From the ecology of thinking to ecological sovereignty: the plenary session of the International Forum "Eco Altai. The Thread of Nature"

International Forum "Eco Altai. The Thread of Nature" was opened on September 29, 2023 on the territory of the all-season resort "Manzherok" with the organizational support of the Government of the Altai Republic, the Roscongress Foundation and the Center for the Development of the Altai Republic.

The central event of the forum was the plenary session "From Ecological thinking to ecological sovereignty", dedicated to the development of environmental policy taking into account national interests and the specifics of the territorial development of the country. The moderator was the TV presenter of the TV channel "Russia 1" Irina Rossius.

The participants of the plenary session noted that this year, despite the unprecedented sanctions pressure on Russia, the forum officially became international. 11 countries take part in its work, including the delegations of India, the Republic of Belarus, Mongolia, and Kyrgyzstan. Representatives of Italy, Moldova, Chile, the USA, Kenya and the CAR joined in the conference format.

"I am sure that sanctions and other restrictions have only increased the need to find new opportunities for the "green" development of the Russian economy, to protect and promote environmental sovereignty, including within the framework of such multilateral formats as BRICS+. Ecology and ecological development are inextricably linked with the future, with the opportunity and the right of future generations to live," said the Head of the Altai Republic Oleg Khorokhordin, telling about the main activities under the environmental agenda that are being implemented in the region.

The participants of the discussion came to the conclusion that Russia needs to create its own set of indicators that will reflect the real state of nature and the quality of human-nature interaction.

"The creation of such a high—quality navigation system is the minimum necessary to receive adequate and accurate feedback from the environment and make the right decisions," said Herman Gref, Chairman of the Sberbank Management Board. According to him, humanity has realized the origins of the ecological crisis and is trying to find new ways to harmonize relations with nature. Gref noted that "nature should be recognized as an asset that will be maintained and managed over the horizon of centuries."

During the meeting, it was concluded that the position on environmental sovereignty has already been formed and it is necessary to broadcast it taking into account culture and traditions, needs and tasks. The forum platform is one of the effective tools for working in this direction.

"Resolutions adopted at such events should become a program for action for the next year, in the next few years. And they should be taken into account by all – regulators, public organizations, and businesses," said Svetlana Radionova, head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Environmental Management. She also expressed the opinion that the ecological market, which is emerging, will be fully formed in three years.

During the event, such areas of the environmental agenda as resource conservation and providing the population with a healthy diet were discussed. In addition, a proposal was made to focus the Environmental Safety Strategy not only on solving internal environmental problems, but also to present it as a guideline to the world community.

"We must offer the world a new Economic Security Strategy. You may ask, why us? The answer is very simple: there is no one else. In this regard, it is Russia that is obliged, if you want, to become a leader. This is our task," said the Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, Head of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) Valery Fadeev.

As the participants of the meeting drew attention, a new philosophy of life has now been formed, which involves changing the technological way of life to an eco-social one. "The model of consumption is being replaced by the model of saving. This concerns everything – the population, ecology, the well–being of the territory and, of course, its future," said Dmitry Kobylkin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.

Chairman of the State Assembly-El Kurultai of the Altai Republic Artur Kokhoev noted the need to maintain a balance between the development of territories and ecology. Alexey Maslov, Director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Doctor of Economics, and Sergey Naidenko, Director of the Research Institute of Ecology and Evolution, presented a scientific view on environmental problems.

Mongolia's Ambassador to Russia Ulziisaykhany Enkhtuvshin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Andrey Khudyk, as well as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation Kazem Jalali shared their experience in the development of the eco-agenda and vision of prospects for cooperation on this issue with the Russian Federation.

Denis Butsaev, General Director of the Russian Environmental Operator, spoke about the implementation of a project to create a waste management infrastructure in the Altai Republic as part of a concession. "The environmental safety strategy ends in 2025. And it seems to me that it's time to start developing a new strategy. There should be two directions here, the first is specialists, we have very good specialists. Secondly, this strategy should not be prepared only in the quiet of offices and behind the scenes, it should be discussed by both eco—activists and society. We have strong public institutions. In addition, it is important to make it not just Russian. Of course, it should be aimed primarily at solving our own problems, Russian ones. But it should be offered to the world," said Denis Butsaev, CEO of REO.