The Federation Council has drafted a law under which it will allow in certain cases building in conservation land, the Upper House’s spokesperson told EcoTourism Expert.
Members of the Federation Council have prepared amendments to the law "On Protected Areas", which proposes to amend the procedure for changing the borders of natural reserves and national parks.
According to senators, the gist is that there are communities in the territory of some national parks. For example, within the «Russian North» national park located in the Vologda Oblast there are 257 settlements with about 13 thousand inhabitants.
Residents of such villages do not have the right to obtain land ownership. Capital construction is also prohibited within the boundaries of conservation areas; any other actions require complex and lengthy coordination. The draftsmen propose to exclude the community areas from the conservation parks territory, complementing the reduction of the territories by adding adjacent land to the parks.