ALANIA'S BIODIVERSITY UNDER PROTECTION. NORTH OSSETIA JOINS OTHER CAUCASIAN REGIONS IN PURSUIT OF SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT

The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania has published new forest management regulations, adopted in the Order No. 294 of September 17, 2018. In two and a half months the new requirements will come into effect and remain mandatory for execution by all forestries of the Republic for the next ten years. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) orchestrated development of proposals on biodiversity conservation measures during forest harvesting, which were included into the new regulations.

It should be noted that back in 2017 the Federal Agency for Forestry (Rosleskhoz) made biodiversity conservation provisions an indispensable part of any forest management regulations. At the suggestion of WWF-Russia, the requirements for biodiversity conservation have already been incorporated into the forest management regulations adopted in many subjects of the Russian Federation. In the Russian Caucasus, the first to approve necessary amendments to the forest management regulations was the Krasnodar region, which was followed by Dagestan, then Chechnya and Stavropol region. Now North Ossetia officially supports sustainable forest management too.

The new requirements provide for conservation of certain forest areas, critical for the biodiversity maintenance. To give a few examples, such areas may be strong high trees where rear birds nest, or natural salt licks which are the source of indispensable minerals for wild animals, thus playing an important role in well-being of ungulates, including European bison population restored by WWF in North Ossetia.