NEW FOREST MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS TO PROTECT WILDLIFE IN ROSTOV REGION

In 2017 the federal forest management agency Rosleskhoz made it mandatory to include biodiversity conservation provisions into the forest management regulations. Following the initiative, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) developed new forest management regulations which have since been adopted in the Krasnodar region, Dagestan, Chechnya, Stavropol regoin and North Ossetia.

Rostov Oblast is one of the most sparsely forested regions in Russia (with only 360 thousand ha of woods). However, the Region's government fully understands the importance of the initiative for conservation of the Don region's natural resources and approved inclusion of the biodiversity conservation amendments to the forest management regulations on September 25, 2018.

It means that new rules till apply to forest harvesting for the next ten years starting December 13, 2018. The amendments provide for conservation of certain forest areas, critical for biodiversity, for example, strong high trees where rare bird species nest.