Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry has elaborated amendments to the Forestry Code aimed at opposing illegal deforestation that accounts for 10 percent to 15 percent of the authorized forest procurement. The State Duma has the draft already but the dates of its passing are yet unclear. The legal export of timber will hardy yield great profits due to the increase in export duties. But the banning actions failed to curtail illegal deforestation, chiefs of Natural Resources Ministry acknowledged yesterday.
In the Far East, the illegal deforestation reached 7 million cu meters past year and the indicator exceeded 21 million cubic meters if taken for all Russia, Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev said, specifying that a criminal branch had emerged in the Far East dealing with illegal logging, storage, delivery and supply of the wood. Authorized forest procurement stood at roughly 180 million cu meters to 190 million cu meters.
In an effort to oppose unlawful deforestation, Trutnev’s ministry worked out a package of amendments to Forestry, Criminal and Administrative Codes. The changes are to cover three directions, extending to controlling the volume of deforestation, toughening responsibility for illegal deforestation, including the three-rise increase in penalties, improving the status of all employees of the regional forestries and giving additional supervising authority to them