St. Petersburg is the largest city in the world north of 60° N. It constitutes a top-level administrative unit of Russia and has a significant authority in the field of environmental protection. It has 15 protected areas (PAs) which cover 4.3% of the city territory and are governed by a special institution of the city government. Existing PAs secure the protection of a significant proportion of plant, fungus and animal species occurring in St. Petersburg. They provide important regulatory and cultural ecosystem services. There is a long practice of fruitful collaboration between the city authorities and academic scientists in providing comprehensive landscape and biodiversity surveys in order to justify the establishment of new PAs as well as wildlife monitoring of existing ones. PAs play an increasingly important role in the life of the city, especially as recreational and educational entities.