The natural ecosystems of Wrangel Island in the Arctic are now almost fully restored and nothing is threatening this unique territory anymore, Chukotka Autonomous Area's official website reported citing Amirkhan Amirkhanov, Deputy Head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources. 

Amirkhanov shared the results of his inspection of the island during a meeting with Chukotka Autonomous Area's government.

The inspection was conducted by Mr. Amirkhanov together with Irina Fomina, Deputy Head of the International Relations Department at the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, as part of an UNESCO mission.

"According to Mr. Amirkhanov, years of development in the Arctic had an impact on its ecosystems, but nature has almost fully restored itself, even in places where people recently lived," the report said.

With the help of the military, the Russian Government is currently carrying out an environmental clean-up of the northern islands, Mr. Amirkhanov said. During the meeting, the participants also noted that the cleanup of Wrangel and Herald islands can now be completed in five years.

Wrangel Island, which is located in the Arctic Ocean between the East Siberian and the Chukchi seas, is a part of the like-named nature reserve and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since October 2014, Eastern Military District units have been deployed on Wrangel Island on duty of airspace protection.