Defenders of nature are sounding the alarm - the amendments to the Town Planning Code and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation adopted in the first reading can cause serious damage to nature reserves and national parks. The profile committee of the State Duma says that there is no threat.
According to the explanatory note to the draft law "On Amendments to the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", it was developed in order to increase the stability of the construction industry in connection with the macroeconomic and foreign policy situation following the sanctions pressure. The document was adopted by the State Duma in the first reading on April 6.
Greenpeace believes that if the bill is finally adopted in its current form, it will be possible to construct objects in nature reserves, national parks and federal sanctuaries without environmental impact assessment, and it will be possible to cut wood in the Baikal natural territory not only to expand the infrastructure of the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway (which is allowed by law from 2020), but also for the construction of any infrastructure, including municipal ones.
"Regional natural areas will also suffer - any sections of their borders for construction will be cut out," the material on the website of the Russian branch of Greenpeace says.
The organization insists on finalizing the bill.
The State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environment shares this opinion. The committee notes that its provisions completely contradict not only the regime for the protection of specially protected natural areas, but also the goals of their creation.
The Committee points out that the document needs substantial revision.
“The draft law contains an unlimited list of objects, the construction of which, if the law is adopted, will not require a state environmental review of project documentation and will be possible within the boundaries of any specially protected natural areas (including state nature reserves, biosphere reserves, national parks, natural parks, state natural reserves, natural monuments, dendrological parks and botanical gardens)," the committee concluded.
They also believe that the planned novelties will allow the construction of industrial facilities on the territory of protected areas and in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory.
“In this regard, the majority of specially protected natural areas will be subjected to serious negative impact from industrial activity, the damage from which will be irreparable,” the committee on ecology believes.
Meanwhile, the profile Duma committee assures that protected areas will not suffer as a result of the adoption of the bill.
“There is absolutely no threat to specially protected natural areas at all,” Sergey Pakhomov, head of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services, told EcoTourism Expert. This committee is responsible for passing the bill in the lower house of parliament.
According to the deputy, in the second reading of the document, the amendments will be adopted, removing the fears of environmentalists.
“In general, it follows from the text of the bill that it just does not apply to national parks and similar territories, because their activities are regulated by their own laws, which are not repealed. But we once again clearly stated this in the resolution of the State Duma, and the corresponding clarifying wording in the form of amendments to the second reading will be introduced. But believe me, there was no threat from the very beginning,” Pakhomov said.
“There will be neither mass nor any other, even targeted, one-time construction in the protected areas. PAs are regulated by their own protection legislation, which very clearly describes what is allowed in PAs and what is not,” he stressed.
Comment by Dmitry Kobylkin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection:
“The Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection receives questions about draft law No. 94578-8 “On Amendments to the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” in terms of extending the practice of building transport infrastructure facilities to other types of facilities.
There are indeed a lot of comments on the draft law in the presented version. Based on the results of the meeting of the Committee, which took place on April 1, 2022, a decision was made - this document needs significant revision. The chairmen of several committees of the State Duma gathered not only to discuss it, but also to develop constructive proposals. When considering the bill in the first reading, a resolution was simultaneously adopted to amend it.
The current situation requires the accelerated development of many industries, but not at the cost of deteriorating the state of the environment, and especially specially protected natural areas.
The head of state has repeatedly drawn attention to this, including by setting national goals. Despite the difficulties that our country is experiencing today in connection with the imposed sanctions, our priorities in improving the quality of the environment remain the same. Therefore, State Duma deputies and members of the Federation Council have already prepared amendments to the bill. They are aimed at significantly restricting the construction of infrastructure facilities and protecting specially protected natural areas. Please note that all meetings of the Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environment are public and are broadcast live on the website of the State Duma. In addition, an Expert Council has been established under the Committee, whose members participate in the reading of draft laws.
According to the information in the Duma database of bills, amendments to the second reading of this initiative can be submitted until April 14 inclusive.
As stated in the resolution of the State Duma, adopted during the first reading of the draft law, when finalizing it, it is necessary to clarify that the implementation of urban planning activities within the boundaries of specially protected natural areas is allowed only in cases where it meets the requirements of legislation in the field of environmental protection, legislation on protected areas and does not violate the regime of special protection of the respective protected areas.
However, according to Greenpeace environmentalists, this amendment will actually change nothing.
“The draft law does not imply violation of the PA regime, it allows cutting land plots from the PAs of regional significance for the construction of infrastructure. And nothing is said about the inadmissibility of this in the resolution of the State Duma. We hope that when the bill is finalized for the second reading, the possibility of withdrawing lands from protected areas will be excluded,” the message on the website of the Russian Greenpeace says.
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