«CURRENT EVENTS»

THE THIRD ALL-RUSSIAN CONGRESS ON NATURE CONSERVATION

On November 18—21, 2003, the Third All-Russian Congress on Nature Conservation, eventually the most scandalous in the Russian history, was conducted in Moscow. Ecological and conservation NGOs were, in fact, withdrawn from the preparations for the Congress. This forced the WWF Russia, GreenPeace-Russia, the International Social-Ecological Union, the BCC, and the Center for Russia’s Ecological Policy to conduct a press-conference on the eve of the congress (information on the press-conference can be found at: http://reserves.biodivers.ru). At the press-conference, it was said that such methods of conducting the congress should be considered as “an evident attempt to wreck planned administrative reforms aimed at restoring the efficiency of the state management in the field of environmental protection and wildlife conservation. In the end, it is an attempt to prevent transparency of nature resource use”.

Over 5,000 people representing executive and legislative authorities of all levels, Russian and international non-governmental environmental organisations and conservation institutions, conservation agencies of the former Soviet Republics and other foreign countries, scientific and educational organisations, big resource-using companies as well as scientists and experts in environmental protection and nature conservation participated in the Congress.

Unfortunately, due to the huge size of the Resolution draft, we are unable to provide here the full version of the document.

RESOLUTION
of the Third All-Russian Congress on Nature Conservation
(Moscow, November 18—21, 2003)
[Extracts]

9. Protected natural areas and biodiversity conservation

9.1. Consider unacceptable the drastic revision of the Russian protected area-related legislation that could destroy existing mechanisms of protected area designation and management. While improving the law, it is necessary to ensure the succession and preservation of the conceptual base and positive practices of the protected area system development.

9.2. In order to ensure the efficiency of the protected area network management, it is necessary to establish a State Agency for Protected Area Management which should possess all functions and powers essential for the effective management of the protected area network in the framework of the relevant federal executive authority responsible for environmental protection.

9.3. We consider that one of the most urgent tasks of the government and law enforcement agencies is to stop attempts to alienate land and water areas from PAs and use these for purposes incompatible with biodiversity and landscape conservation.

9.4. Recommend Russian regional executive authorities to create specific agencies responsible for the management of regional PA systems.

9.5. Take urgent measures to prevent illegal extraction, exploitation, and other uses of biological resources, including improvement of the legislation and legal practices as well as creation of specific inspections.

9.6. Recommend the Ministry of Natural Resources and other executive authorities to take urgent measures to designate new state nature reserves and national parks according to the List approved by the Decree of the Russian Government #725-p (May 23, 2001) and produce plans of marine protected natural areas designation for the period till 2012.

9.7. Development and adoption of the federal acts “On Protection of Seas Against Oil and Oil Products” and “On Flora”.

9.8. Recommend to delegate all the control powers over the use and processing of biological resources to one federal executive agency responsible for the state management and control in the field of environmental protection.

9.9. Recommend regional executive authorities to develop regional biodiversity conservation strategies in accordance with the statements of the National Strategy for Biodiversity Conservation in Russia and the Ecological Doctrine of the Russian Federation, and ensure purposive funding for relevant action plans from regional budgets.

The Resolution was adopted at the final meeting of the Congress, November 21, 2003.

Warning: the original text of the Congress final resolution could be slightly different from the published above because at the moment of the issue publication only draft version of the resolution was available.