boiling with salmon. [Source: “The Amur Tiger” by Yury Dunishenko and Alexander Kulikov, The Wildlife Foundation, 1999 ~~]

"And my lord, how many wild boar there used to be in the taiga! All winter long, the southern exposures of oak-covered hills were dug up by droves of wild pigs. Snow under the crowns of Korean pine forests was trampled to ground level as wild boar gathered pine cones throughout the winter. A symphony of squeal and moan! Mud caked wild boar racing around the taiga, rattling around in coats of frozen icycles after taking mud baths to cool passion-heated bodies. Horrible, blood caked wounds, chattering tusks, snorting, bear-like grunting, squawky squeaking, oh the life of a piglet.~~

"This was an earlier image of the Ussuriskii taiga. Just 30 years ago a professional hunter could take 60 to 80 wild boar in a season! There was more than enough game for the tiger out there among the riotous forest “swine.” Tigers strolled lazily, baron-like and important. They avoided the thick forests: why waste energy with all the boar trails around — you could roll along them sideways! It was only later on that the tigers took to following human trails.~~

"How many tigers there used to be in the wild can only be conjectured. Southern Khabarovskii Krai is a natural edge of their habitat; at one point in history there was a substantial tiger population that spilled over into surrounding regions. The tiger’s range coincided, for the most part, with Korean pine and wild boar distribution, and the number of tigers in the Russian Far East in the last century was at least one thousand. Tigers densely settled the Malyi Khingan and the Korean pine, broad leaf deciduous forests typical of southern Amurskaya Oblast. Lone animals wandered out as far as Lake Baikal and Yakutiya."~~

Sikhote Alin Reserve

Sikhote Alin Reserve (400 kilometers northeast of Vladivostok) and Kedrovaya Pad Reserve are the last homes of the Amur (Siberian) tiger. The largest wildlife sanctuary in the Far East. It embraces 3,500square kilometers (1,350 square miles) of forested mountains, coastline and clear rivers. Other animals found in reserves include brown bears, Amur leopard (of which only 40 to 50 remain), the Manchurian deer, roe deer, goral (a rare mountain goat), Asian black bears, salmon, lynx, wolf and squirrels with tassels on their ears, azure winged magpies and the emerald-colored papilio bianor maackii butterfly. Over 350 different species of bird have been seen here.

Central Sikhote-Alin was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. According to UNESCO: “The Sikhote-Alin mountain range contains one of the richest and most unusual temperate forests of the world. In this mixed zone between taiga and subtropics, southern species such as the tiger and Himalayan bear cohabit with northern species such as the brown bear and lynx. After its extension in 2018, the property includes the Bikin River Valley, located about 100 kilometers to the north of the existing site. It encompasses the South-Okhotsk dark coniferous forests and the East-Asian coniferous broadleaf forests. The fauna includes species of the taiga alongside southern Manchurian species. It includes notable mammals such as the Amur Tiger, Siberian Musk Deer, Wolverine and Sable. [Source: UNESCO]

Founded in 1935, Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve covers an area of 3,902 square kilometers, plus and 2.9 square kilometers offshore. The reserve is located in the northern part of Primorsky Krai and includes the eastern slope of the Sikhote-Alin mountain range from its watershed to the coast (including one kilometer of shoreline), as well as a part of the western slope of the mountain range. The maximum elevation in the reserve is 1598 meters.

The reserve was originally established to protect sable populations that were on the verge of extinction. V.K. Arsenyev was one of the initiators of the reserve. K.G. Abramov and Y.A. Salmin substantiated the need to create the reserve. In our age when there are fewer and fewer untouched corners of nature on the globe, The profusion and diversity of the reserve’s ecosystems are attributable to the fact that the park includes different slopes of the Sikhote-Alin, range which differ in natural conditions and elevation. Availability of direct access to the sea is another important factor.

The reserve includes parts of three landscape areas: 1) Terney (cedar broad-leaved forests), 2) Samargino-Dalnegorsky (in the subzone of broad-leaved and coniferous forests) and 3) Mid-Sikhote-Alin (fir and spruce forests) in a boreal coniferous forest subzone. The flora and fauna in the reserve are strongly influenced by the presence of the Sea of Okhotsk: dark boreal coniferous forests are more strongly represented here than in other reserve in Primorye Krai. At the same time, conditions exist for the development of the Manchuria-like ecosystems. A distinctive feature of the flora and fauna in the reserve is the combination of heat-loving and cold-loving natural species. For its long-term research program and achievements in the conservation of the Amur tiger, the reserve was awarded with a CATS international certificate in 2015, becoming the only reserve in Russia (and the second in the world) to receive such recognition.

Traveling by Road Around Sikhote Alin Reserve

Ian Frazier wrote in The New Yorker: ““Rather than continue south, directly to Vladivostok, our ultimate destination, we had decided to turn east again, cross the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, and arrive at the Pacific (technically the Sea of Japan) in a less inhabited place on the mountains’ other side. The Sikhote-Alins, once we were among them, seemed more like hills, and not very forbidding, but the depth and silence of their forest made up for that. Arsenyev had described the taiga here as “virginal, primeval timberland.” From the altitude of the trees and the venerable length of the vines depending from them, I would guess that the taiga we saw was still original growth. That night, we camped above the small gorge of a river named for Arsenyev—the Arsenyevka. The sound of it was pleasant to sit beside; this was our first genuinely rushing stream. I stayed up for a while after Sergei and Volodya had gone to bed, listening to it and looking up at the stars and at the satellites tracking past. [Source: Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, August 10 and 17, 2009, Frazier is author of “Travels in Siberia” (2010) ]

“The next day, we continued winding generally eastward through the mountains. I noted villages called Uborka (Harvest), Shumnyi (Noisy), and Rudnyi (Oreville). Now we were in Arsenyev’s very footsteps. A little beyond Rudnyi, we crossed a mountain pass that hardly looked like one. This was the divide between the waters that flow roundabout to the Pacific via the Ussuri and the Amur, and those which drain down the front of the Sikhote-Alins and into the Pacific directly. At the crest of the divide, back among the roadside weeds, stood a cement obelisk on which was inscribed: “crossed over this pass: m. i. venyukov 1858*; N. M. PREZHEVALSKII* 1887*; V. K. ARSENYEV* 1906.”

Arsenyev’s passage across this divide happened during a mapping expedition guided by Dersu and described in detail in the book. The party continued from here until they came to the Pacific and the port village of Olga, where they were resupplied. Sergei said that we would also aim for Olga and camp near there.

“Often the taiga stood so close to the road that the vines almost touched the side of the car, and on the upgrades we were looking into the canopy. At one point in the movie “Dersu Uzala,” a tiger stalks Arsenyev’s party, and the Siberian tiger used for the scene was a splendid animal, all liquid motion and snarling growls. Though near extinction, the Siberian tiger has not yet been wiped out, and the thought that this Pacific forest—reminiscent in some ways of the American and Canadian Northwest—had tigers in it gave the shadows far back among the trees a new level of authority. I had been in a few forests that held grizzly bears, but a forest with tigers in it seemed even more mysterious and honorable.”

Kedrovaya Pad Reserve

Kedrovaya Pad Reserve (400 kilometers northeast of Vladivostok) is the oldest reserve in the Far East and the southernmost reserve of Primorye. Sikhote Alin Reserve and Kedrovaya Pad Reserve are the last homes of the Amur (Siberian) tiger. The largest wildlife sanctuary in the Far East. Kedrovaya (Cedar) Pad Reserve embraces 178.97 square kilometers (69.10 square miles) of forested mountains, coastline and clear rivers. Other animals found in reserves include brown bears, Amur leopard (of which only 40 to 50 remain), the Manchurian deer, roe deer, goral (a rare mountain goat), Asian black bears, salmon, lynx, wolf and squirrels with tassels on their ears, azure winged magpies and the emerald-colored papilio bianor maackii butterfly. Over 350 different species of bird have been seen here.

Kedrovaya (Cedar) Pad Reserve was one of the first officially organized reserves in Russia. The idea for establishing was raised at the beginning of the 20th century after the Trans-Siberian railway and built nearby and intensive development of the Ussuri region was accompanied by indiscriminate logging, forest fires, uncontrolled hunting. In 1908, the region created the first forest reserves, one of which was on Cedar River. Kedrovaya Pad Reserve, founded in 1916 close to the western shore of Amur Bay. Over time that status of the reserve was improved and the reserve was enlarged. In 2004 UNESCO designated the reserve as a biosphere.

Kedrovaya (Cedar) Pad Reserve is located in the Khasan district of Primorye Territory. The villages of Seaside, Perevoznaya, Cedar, Bezverkhova and Barabash located within a few kilometers of the reserve. . The reserve was established for the preservation and study of natural systems there of liana deciduous and mixed forests with hornbeam and black fir-broad-leaved forests and their animals and plants. The reserve provides shelter for two adult Amur leopard females and their offspring and one male. Among the rare species of insects found there are the excellent marshmallow beetle and Jankowski beetle.

The territory of the reserve is occupied by by two major low mountain ranges — the Gakkelevskaya and Suhorechensky — representing the extreme northeastern foothills of the Black (Changbai) Mountains, which are mainly in China and Korea. The length of the main Cedar River within the reserve is about 15 kilometers. The largest number of tributaries originating from Suhorechenskogo ridge flows into the forest, where many wild boars live. About 73.1 percent of the entire reserve is occupied by forests. The remaining area is occupied by scrub and secondary meadows resulting from logging in the past and especially forest fires.

The forest reserve contains numerous species of trees. The underbrush is represented by various bushes, that often blossom beautifully, such as early-flowering honeysuckle and Weigel, which produces fine-leaved mock orange flowers. Vines entwine tree trunks rising to a height of 30-35 meters. The diameter of the winding vines of wild grapes and the Amur Actinidia Argut reaches 10-15 centimeters. They are like giant snakes crawling from the ground and entangling shrubs and trees.

In places the reserve resembles a rainforest and it does have parallels with the temperate rain forests in coast British Columbia, Alaska and Washington state. Among the many plant species are Manchurian walnut, dimorfanta and aralia, with and velvet, spiny trunks, and several types of ferns. In the crevices of bark and crotches of trees attract epiphyte and small fern called Ussuri centipede.

Zov Tigra (“Roar of the Tiger”) National Park

Zov Tigra National Park(Near Lazo, 150 kilometers northeast of Vladivostok is a mountainous refuge for the Amur (Siberian) Tiger. Established in 2008, the park encompasses an area of 834 square difficult (322 square miles) on the southeast coast of Primorsky Krai. The park lies on both the eastern and western slopes of the southern Sikhote-Alin mountain range.,The relatively warm waters of the Sea of Japan are to the east, the Korean peninsula to the south, and China to the West. The terrain in rugged and difficult to access, with heavily forested taiga coexisting with tropical species of animals and birds. The park is relatively isolated from human development, and functions as a conservation reserve. Tourists may visit the portions of the park marked for recreation, but entry to the protected zones is only possible in the company of park rangers. The park’s name in English means "Call of the Tiger” or "Roar of the Tiger".

Zov Tigra National Park is occupied by Ussuri taiga and is located at the junction of Lazovsky, Chuguevsky, and Olginsky districts. The park covers 1,854-meter-high Oblachnaya mountain, the upper half of the Milogradovka's river basin, and sources of the Kievka River. There are more than 50 mountains more than 1000 meters high. The forest feature giant cedars, specimen trees, slender spruces entwined with gaily-coloured actinidia's lianas, emerald-green clusters of Amur grape and Schizandra brushwood.

Zov tigra was established in part as as a "source habitat" for the recovery of the Amur Tiger and its prey base. A survey in 2012 identified four Amur tigers resident in the park, and four more that visited the protected areas frequently. The base of prey consisted of 1,200 Manchurian deer, 800 Roe deer, and 99 Sika deer and 189 wild boars. These species make up some 85% of the Amur tiger's diet. Brown bears and lynx are relatively common in area. The Far Eastern Forest Cat is found in the broad-leaf and oak valleys. The critically endangered Amur Leopard has not been resident since the 1970s.

Amur Leopards

The Amur leopard inhabits an 800-mile long stretch of evergreen forest in the eastern Siberian taiga near the North Korean border. Named after the river that forms the border between Russia and China, they live in a narrow mountain chain that extends from Hanka Lake in the Russian Far East south to the borders of China and North Korea. It ranges further north than any leopard species, even the snow leopard.

Amur leopards weighs between 40 and 60 kilograms (90 and 140 pounds). They are reclusive, solitary creatures. They eat sitka deer and wild boars. Their numbers have declined as the numbers of their main food source, roe deer, have declined. They also suffer from declining numbers of sitka deer and wild boars. Leopards eat dogs of villagers to survive. Sometimes they are forced to make a single meal last for two weeks. Other times they reduced to scavenging for carrion. It’s winter coat has large spots.

Only 38 to 46 Amur leopard are believed to remain. Twenty to twenty-four in Russia. Fifteen in China and an unknown number in North Korea. They have been hurt by loss of habitat, loss of prey and poaching. Around 30 Amur leopards live in an area which borders China and is 150 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide. At least 16 live in Nezhinkoye game reserve. This area contains many villages and is crisscrossed by roads, making survival problematic

Environmentalists have trouble securing funds to study the leopards. Most of what is known about them is based on studies conducted at Kedrovaya pad nature Reserve near Vladivostok. The Russian Academy of Science, the University of California and the International Wildlife Congress are studying the leopards using “phototraps”— motion sensitive cameras.

Land of Leopard National Park

Land of Leopard The National Park (200 kilometers west of Vladivostok) occupies 2,620 square kilometers and is located in the Khasansky, Nadezdinsky, Ussuriysky districts of Primorsky Krai as well as in the small area of Frunzenskiy district in Vladivostok. Kedrovaya Pad and Leopardovy reserves and number of other territories, with total area exceeding 2,800 square kilometers are as compounds of the National Park. The national park’s buffer zone covers about 800 square kilometers.

About 30 individual Amur leopards are thought to be living in the southwest area of Primorsky Krai. “Land of the Leopard” national park covers about 60 percent of the natural habitat occupied by the leopards and the main reason the park was set up was to preserve them. Many surviving Amur leopards live In the Nezhinkoye game reserve that is under partial protection of the Russian Pacific fleet. Hunting with dogs and hunting for fur animals is banned in the reserve. Deer and wild boars are fed. Some leopards used to follow hunters in hopes of snatching an easy meal. Work on the world’s longest pipeline — between Siberia and the Sea of Japan — was suspended in 2005 due to ecological concerns, among them the fate of the Amur leopard, whose territory would be bisected by the pipeline.

The “Land of Leopard” is divided into several zones, the smallest of which is a 230-square-kilometer conservation zone that you can’t visit without special permission. Other zones have a simplified visiting regime. Guided trips are allowed in the “specially protected” zone. The 7950-square-kilometer recreational zone allows more touristic activity. The “Leopard Trail” is the first tourist route, developed in the National Park. The 770-square-kilometer administrative zone accommodates villagers and interests of other people living in the territory of the National Park.

Leopardovy Sanctuary

Leopardovy Sanctuary (200 kilometers west of Vladivostok) embraces 1,694.29 square kilometers of the “Barsovy” and “Borisovskoe Plato” sanctuaries in the Khasansky, Ussuriysky, and Nadezhdinskiy districts. The state biological sanctuary “Barsovy” was founded in 1979 to preserve and restore not only the endangered animal species such as Siberian Tiger and Amur Leopard but also their natural habitat. The animal sanctuary “Borisovskoe Plato” was created in 1996 to conserve and increase the population number of Amur leopard; Siberian tiger and other threatened animals.

The sanctuary's natural environment is highly favorable for the forest faun's inhabitation. The low-level mountain ranges deeply dissected with the river valleys, extended rock masses, and plateau-like mountains create mosaic of forest, tree and shrubbery vegetation. Secondary broadleaved forests prevail here. Primary forests with fir trees, cedars and khingam fir remain in the west and northwest part of the sanctuary. The plateau-like mountains are covered with the leafed forest.

Amur leopard is the main protected species here.Siberian tiger, Asian black bear, leopard cat and other animals are also placed under special protection. There are six ungulates species such as Amur goral, Manchurian wapiti, wild boar, musk deer, roe deer, and deer in the sanctuary. Lot of rare vascular plants grows here, some of them such as water caltrop, stipa baicalensis, nepeta manchuriensis are not presented even in the neighboring “Kedrovaya Pad” reserve. More than 150 species of birds nest in the sanctuary and around 100 species traverse its territory or make stopover here during the migration period. It must be stressed that “Leopardovy” sanctuary is the only place of nesting for some bird species in this part of Primorsky krai. 15 of these species are threatened with extinction. Over 40 IUCN Red List insect species inhabit here, what is more some of them occur exceptionally at the sanctuary's territory.

This district has a monsoon climate. Its specific trait is the variability of the airstreams direction in the summer and winter seasons. Plenty of rivers and streams run at the sanctuary’s territory. There are no large lakes. The biggest one, Krivoe lake, covers 11 hectares. All types of hunting, commercial fishery, timber felling, resource development, ploughing the ground, and application of chemicals are prohibited here. Beyond that, public visiting, amateur fishery, and gathering wild harvest are brought under regulation. The sanctuary contains some populated places such as Barabash settlement and military firing range with total area in 3,490 squate kilometers A considerable part of the territory is the border territory separated from the rest of area by the plowed strip.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation (official Russia tourism website russiatourism.ru ), Russian government websites, UNESCO, Wikipedia, Lonely Planet guides, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Yomiuri Shimbun and various books and other publications.

Updated in September 2020

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Vladivostok International Airport

Vladivostok International Airport is an international airport located near Artyom, Primorsky Krai, Russia, roughly an hour's drive north of the center of the city of Vladivostok. It was formerly known as Knevichi Airport, named after the village of Knevichi.

More information and contact

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladivostok_International_Airport

Official Website https://vvo.aero/

Email [email protected]

Phone +7 423 2306909

Address Vladivostok International Airport Artem 41 Portovaia St. Primorski Krai Russia

Coordinates 43°23'31.259" N 132°9'0.775" E

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