What are “green shields” around cities and why will they be created in the Year of Ecology? "Green Shield" - to the city

In 11 regions, authorities do not plan to create green shields around cities. Minister of Nature Sergei Donskoy reported this to the government of the Russian Federation. Regional officials believe that forest park belts will slow down the development of human settlements. Experts are confident that the problem is a conflict of financial and environmental interests. The Ministry of Natural Resources insists on creating green shields around every industrial center of the country, as this is a reserve of environmental safety for the future. However, the subjects are generally ready to create protective belts only around their capitals.

11 regions consider it inappropriate to create protective forest belts around large cities. These are the Lipetsk and Astrakhan regions, the republics of Mari El, Komi, Sakha (Yakutia), Khakassia, Kamchatka and Transbaikal territories, Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Such data are presented in the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources to the government (the document is available to Izvestia).

The legislative opportunity to create green billboards appeared on January 1, 2017. Regional authorities can approve forest zones with a limited regime of economic activity in and around large cities. Capital construction (except for tourist centers and sanatoriums), placement of hazardous objects, mining and other economic activities are prohibited within the green shields.

According to the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources, regions cite possible restrictions on the economic development of settlements as the reason for abandoning protective belts. Thus, the Ministry of Forestry and Hunting of the Republic of Mari El informed the department (the answer is at the disposal of Izvestia) that the introduction of green boards will negatively affect the socio-economic situation and entail adverse consequences for business entities. There is no heavy industrial production in the region, and the environmental situation is sufficiently controlled.

The authorities of the republics of Sakha, Komi and the Astrakhan region stated that everything is fine with the environment and without green shields.

The administration of the Lipetsk region informed the Ministry of Natural Resources that it sees no point in designating urban forests as green shields - they already have a strict regime of use.

The creation of protective forest park belts is close to completion so far only in 20 regions, the Ministry of Natural Resources told Izvestia. In 41 regions, according to the department, they are working on the formation of green shields. The stages are very different - from the process of creating an appropriate working group to consideration of the issue in the legislative body. The department has not received information from other entities and will further clarify the stage of creation of green shields.

In his message to the Federal Assembly, the president spoke about the environmental problems of some Russian cities, including Nizhny Tagil in the Sverdlovsk region, Cherepovets in the Vologda region, and Novokuznetsk in the Kemerovo region. In these regions, green boards are being created, but only in the capitals - Yekaterinburg, Vologda and Kemerovo.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, in 2016, in 20 Russian cities, the level of air pollution was assessed as very high. Of these, only Krasnoyarsk will receive a protective forest park belt in the near future.

The Ministry of Natural Resources believes that a green shield should appear in every industrial center of the country and in most cities with a population of over 300 thousand people.

Despite the fact that the creation of protective forest belts is not an obligation of the regions, it is voluntary, we will insist on this for a number of cities,” Sergei Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology, told Izvestia. - First of all, for industrial centers whose population is significantly impacted by emissions from enterprises (the so-called areas of special attention). These include Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Norilsk, Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lipetsk, Cherepovets, Asbest, Nizhny Tagil, Dzerzhinsk, etc. From the point of view of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the creation of a green belt is a reserve of environmental safety for the future.

Officials and the All-Russian Popular Front will work with regions that have announced their refusal of green shields. ONF ecologists are of the opinion that there should be one green shield in each region, but it can protect several cities. In the regions where they have refused to create green shields, there is a strong lobby of developers, believes Dmitry Mironov, coordinator of the Center for Public Monitoring on Ecology and Forest Protection of the ONF.

The main difficulty in creating green shields is the conflict between long-term environmental and short-term financial interests, believes Nikolai Nikolaev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Natural Resources, Property and Land Relations. At the same time, the initiators of the creation of protective belts are often local residents who are concerned not only about themselves, but also about their children and grandchildren.

A round table was held in the State Duma - a meeting of the WEC of the State Duma Committee on Natural Resources, Environmental Management and Ecology on the Green Shield project. Its result was the adoption of a resolution by environmentalists who appealed to the Russian executive and legislative authorities.

The document states that “It is recommended that the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation vest the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation with the authority to establish the boundaries of forest park “green belts.” Besides,

Both houses of parliament are also recommended to “finalize and adopt by the end of the spring session a bill providing for the creation of “green belts”, to determine an authorized control state body. Subjects of the Russian Federation, in turn, are recommended to “strengthen control over compliance with the requirements of land and forestry legislation, as well as promote environmental educating the population and increasing citizens' legal awareness regarding compliance with environmental legislation."

Earlier, the State Duma adopted in the first reading the ONF bill on the “Green Shield” - “On amendments to the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection” and to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation regarding the creation of forest-park green belts.” Let us remind you that the law from the ONF, we quote, “will secure the possibility of creating protective forest-park green belts around municipalities and cities of federal significance.”

The meeting participants also stated the need to determine the specifics of forest felling, including a complete ban on clear-cutting in the forest-park “green belt.” For example, they demanded “to establish a strict regime of selective logging in forests located in water protection zones, to prohibit selective logging in forests located in spawning protection zones and nut-harvesting zones.”

Environmentalists also demanded that local authorities be “equipped” with the authority to establish the boundaries of forest park “green belts”.

“The document is planned to be adopted before the end of the spring session. The bill was developed based on requests from citizens who regularly report violations in the field of forest protection. This includes the removal of lands from the Forest Fund, as happened in the urban settlement of Malakhovka, Lyubertsy district, the destruction of 140 hectares forests due to sand mining on the border of Balashikha and the Noginsk region, the destruction of relict forest in the village of Saburovo in the Krasnogorsk district forestry - such appeals are received regularly,” explained Vladimir Gutenev, coordinator of the ONF Center for Public Monitoring on Ecology and Forest Protection, deputy and author of the bill. .

“We need to be more attentive to such initiatives as the forest amnesty: probably, someone could be amnestied, but such an amnesty cannot apply to those who build landfills in the forests of the State Forest Fund,” he added.

“Currently, within the framework of the All-Russian Popular Front, work is underway on a number of bills that provide for the creation of forest infrastructure (...), photographic recording of reforestation and maintaining a register of bona fide forest users,” explained the ONF coordinator.

“Issues of reforestation in general may be a separate task that we will have to solve,” Gutenev added.

Let us note that the first version of the amendments approved by the State Duma provided for a ban on cutting down trees around large cities. ONF coordinator Gutenev added that for the second reading “it is proposed to introduce the concept of a forest-park green belt.” According to him, it “represents a zone in which economic activity is limited, unless a more stringent regime of its limitation or prohibition is established.” The deputy notes that “the forest park green belt may include both territories outside the city and within its boundaries.”

The media note that if the bill is adopted in three readings, “its provisions will come into force on September 1, 2016.”

2017 will be the year of ecology for Russia. Almost 240 billion rubles will be allocated for nature conservation measures. One of the important events of the year is the entry into force of the “green shield” law on January 1. We'll tell you who came up with it and what it will change.

What is a forest park green belt ("green shield")?

A forest park green belt is a zone with a limited regime of environmental management or other economic activity. These are territories in which forests are located, territories of the green fund within the boundaries of an urban (as stated in the law) settlement, which are adjacent to these forests or form a single natural ecological system with them. In other words, these are forests in and around cities.

Why will they be created?

The developers of the law are a group of deputies from the All-Russian Popular Front. The need to create such zones was explained by one of the authors, State Duma deputy and representative of the ONF, Vladimir Gutenev.

The main reason is to stop deforestation around populated areas. This problem is especially acute in Moscow and the Moscow region, where industrial facilities and cottage communities often appear in place of forests.

Will the new law help?

Greenpeace Russia spoke negatively about the new status for forests. According to environmentalists of the organization, this “does not increase the protective status of forests and in the future may legalize the theft of forest lands.”

“From the point of view of preserving forests and other natural areas surrounding large cities, the law is a meaningless empty shell. It does not improve the protective status of these forests at all, except for increasing some fines. But it can facilitate the removal of forest areas from state ownership and from general use of citizens for various purposes not related to the existence of the forest,” said Alexey Yaroshenko, head of the forestry department of Greenpeace Russia, back in the summer.

The topic is very important for Russia. And not only for Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also for the Altai Territory. However, there are two points here.

Firstly, almost all ecologically valuable forest areas already have a status that implies special treatment. At least in the Altai region. These are green areas, forested areas. Another thing is that this status does not particularly help them. In such forests, timber is harvested, often under the guise of sanitary felling and thinning.

According to the famous ecologist, coordinator of the public monitoring group on environmental issues and forest protection of the regional branch of the ONF, Alexey Gribkov, in the region there is no need yet to give any territory the status of a “green shield”, because the new norm in the law will not be stricter than it is now.

“The legislation in this version does not yet allow for the protection of forests. It is necessary to eliminate gaps in the law, first of all, regarding existing green and forested areas,” he said in an interview with a correspondent.

Secondly, the very idea of a “green shield” has not yet been fully developed. For example, the law states that in this territory “it is prohibited to create capital construction facilities (except for healthcare, education, tourism, recreation and sports facilities).” That is, both a cafe and a sauna could appear there? What then is the point of preserving forests if the construction of such facilities is allowed there?

In addition, the law allows for the seizure of plots of land with “green shield” status, but on the condition that the territory will be compensated for by another plot. But the mechanism is not spelled out in detail. That is, it is not prohibited, say, to take away a piece of strip forest for some household needs, compensating for it with a piece of field without a single tree.

What cannot be done in such areas?

The most important thing is that clear cutting is prohibited here.

Also, by law, in such areas it is prohibited:

use toxic chemicals,
dispose of production and consumption waste of the first and third classes,
place objects that have a negative impact on nature,
create objects not related to forest infrastructure,
develop mineral deposits (except for mineral waters, medicinal mud),
create capital construction facilities (except for hydraulic structures, communication and power lines, pipelines, highways, healthcare, education, tourism, recreation and sports facilities),
build livestock and poultry complexes,
place cattle burial grounds, warehouses for pesticides and mineral fertilizers.

Which areas cannot become “green shields”?

Contaminated, with places where production and consumption waste are located;
Having land plots for capital construction or on which such construction is already underway, except for healthcare, education, tourism and recreation facilities;
Reserved for state and municipal needs;
If an agreement on the development of a built-up area has been concluded in relation to them;
If the territory, according to territorial planning documents, is intended to accommodate objects of federal, regional or local significance;
Other conditions prescribed by law.

Who can initiate giving a territory such status?

This can be done by non-profit organizations, state authorities or local governments. To do this, they need to submit a reasoned petition for the creation of a forest park green belt to the public chamber of the corresponding region.

The OP has 30 days to conduct a hearing. If the initiative is approved, it will go to the legislative body of the relevant region. If parliament makes such a decision, officials will have 180 days to establish the border of the forest park zone.

2017-06-24

The regional branch of the All-Russian Popular Front in Karachay-Cherkessia held a round table dedicated to the creation of a forest park protective belt around the city of Cherkessk. ONF experts discussed the mechanisms for implementing this issue with representatives of the republican Parliament, the prosecutor's office, regional departments of Rosprirodnadzor, environmental protection and water resources, the Forestry Management of the republic, the regional Cadastral Chamber and representatives of the municipal body and the Duma of Cherkessk.
“As a result of the discussion, we proposed to form an expert working group to establish a forest park protective belt. Those present also recognized the need to introduce an initiative to adopt regulations on the protection of green spaces in the region. For this purpose, the newly created expert working group on the establishment of a forest park protective belt in the city of Cherkessk was asked to conduct an expert assessment of draft regulatory legal acts for their submission to the Government of the Republic,” noted Gennady Zhdanov, co-chairman of the regional headquarters of the ONF in Karachay-Cherkessia.
Those present noted that the uncontrolled allocation and transfer of forest fund lands for the construction of holiday villages and cottages worsened the situation with forest areas; many natural areas were cut down. Activists of the regional branch of the ONF, together with representatives of the media, made a number of visits over the past year in response to complaints from residents about the illegal cutting of trees on the outskirts of the city.
According to residents, private developers are especially interested in land plots where green forests are located.
“To preserve the forests of Cherkessk and other cities of the republic, it is necessary to quickly include them in the forest park green belt.
Based on the results of the work of the expert group, we expect that this process will not take long: with the help of activists and experts, the Popular Front will begin to create a “green shield” around the capital of the region,” summed up the coordinator of the ONF project “General Cleaning” in Karachay-Cherkessia, Azamat Uzhakhov.
He also recalled that in August last year, activists of the All-Russian Popular Front in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic declared the need to introduce a moratorium on the transfer of land in city parks, squares, boulevards in populated areas to other functional zones. It was decided that until the establishment of “green belts” for the cities of the region in the manner prescribed by federal legislation, the regional branch of the ONF will monitor the legality of deforestation within the cities.
In addition, at the beginning of this year, the regional branch of the ONF in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic made requests to all municipalities of the republic for information on the presence of recreational zones marked on the general plan of the city or district center of the municipality, as well as about green zones that are actually recreational, but have a different type of permitted use.
Let us recall that the federal law on forest-park protective zones, developed and initiated by the ONF Center for Public Monitoring on Ecology and Forest Protection, was adopted by the State Duma and began to apply on January 1, 2017 throughout Russia.

In Stavropol, in the building of the recently opened museum and exhibition complex “My Country. My History”, public hearings were held on the creation of a “Green Shield” around the regional center and other cities of the region, organized by the Public Chamber of Stavropol.

The law on the “green shield”, one of the authors of which was the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, co-chairman of the Central Headquarters of the All-Russian Popular Front Olga Timofeeva, came into force on January 1 of this year. The idea of its creation arose in connection with the almost uncontrolled cutting down of trees in many regions of our country.

“Today, many forest areas are not registered in the cadastral register, are not taken into account in any way and, accordingly, are not protected, because they have no legal status,” said Olga Timofeeva. - It is clear that these are tidbits for business, for development, both residential and commercial. It’s very important to preserve them, otherwise soon we simply won’t be able to breathe.”

The authors of the new law were based on the practice of the Soviet era, when a 70-kilometer green belt was created around Moscow, on the territory of which logging and development were prohibited. During the discussion of the new bill, more than one hundred thousand signatures were collected in support of it within just one month; people not only agree with the creation of “green shields,” they literally demand it, noted the State Duma vice speaker.

The new law, as in Soviet times, completely prohibits the cutting down of forests included within the boundaries of the “green shield” and construction on its territory. There is only one exception - construction for social purposes, for example, a hospital or sports complex, but subject to full compensation.

Olga Timofeeva said that in many regions of the country the law encounters serious resistance from businesses interested in new construction sites. Entrepreneurs do not want to give up their plans for areas that are planted with trees, especially if they are privately owned.

“Green shields” have already been created in four regions: Voronezh, Smolensk, Kirov and Yaroslavl regions. In about 50 more regions, including the Stavropol Territory, the process is at the discussion stage. The proposals of the All-Russian Popular Front were transferred to the Public Chamber of the region for public hearings.

“One of the reasons for the deterioration of the environment today is the anthropogenic factor,” noted Nikolai Kashurin, chairman of the Public Chamber of Stavropol. - The population is growing, industry is growing, and the amount of green space is only decreasing, and as a result, the ecosystem is losing its ability to regenerate itself. The “green belt” around cities determines a special regime for environmental management. After public hearings, the Public Chamber will transfer all materials to the Stavropol Regional Duma, which will make a decision on determining the boundaries of this belt.”

Nikolai Kashurin noted that after the decision is made, it will be possible to make changes - but only in the direction of increasing the number of protected areas. Today it is assumed that about four thousand hectares of green areas, urban forests and parks can be included in the “green shield” of Stavropol.

Concerned Stavropol residents, representatives of public organizations, experts in the field of ecology and environmental management, employees of the environmental prosecutor's office, deputies of the regional and city Dumas came to the public hearings. Thus, the Chairman of the City Duma Georgy Kolyagin noted that deputies fully support everything related to the protection of green spaces. At the same time, in the regional center there are 108 square meters of “green space” for each resident - this is four times more than the required norm. Currently in Stavropol, even if a decision is made to cut down a certain area, compensatory tree plantings occur in a ratio of not one to one, but one to four to five, that is, instead of one felled tree, 4-5 new ones are planted.

“I would like to note: as a result of the adoption of the new law, it should not turn out that urban forests have new owners,” said Georgy Kolyagin.

In fact, today in the regional center literally every tree and every public garden has been counted and registered. The territories of reserves also have their own special status, for example, Cherry Glade, Priozerny Reserve, Russian Forest. This is precisely what raised concerns among inter-district environmental prosecutor Sergei Belevtsev: these territories are already protected by law, and their status is much stricter than that of the “green shield”; no construction is allowed there, even for social purposes. The inclusion of territories in the “green shield” will inevitably lead to confusion in status. Sergei Belevtsev proposed to include in the “shield” only forest areas around the city, and not within its borders, more precisely, those forests that today have not yet been registered and are not protected by law.

Representative of the Ministry of Environmental Protection Tatyana Omelina also spoke about the difficulty of working at the intersection of two laws: while supporting the initiative as a whole, the ministry fears that the strict status of the reserves will be softened as a result of their inclusion in the “green shield”.

The chairman of the Public Chamber of the region, Nikolai Kashurin, responded to both objections: “The law on the “green shield” assumes that if a territory with a more strict status is included within its boundaries, this status will be retained for it. Thus, there will be no confusion and no easing of the environmental management regime.”

In general, those present fully supported the “green shield” law. Thus, the director of the Stavropol Botanical Garden, Vladimir Kozhevnikov, focused on forest belts, which were once planted for protection from winds and dust storms. Today, these territories have turned into self-regulating and full-fledged forest strips capable of self-reproduction, which, unfortunately, also require protection, since most of them do not have any legal status.

The deputy chairman of the regional branch of the Green party, Vasily Avdeev, proposed that when adopting long-term plans for the development of territories, environmental assessment should be put at the forefront.

The chairman of the Ecological Development Foundation, Yuri Nikulin, spoke about the important role of educating the younger generation: the foundation’s employees regularly hold events with children to plant trees and flowers, instilling in schoolchildren a love and respect for nature.

The gathered residents of the regional center proposed to include within the boundaries of the “green shield” several areas not previously declared along the bed of the Tashla River, including the Tuapse Railway bridge located there, as well as a site located along the territory of the Vodnik dacha community.

Based on the results of the hearings, regional Duma deputy Viktor Nadein noted that a working group would be created, which would include not only deputies, but also social activists, experts in the field of ecology and environmental management. “As a result of today’s discussion, it is clear that changes and additions will be necessary. We will be able to ensure a high level of work on the project and, I think, at the end we will get a good law that can protect the “lungs” of Stavropol.”

And in the future, other cities will follow the regional center, primarily the Caucasian Mineral Waters region. It is this area, as a resort area, that needs special protection in order to preserve its special natural resources, which make it so attractive to tourists.