Russia is set to devolve forest management authority from the Federal level to the regions. This will be the consequence if President Putin, as expected, signs a proposed law that introduces changes in various existing legislation, including the Forest Code. The draft legislation has already passed the Duma and the Federation Council and is expected to enter into force on January 1, 2006.

The new law transfers significant authority to the regions, including the right to own, use, manage, protect, and restore the forests under their jurisdiction.

An exclusion is made for forests in regions where the population density is at least three times higher than average in the Russian Federation. Federally protected areas and forests that belong to the military authorities may also be retained.

In a preliminary analysis, Greenpeace Russia has identified the regions in which the Federal level may retain the title to forest land. These areas are shown in blue on this map, while the areas where forest ownership will be transferred to the regions are shown in yellow.

The implication of this reform is that Federal ownership of the forest resource will cease. Such a fundamental change is likely to have far-reaching administrative consequences. An analogous reform of the agricultural sector a year ago eventually led to the closing of the Federal Agricultural Agency, suggesting that the future of the Federal Forestry Agency is now uncertain.

The future of certain current Federal initiatives is now also uncertain, including the national FLEG process and the monitoring of forest management using satellite images.

05/01/2006