The Forest Code enshrines measures aimed at ensuring the rational use, reproduction, protection of the forest fund from depletion, pollution, destruction, including due to diseases, fires, and pests. Together, these measures form the legal regime for the protection and use of forests. In the article, we consider its features.
General information
The concept of legal protection of forests, the objects and subjects of which are clearly defined by law, covers a fairly broad sphere of civil law relations. Resource protection is carried out by specialized bodies and institutions. These include leshozes, the state forest guard, aviation security bases, etc. Direct protection of objects is carried out by aviation and ground methods.
Environmental measures and requirements that form the basis of legal regulation of forest protection and forestry are addressed to all entities. These include users of resources, as well as organizations whose activities affect the state of forests.
Legal protection of forests in the Russian Federation is carried out through the implementation of a number of organizational measures. These include:
- Forest inventory.
- Monitoring
- Development and implementation of state programs aimed at the development of the timber industry.
- State control over the state, protection, use, reproduction of the forest fund.
Subject Requirements
They are of paramount importance in the field of legal regulation of forest conservation and protection. Organizations engaged in forestry (leshozes) are entrusted with the responsibility of registering objects, organizing their targeted and rational use, monitoring the performance of work by forest users, and also suppressing regulations, rules for sanitary and fire-fighting arrangement of territories. These entities should take care of the facilities, take measures to improve their composition and quality, restore, reproduce, prevent disease and spread pests.
As part of the legal regulation of the use and protection of forests, legal entities and citizens also have certain responsibilities. One of the key requirements of the law is the implementation of sanitary, technological, and other measures to protect resources. The indicated measures for the legal protection of forests should be coordinated with the authorities and forest fund management structures at the regional level.
Supervisory service
In the structure of the state forest administration bodies, a special institute, the State Forest Guard, is provided for ensuring the conservation of biological and environmental potential, fulfilling the rules for reproduction, use, and protection of objects. This service is empowered to prevent and combat violations in protected forest areas. She has the right to impose fines on citizens and officials who do not comply with the requirements of the law, file claims for compensation for damage caused to resources, transfer materials to competent state bodies to bring the perpetrators to justice, in vol. including disciplinary and criminal.
Resource Use Specifics
Among the measures that comprise the content of legal protection and forest protection, measures are envisaged aimed at providing industrial facilities with special treatment facilities. This is necessary to prevent the negative impact on the nature of chemicals, sewage, municipal, industrial waste and emissions.
Plots for the construction of facilities that affect the reproduction and condition of forests should be coordinated with the regional authority and the territorial division of the forestry management service. In this case, the state environmental review is a mandatory procedure.
The implementation of construction work, the extraction of minerals, the laying of engineering networks, the implementation of other activities not related to forestry is allowed only with permission. The methods that will be used in this case should not impede the reproduction of the forest and violate its condition.
If the organization performs work that negatively affects the facilities, does not protect them from fires, its activities may be suspended until the violations are eliminated.
Important point
To ensure effective legal protection and use of forests, they are divided into groups. For each of them, a special logging regime and protection rules are provided.
Priority in the legal regulation of the protection of forests is given to the rules governing the use of the territories of reserves, especially valuable massifs, restricted areas. The regime established for them is characterized, first of all, by the fact that these facilities can be used exclusively for their intended purpose, corresponding to their sanitary and protective functions. The legal regulation of the protection of forests of this group includes the establishment of a ban on tree felling (except when it is necessary for sanitary purposes), as well as increased liability for violation of the requirements of the law (114 Article LC).
In other forests, timber harvesting and other work are allowed. However, measures must be carried out in strict accordance with the norms and principles of forest management. In particular, the principles of continuous, rational and sustainable use are the cornerstone of the legal protection of forests. Entities authorized to carry out forestry operations are required to comply with the requirements for the conservation and improvement of environment-forming, protective, water-protective functions of objects. They must provide all conditions for forest reproduction.
Harvesting wood
Legal protection of forests involves not only the establishment of special management regimes, but also other important rules. So, in the Russian Federation acts are enacted, fixing the norms of cutting and harvesting of wood, designed to meet the economic needs of the state and the needs of the population. Such standards are established on the basis of information on annual forest growth. The volume is determined by approving the estimated cutting area for a particular enterprise engaged in forestry, by use zones and administrative-territorial units. The corresponding function is assigned to the state bodies responsible for the implementation of state policy in the field of legal protection of forests.
Sustainable use
The implementation of this principle is carried out through the implementation of measures aimed at the reproduction of the forest fund. They are carried out in territories previously covered with trees (burnt areas, clearings, etc.), or intended for planting plantations within the boundaries of non-forest zones.
Responsibilities to ensure reproduction are assigned to enterprises engaged in forestry, as well as directly to forest users.
Fire fighting
This is one of the key areas for ensuring the legal protection of forests. To combat fires at the legislative level, special rules for safe behavior are enshrined. According to them, it is forbidden to carry out actions in forests that create a real risk of the occurrence and spread of fire. These rules also govern the conduct of fire-fighting measures for enterprises operating in the forest or in close proximity to it.
Safety rules are binding on all citizens and legal entities. Individuals are forbidden to throw flammable materials in the forest, to make fires in areas with dried grass, under tree crowns, in peat bogs, etc., if a fire is detected in the forest, it is necessary to quickly take measures to eliminate it. If a citizen cannot put out a fire on his own, immediately inform the leshoz and rescue service staff about this.
It is the responsibility of forest users to develop and approve action plans, coordinate them with the competent authorities and fulfill them on time.
State supervision in the forest fund, as well as in forests that are not part of it, is carried out by state forest protection bodies. For protection, aircraft and equipment can be used. Such forest protection is carried out by specialized units of the Federal Forestry Service of the Russian Federation.
The specifics of state management of the protection and use of the forest fund
The powers of the Russian Federation in the field of protection, use, reproduction of forests include:
- Identification of key areas of state policy in the field of forestry.
- Development and approval of laws, other regulatory acts, monitoring their compliance.
- Use, possession, disposal of objects, except as otherwise provided in article 47 of the LC.
- Implementation of the state investment policy in the field of protection, use, reproduction of the forest fund.
- Development, approval, implementation of state programs.
- Determination of executive bodies of the federal level for the performance of functions in the field of legal protection of the forest fund, establishment of their powers.
- Approval of the procedure for dividing forests into groups, delimiting groups into protection categories, transferring objects from one group to another.
- Definition of rules and norms of forest use.
- Establishment and approval of estimated cutting areas.
- Determination of types of payments for the use of forest fund facilities, minimum rates of payment for standing timber.
- Approval of the procedure for providing forest plots for use.
- Establishment of rules for the supply of wood, logging, protection, protection, reproduction of forests.
- Organization and coordination of design, research and development activities for forestry.
- Monitoring the use, protection, protection of facilities, reproduction of forests, establishing the procedure for inspections.
- Adoption of the rules and organization of forest accounting, state cadastre, monitoring of forest management.
The activities of regional authorities in the field of legal protection of forest resources
Authorized structures of power of the subjects are vested with powers implemented through subventions coming from the federal budget. Regional authorities carry out:
- Extinguishing fires on its territory.
- The rights of ownership, disposal, use of forests previously owned by agricultural enterprises, their protection, reproduction and protection.
The implementation of these powers involves:
- Making decisions on the allocation of forest plots for rent, short-term and free use.
- Organization and holding of forest auctions and competitions.
- Setting rates of payments for the use of the forest fund.
- Issue of logging tickets, warrants.
- Issuance of permits for construction work, mining, laying utilities, production of other works not related to forestry and forest management, if this does not require transfer of land to another category.
- Carrying out forest inventory.
- Protecting forests from diseases and pests.
- Implementation of preventive fire prevention measures.
Powers of local authorities
The bodies of territorial self-government are authorized to use, protect, reproduce, protect forests located within rural and urban points, except for the cities of the Fed. values. In these cities, the corresponding functions are implemented taking into account the peculiarities of the organization of municipal administration, fixed by federal legislation.
Additionally
Article 50 of the LC enshrines the key principles of public administration in the field of legal protection of the forest fund. Normative regulation of the use, reproduction, protection of objects is carried out on the basis of:
- Sustainable development of the economy and continuous improvement of the state of nature.
- Continuous, rational, sustainable use of forest objects in the interests of the Russian Federation and its subjects
- Incompatibilities of the implementation of public administration functions with the implementation of felling in the main protected areas and the processing of the resulting wood.
Conclusion
Currently, the legislation enshrines strict forest management rules. Forest background is recognized as one of the country's main natural resources. In this regard, special attention is paid to its protection.
The norms enshrined liability (including criminal) for violation of regulations. Forest users are required to take measures to prevent fires, the negative impact of their activities on the state of the forest fund, the spread of diseases and pests.