The State Duma adopts a bill on clear-cutting in the ecological zone of Lake Baikal

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a draft law expressly allowing clearcutting within the framework of construction projects in the central ecological zone of Lake Baikal. The authors of the document from the Parliament and the Federation Council propose to allow the construction of roads, treatment facilities, utilities, cafes, restaurants and toilets there, citing concern for local residents and the fact that “life does not stand still.” The project caused a scandal: opponents of the amendments in the State Duma called them “the funeral of a sacred lake” and “the destruction of natural systems under the pretext of solving problems.” Even the legal department of the parliament opposed it, recalling the special status of Baikal. Vyacheslav Fetisov (ER), First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, said that the project had not been discussed with the relevant departments and it was necessary to understand “which business will be the beneficiary here.”

A group of 14 Duma deputies from various factions and seven senators submitted a draft amendment to the laws “On the Protection of Lake Baikal” and “On Ecological Expertise” to the State Duma. The authors propose to allow clear-cutting in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory on seven grounds. Among them, the construction of mudflow protection and other hydraulic structures, communal infrastructure, roads, “temporary accommodation facilities, public catering and consumer services”, toilets. Logging is proposed to be allowed until the end of 2030. In addition, until 2025, the project allows the transfer of forest fund lands to other categories for the creation of “military and civilian burials.”

The explanatory note to the document states that the law “On the Protection of Lake Baikal” was adopted in 1999 and its provisions over two decades “began to conflict with other codified and non-codified legislative acts”, and also “created risks of environmental safety and inhibition of social economic development”. Finally, a number of categories of citizens were “struck in their rights” (without specifying which ones and how).

Sergei Ten, the First Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Property Issues, who presented the amendments in the State Duma, gave a certificate according to which the size of the central ecological zone of Baikal (89 thousand square kilometers) is twice the area of ​​Switzerland, and the natural territory of the lake – Germany or Great Britain. “Life does not stand still,” Mr. Ten explained the necessity of the bill. Among the problems that cannot be solved without adjusting the legislation, the deputy mentioned the construction of treatment facilities and the lack of opportunities for local residents to “decently bury relatives” due to the lack of places in cemeteries (and the possibility of expanding them). It is noteworthy that a list of 75 plots with cadastral numbers is attached to the bill, where it is possible to cut down and build hydraulic structures. Mr. Ten emphasized the importance of the moment, assuring that his voters from the Irkutsk region were watching the broadcast of the discussion of the amendments on the website of the State Duma, despite the late evening on Lake Baikal. The speaker was emotionally supported by the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology Zhanna Ryabtseva (ER): “There is not a single person here who would not root for Baikal. I’ll tear out my Adam’s apple for the truth!” she practically screamed. Mentioning residents trying to “bury their relatives among the pines and oaks, and this is scary,” Ms. Ryabtseva assured that five trees would be planted for every tree cut down.

Co-author of the 1999 law “On the Protection of Lake Baikal” Anatoly Greshnevikov (SRZP) asked what opinion two institutes dealing with water resources issues gave on the project (probably referring to the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Water and Environmental Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences). Sergey Ten did not give a direct answer, saying that “science supports this initiative”, and the project was discussed at “several venues”, including the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. Deputy Oleg Nilov (SRZP) asked what is the total area of ​​deforestation and “communications, power lines and pipelines that are going to be built to make residents happy.” “We are far from being happy, but we are solving the problems of the people who live on Baikal,” retorted Mr. Ten. According to him, by 2030, the lake is expected to attract 6 million tourists annually, and they will “go to the toilet in tents, because you can’t build there and you can’t cut down the forest.” The speaker did not comment on the issue of the proposed cutting areas. According to Oleg Mikhailov (KPRF), a member of the State Duma Committee on Ecology, we are talking about a territory of 600 hectares. “Bold words were uttered with great pathos. But the pathos contradicts the text of the law,” deputy Renat Suleymanov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) reproached.

Outwardly, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on ecology, Vyacheslav Fetisov (ER), who heads the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, looked calm. “Concepts are being changed. Nobody discussed this bill – neither the scientific community, nor experts, nor the relevant ministries. It was introduced a couple of weeks ago,” he said, admitting that “I didn’t think there would be such an interesting situation with Russia’s main asset, Lake Baikal.” “If the law had not been adopted in 1999, we would have been cut down over the years,” Mr. Fetisov said. He believes that it is necessary to figure out “which business will be the beneficiary” of the proposed cutting and construction.

It is noteworthy that the legal department of the State Duma also opposed the bill. The conclusion states that the amendments “are not consistent with the special status of Lake Baikal and the established regime for the protection of the Baikal natural territory.” Clear-cutting in the central ecological zone is expressly prohibited by art. 11 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the protection of Lake Baikal”, and the construction of new economic facilities – Art. 6 of the same law, according to the conclusion of the head of the legal department of the State Duma, Roman Kolachev.

Anatoly Greshnevikov said that it was “hard for him to attend the funeral of the sacred Lake Baikal.” Mr. Mikhailov also considered the amendments “destruction of natural systems under the pretext of solving problems”: “If the project is accepted in this form, we will be the last generation of people who can admire the charms of the lake.” Sergei Ten, in response, decided to mention “the so-called environmental organizations” protesting “on any decision on Baikal”, but named only one – “Greenpeace Russia”. “It was recognized as an undesirable organization (in May 2023 by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.— “b”), but his work continues to live, ”the deputy hinted. In his opinion, “there is a lot of politics around Baikal”: “But there should be no politics, there should be a single country!”

As a result, the bill was adopted in the first reading: 296 deputies voted in favor, 76 against. Amendments to the second reading are accepted until July 25.

Alexander Voronov