Elena Panova
Chief of Staff of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, an expert at the Kompas Foundation
- Elena Vasilievna, shaping unified state policy and providing conditions for the conservation of biodiversity is among the priorities for the development of Russia in the coming years. Currently, a draft strategy for the development of specially protected natural areas (also: specially protected natural reservations - ed.) system until 2036 is under discussion at the State Duma Committee on Ecology,Natural Resources and Environment Protection. Please tell our readers about the historical aspect of the creation of protected natural areas. Why were they created, when was the modern system formed, and what was the reason for this?
- The backgrounds to creating specially protected natural areas were as far back as the Middle Ages. The main focus was put, first of all, on forests, and one of the reasons was the hunting grounds that were of great importance for the wealthy nobles. In England, a system of royal protected forests was created where hunting wild animals was prohibited. Poaching was severely punished.
In Russia, protected forests appeared during the reign of Peter the Great, and special attention was paid to their preservation.
The basics of modern nature reserve management were formed in the 19th-20th centuries. It is symbolic that in 2024, the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve was created as part of Russia’s “Ecology” national project. In fact, the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve’s status of a nature reserve dates back to the 19th century, it was located on land areas that were either donated or sold (there are different versions) by Russian Tsar Nicholas I to German Duke of the Askania (German: Askanier) dynasty. The representatives of this dynasty created steppe nature reserve areas on this land area. Later, Askania-Nova went through tough times. In Soviet days, the All-Union Research Institute for Acclimatization and Hybridization of Animals was set up there, and later on, the Ukrainian Institute of Animal Husbandry of Steppe Regions. The Askania-Nova area became a nature reserve only in 1983, and now, it has returned to its historical homeland, adding to the area of Russia’s nature reserve land.
As for shaping the modern system of specially protected natural areas, it’s worth mentioning the role of the Imperial Geographical Society and the Standing Nature Conservation Commission created under this Society in 1912. Leading researchers of that time worked there like Veniamin Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, who proposed establishing nature reserves similar to the U.S. national parks. The Yellowstone National Park in the USA was an example. Semenov Tyan-Shansky believed that similar places should be created in Russia so that researchers could observe the development of the ecosystem, take care of natural areas and preserve them. The Barguzin Nature Reserve established in 1916 (on January 11, 1917 by the old-style calender - ed.) on the shore of Lake Baikal to preserve the sables is considered to be the first one inRussia. The formation of the modern system of specially protected natural reservations in Russia has been running from this date.
The protected nature reserves went through different periods, from their conservation to utilization. On the one hand, the number of nature reserves, for example, grew significantly under Stalin, from 7 to 128. But on the other hand, many nature reserves lost their reserve status under the Stalin’s regime. Later on, the status of many nature reserves was restored, and today, 245 nature reserves of federal significance have the status of specially protected natural areas in Russia.
All of them require great attention in terms of ecosystem conservation and their management. That is why formulating the Strategy for the Development of Specially Protected Natural Areas until 2036 is under discussion at the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environment Protection. We must understand where and why we are going to, what measures are required to maintain the balance in protected ecosystems.
- Let’s talk about the interaction of humans with nature in specially protected natural areas. The President of Russia set a task to develop tourism in specially protected natural areas, but to do this without exposing the ecosystems to unjustified risk. How is visiting specially protected natural areas by tourists organized in general, can people settle in protected natural areas or only stay temporarily in those areas? Is the fee for tourism in specially protected natural areas justified, because the money received can be used to preserve nature?
- National parks imply the development of recreational activities, these standards are enshrined in the law “On Specially Protected Natural Areas”. I’d like to place emphasis that this is recreational activity, not tourism in a very real sense. What does this mean? When visiting a natural area, the permissible recreational load on ecosystems must be taken into account. In St. Petersburg and Moscow, millions of tourists can visit natural areas, but a national park can be visited by a small number of tourists - not even hundreds of them.
As for living in a specially protected natural area, the law prohibits the construction of residential buildings as it is commonly understood. At the same time, there are settlements within a number of national parks. This has happened historically. About two million people in Russia live in settlements that are part of specially protected natural areas. They have their advantages and their difficulties. The development of legislation, increasing requirements for the quality of life require the search for harmony and sustainability between nature and humans. After changes in the Land and Forest Codes, as well as other laws, local residents faced certain restrictions on living in these areas. For about two years, a way out of this ‘labyrinth’ was looked for, and a significant number of the pressing issues were resolved. This applies to both the construction of houses in such settlements and building the social infrastructure facilities.
One of the key tasks facing the specially protected natural areas, first of all, is the harmonization of the interests of nature and humans. Without clear rules and understanding the responsibility, people areinclined to act only in their own interests, and this can lead to the destruction of the ecosystem, the disappearance of some species of animals, plants, and disruption of ecosystems. Some people say “None of this is necessary, let people live as they want”. Whether this is necessary or not can be judged by today’s events in the Far East of Russia where tigers have begun to often enter populated areas. Many people are already raising the issue of a direct threat to the local population. This is happening because the balance has been disturbed, there is no stability in the ecosystem.
Therefore, to develop recreational activities in specially protected natural areas, it is necessary to carefully plan and control all processes. A good example is the Curonian Spit National Park, located inthe Kaliningrad Region. Particular focus there is put on preserving the unique ecosystem of the sand spit. This is an amazing and ‘fragile’ place. People are not allowed to walk on the sand of the Curonian Spit, because the destruction of the sand ‘crust’ can lead to the movement of the sand, and it is almost impossible to stop the process. Therefore, there is, of course, a need to regulate tourist activities so that it should be determined where tourists can go, where they cannot go, what they can do, and whatpermissible recreational load for this area can be the least ‘painful’ to avoid its degradation.
It is very important to calculate the permissible recreational capacity for such natural areas. Unfortunately, there are difficulties today in the timely adoption of regulations relating to calculating such a recreational load, which hinders the sustainable development of the system on the whole.
In addition, there are problems in financing and a lack of sanitary infrastructure facilities in some specially protected natural areas. Many national parks face a shortage of funds for the construction of necessary infrastructure facilities. In addition, there is a shortage of qualified personnel capable of ensuring high-quality management of tourist flows.
I think that despite the ongoing challenges, the situation can change for the better thanks to the joint efforts of various departments and regional authorities.
