Protection of Nature

Rosprirodnadzor

In Russia, the foundations of a scientific approach to nature conservation were laid in the second half of the 19th century by such scientists as A. I. Voeikov , D. N. Anuchin , V. V. Dokuchaev , I. P. Borodin ^[4] .

In 1917, V. P. Semenov-Tian-Shansky submitted for the consideration of the Environmental Conservation Commission of the Russian Geographical Society the first scientifically grounded project of the geographical network of reserves in Russia ^[4] .

After the revolution, environmental commissions were set up in Russia to coordinate environmental protection work on nature conservation at the local level.

In 1924, the All-Russian Society for the Conservation of Nature was organized. The new period of activization of nature protection activity fell on the 1960-1980s ^[5] .

On February 17, 1925, the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR was adopted “On the approval of the list of scientific, museum, art and nature conservation institutions and societies under the jurisdiction of the Main Directorate of Scientific, Scientific and Art Institutions of the People’s Commissariat of Education R. S. S. S. R. . "

1960 - Law of the RSFSR of October 27, 1960 on Nature Protection in the RSFSR.

1970 - Land Code of the RSFSR of December 1, 1970, Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR of December 29, 1972 No. 898 “On Strengthening Nature Conservation and Improving the Use of Natural Resources”

1978 - Forest Code of the RSFSR of August 8, 1978

In August 1978, the first edition of the Red Book of the USSR was published, containing information on rare and endangered species of animals and plants found on the territory of the Soviet Union (the book was timed to coincide with the opening of the 14th General Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Ashgabat ) . In 1984, followed by its second edition, significantly expanded. In 1983, the Red Book of the RSFSR was published, in which 65 species of mammals, 107 birds, 11 reptiles, 4 amphibians, 9 fish, 34 insects and 15 mollusks were recorded. In 2001, the “ Red Book of the Russian Federation ” appeared, for which the “Red Book of the RSFSR” was adopted; it included rare and endangered animals, plants and fungi that live (permanently or temporarily) in a state of natural freedom on the territory, the continental shelf and in the marine economic zone of the Russian Federation and need special state-legal actions at the federal level ^{[6] [7 ] [8]} .

1991 - Law of the RSFSR of December 19, 1991 "On the Protection of the Environment" ^[9] .

2002 - the legal basis for environmental activities was established by Federal Law No. 7-ФЗ “On Environmental Protection” dated January 10, 2002 ^[9] .

In June 2016, the creation of the Regional Environmental Prosecutor's Office in the Far East was announced, which will carry out supervision in the territories of the Amur Region, Primorye and the Khabarovsk Territory. A similar structure of the Volga region was established in 1990; it included the Samara, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, Ulyanovsk, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Ryazan, Cheboksary, Kazan, Ostashkovskaya, Tver and Cherepovets interdistrict environmental prosecutor's offices ^[10] .

The municipalities of urban districts, clause 11 and 38 of Article 16 of the Federal Law of 06.10.2003 N 131-FZ “On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation”, include issues of organizing environmental protection measures and the implementation of municipal forest control. ^[eleven]

On the basis of articles 98 and 84 of the forest code, the municipality is entrusted with the obligation to exercise municipal forest control, possession, use, and manage forest parcels; setting fees and rent rates for forest resources; wood accounting; development and approval of forestry regulations, organization of fire safety measures in forests, the creation of municipal forestry . ^{[12] [13]}

Events related to nature conservation can be divided into the following groups:

• natural sciences,
• technical production,
• economic,
• administrative and legal ^[1] .

Conservation activities can be carried out internationally, nationally or within a particular region ^[1] .

The formation of ideas about the need to introduce special environmental protection measures took place over a very long time, although at the first stage it was about territories with unique natural objects (specific landforms , rocks , flora , fauna , etc.). Back in 1799, the German natural scientist and encyclopaedist Alexander von Humboldt introduced the concept of " natural monuments " and put forward the idea of ​​finding and preserving them ^{[14] [15]} .

The first in the world to protect animals living in nature was the decision on the protection of chamois and marmots in the Tatras , adopted in 1868 by the Zemstvo Sejm in Lviv and the Austro-Hungarian authorities on the initiative of Polish natural scientists M. Novitsky , E. Janota and L. Zeisner ^{[ 16]} . In 1872, the first national park in the world, Yellowstone , was created in the western United States ^[14] .

The danger of uncontrolled changes in the environment and, consequently, the threat to the existence of living organisms on Earth (including humans) required decisive practical measures to protect and conserve nature, and legal regulation of the use of natural resources. Such measures include cleaning up the environment, streamlining the use of chemicals, stopping the production of pesticides, restoring land, and creating reserves.

In Russia, environmental measures are provided for in land, forest, water and other federal legislation.

In a number of countries, as a result of government environmental protection programs, the quality of the environment in certain regions has been significantly improved (for example, the purity and quality of water in the Great Lakes was restored as a result of a long-term and expensive program).

Judicial Protection of Nature

Based on paragraph 1 of Art. 32 of the Constitution (Basic Law) of the Russian Federation in terms of the direct participation of citizens in the management of state affairs, as well as Art. 58 of the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Russian Federation, everyone is obliged to preserve nature and the environment, and to carefully treat natural resources ^{[17] [18]} .

Based on Part 2 of Art. 11 FZ-7 “On Environmental Protection of the Russian Federation”, citizens have the right to file statements with the court in the protection and conservation of nature. ^[19] .

Based on Part 2 of Art. 46 of the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Russian Federation, decisions and actions (or inaction) of state bodies and officials may be appealed in court. If the cases are within the jurisdiction of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation , the inaction of the investigating authorities can also be appealed in court - according to Art. 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation , without paying the state fee ^[20] .

In 1948, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; Engl. International Union for Conservation of Nature , IUCN) was formed - an international non-governmental association that included as members a significant number of state and public organizations. Over time, IUCN received observer status at the UN General Assembly and turned into a reputable neutral forum, where governments, non-governmental organizations, scientists can work to develop solutions to pressing environmental problems and implement these solutions ^[21] . In 1963, the Red Data Book prepared by the IUCN was published - the world annotated list of species and subspecies of animals threatened with destruction; the publication of the book was aimed at attracting the attention of the international community to the problems of nature conservation and preventing a real threat of further extinction of animal species. Later all new editions of this book came out, of a much larger volume ^{[6] [7]} .

Starting from the second half of the 20th century, international cooperation in the field of nature conservation and the environment as a whole began. The necessary legal basis for such cooperation was created by the 1972 Stockholm Conference “ ”. In accordance with the decisions of the conference in December 1972, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) was created within the UN system, ensuring coordination of nature conservation at the global level ^[3] .

• World Wildlife Fund
• Greenpeace
• Animals extinct after 1600
• International Union for Conservation of Nature
• Research Institute for Nature Conservation
• Environmental protection
• Light pollution
• Russian Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage named after D. S. Likhachev
• Mercury in fish

• World Strategy for Nature Conservation // Nature, 1980, № 12. - P. 40-41.
• Kolosov A.M. Animal welfare in Russia. - M .: Soviet Russia, 1989. - 216 p. - ISBN 5-268-00438-7 .
• Pavlov D.S., Savvaitova K.A., Sokolov L.I., Alekseev S.S. Rare and Endangered Animals. Fish. - M .: High School, 1994. - 334 p.
• The system of principles for preserving the biogeocenotic function and biodiversity of filter feeders // DAN, 2002. - V. 383, No. 5. - P. 710-714.
• Elements of the qualitative theory of biotic self-purification of aquatic ecosystems. Application of the theory to environmental practice // Bulletin of Moscow. un-that. Ser. 16. Biology. - 2004. № 1. - p. 23—32.
• Yablokov A.V., Ostroumov S.A. Levels of wildlife conservation. - M .: Science, 1985. - 175 p.

• Environmental Engineering
• The Biodiversity Project on Practical Science
• "Green Gateway" - a guide to environmental information resources
• All-Russian Society for the Conservation of Nature