No integrated federal body of control over the system of SPNA,
as well as a continual series of reforms of state environmental
bodies during recent years resulted in the situation when reserves'
development in Russia has sunk in the swamp of bureaucracy and
official red tape. Actually, nature reserves and parks, which are
the national patrimony of Russia, are left by the government to the
mercy of fate.
As a result cases of illegal withdrawal of territories out of
SPNAs for aims of economic use became more frequent in recent
years. Local authorities, managers and criminal groups often put
pressure upon the directors and employees of reserves and national
parks.
"In Russia there are 135 state nature reserves and national
parks, -says the corresponding member of the RAS Danilov-Danilian,
who has been managing the whole state environmental system of
Russia for many years. - In recent years 13 of them (10 % of the
total number) experienced the attempts of illegal withdrawal of
their territories and their transfer for economic use.
Unfortunately, the state bodies in charge of SPNA are not able and
often don't want to take measures to protect the territories, as
well as people who work there".
As a result non-governmental environmental organizations and
individuals have to fight to protect state environmental
interests.
"During last year non-governmental environmental organization
have many times had to address to the prosecutor's offices and
courts with a demand to reverse resolutions of various authorities
(including the RF government) about illegal withdrawal of lands of
SPNA, - comments Greenpeace Russia forest campaign expert Mikhail
Kreindlin. - Most suits brought by ecologists were sustained.
Almost in all cases the Ministry of Natural Resources, in whose
jurisdiction most reserves and all national parks are, was either
neutral, or, as in case of Sochi national park, openly supported
illegal actions of the RF government".
Despite the fact that the MNR is officially responsible for the
development of reserves in the country, pseudo-economic arguments
of its officials about the impossibility to create new reserves in
Russia, as well as the atmosphere of bureaucracy and
irresponsibility in the ministry became the obstacle for further
increase in number of SPNAs.
"Since 2000 in Russia no new reserve or national park has been
created, - says Vsevolod Stepanitsky, honourable ecologist of the
RF. - It's the longest break in the process of SPNA system
development for 50 years, which demonstrates the attitude of the
government to these issues".
Complete inefficiency of the current model of SPNA management in
Russia forced the leaders of non-governmental environmental
organizations to address the RF President in December 2004 with a
proposal to create a special Federal Agency for Specially Protected
Natural Territories authorized to carry out state control in the
field and working under immediate direction of the RF
government.
Additional information
Development of the network of specially protected natural areas
(SPNA) that were fully or partly withdrawn from the economic use is
one of the most important forms of biodiversity conservation. This
is provided for by the UN Convention on Biodiversity, ratified by
Russia. The system of Russian SNPAs is one of the most developed
and world-wide recognized. Many reserves and national parks of
Russia are under protection of international conventions and
agreements and they are of international importance.
At present in our country there are 100 state nature reserves
with the total area of 33.5 million hectares (more then 1.57% of
the total territory of Russia) and 35 national parks with the area
of 7 million hectares (0.41% of the Russian territory). 95 reserves
and all national parks are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry
of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.