Part 1. Measures undertaken by Russia to fulfill the obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity

Russia ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December, 1995. The 3rd meeting of the CBD Parties' Conference in Argentina, November 1996, for the first time defined specific actions for the implementation of the Convention's objectives, particularly in such important for Russia areas as the biodiversity conservation in forestry and agriculture. Within the CBD and with the participation of Russian experts, the Protocol on Safety in Biotechnology is being developed to be completed in 1998. In 1996, the Global Environment Facility Project Biodiversity Conservation was launched in Russia. It comprises 3 components: Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, Protected Areas and Baikal Region. The preparation of the national strategy and action plan in the nature protection has started within its framework.

From among the positive outputs of biodiversity conservation national actions in the context of the CBD ratification, the following should be singled out:

- active generation of the legislative base (Annex 5.2.1);

- high rates in the expansion of the federal system of protected areas; creation of regional networks of protected areas (Annex 5.1.11, 5.2.9-5.2.11);

- completion of works on the preparation of a new edition of the list of animals for the Red Data Book of Russia; Red Data Books have been already published in 20 Federation subjects and in most of the regions lists of plant and animal species under conservation are attached to relevant legal acts;

- expansion of the network of organizations involved in the ex-situ conservation of rare animal and plant species; - establishment of 2 cross-sectoral commissions - on biodiversity issues and on gene-engineering activities;

- Russia's successful entering international activities in the biodiversity conservation pool, including its participation in the efforts under the CBD, CITES, and other conventions and agreements;

- putting of advanced informational support methods in the biodiversity conservation into practice of certain scientific research and sectoral institutions (creation of mass databases, use of GIS technologies, etc.);

- development and implementation of federal and sectoral programs on the protection and sustainable use of individual biodiversity elements (on forest biodiversity, on keeping a register of domestic cattle breeds and cultural plant sorts, on reforestation, on support to zapovedniks, on the Amur Tiger conservation, etc.);

- financing of certain federal and regional scientific biodiversity programs and projects;

- beginning of the implementation of the GEF project Biodiversity Conservation in Russia, including Nizhni Novgorod oblast and Baikal Region and on the territory of 74 Russian zapovedniks and national parks;

- extension of activities of regional state environmental organizations and funds in the biodiversity conservation (especially in central areas of European Russia, in Siberia and Far East);

-intensive functioning of Russian (Socio-Ecological Union, Center of Wild Nature Protection, Russian Union of Bird Conservation, Green Cross, etc.) and international non-governmental ecological organizations (WWF, IUCN, Wetlands International, Greenpeace, etc.).

Simultaneously, sound problems associated with the necessity to fulfill the CBD obligations by Russia can be identified. In a contracted form, they may be formulated as follows:

- insufficient financing of biodiversity inventory, status evaluation,

conservation and monitoring;

- low performance of economic mechanisms of the biodiversity conservation and sustainable use;

- ignoring of environmental regulations by many sectors characteristic of transitional economy conditions; criminalization of some areas in the use of biological resources;

- underdeveloped international biodiversity conservation legal base in CIS countries.

The CBD ratification proved to be an incentive for more active performance and initiation of coordinated efforts on the nature protection in Russia. On the background of a general decline in public and authorities' interest to environmental problems, it is nevertheless possible to bring attention of many potential participants in the strategic process to biodiversity conservation issues.

Biodiversity conservation through protected areas. For November 1, 1997, protected areas of Russia have occupied about 2 % of the country's total area. They are represented by 95 zapovedniks (310,265.5 km2) and 32 national parks (66,451.4 km2). In addition, there are almost 1,600 state zakazniks (up to 600,000 km2) and over 8,000 natural monuments. Flora abundance of individual protected areas deviates from 300 to 1,500 vascular plant species. This constitutes 30 - 80 % of the flora composition of a region. From among the Red Data Book plants, only 40 - 50 % of vascular plants, 36 % of mosses, and 86 % of lichens are currently conserved in zapovedniks. Russian zapovedniks conserve 87 % of land mammal fauna (218 species), including 37 species listed in the Red Data Book, 92 % - amphibians (24 species, including 3 from the Red Data Book), 73 % - reptiles (49 species, including 6 from the Red Data Book), and 83 % - birds (515 species, including 60 % of the Red Data Book species). A representative range of landscape diversity on protected areas varies within 60 - 70 % and 10 out of 58 Russian biogeographic regions are still lacking zapovedniks and national parks. Botanic-geographic regions do not all possess protected areas. In terms of the insufficient representative range of biota and landscapes on protected areas, the development of their system and regional networks remains urgent.

Conservation of rare and endangered species. The SCEP Department for Biodiversity Conservation has prepared a list of rare and endangered animals of Russia for a new edition of the Red Data Book. It includes 65 mammal species, 123 species of birds, 20 - reptiles, 8 - amphibians, 44 - fish, 13 - worms, 44 - mollusks, 94 - insects, etc. (Annex 5.2.8). Their conservation and reproduction are carried out in-situ (in zapovedniks, national parks, zakazniks) and ex-situ (in zoos, botanic gardens, breeding farms, arboreta). Yet, a lot of species fall out of various forms of protection and that is why it is still actual to expand a network of protected areas and set up special breeding centers for rare species breeding focused on their introduction into the wild.

Biodiversity conservation in forestry. According to the Rosleskhoz data, the territory of Russia comprises the following number of forest-dependent plant and animal species: trees and shrubs - 847, grass and small shrubbery - 1,438, fungi - 212, mammals - 127, birds - 158 (the data to be specified further on). Forest habitats are characterstic of 80 Red Data Book fauna and 257 flora representatives. Most of Russian protected areas are located in the forest zone, hence biodiversity conservation prospects thereof are satisfactory. For the Russian Federation National Report on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests (Montreal Process, July, 1997) the Russian Party prepared statistical and analytical materials which incorporate data on the criterion Biological Diversity Conservation. It pinpoints an insufficient degree of the study on forest landscape and biological diversity and a need for making its full inventory. This should be facilitated by regular development of forest areas (once in 10 - 15 years) and State Registration of forest fund, i.e. national inventory of forests (once in 5 years). New data on the status of Russian forests according to the State Registration are planned to be available by January 1, 1998.

Hunting management and game animal protection. Russian hunting lands occupy 1.5 billion hectares. About 60 mammal and 70 bird species being regular objects of commercial and non-professional hunting are encountered on the territory of the Russian Federation. Since 1994, the state control over the status of game resources and hunting management has been placed by the Russian Federation Government on the Department of Hunting Resources Protection and Rational Use under the RF Ministry of Agriculture. The State Service for Hunting Resource Registration of the Department performs the annual estimation of the number of key game species in individual regions and across Russia.

Data of the RF State Service for Hunting Resource Registration witness that a drop in number of certain valuable game animals observed in 1992 - 1995 is mostly characteristic of the center and south of European Russia. Totally throughout Russia the number of game animals did not reduce so dramatically for the same period. The reduction of game animals did not exceed the frameworks of natural deviations in their abundance and was caused by unfavorable weather and climate conditions observed on the most part of Eurasia in 1992 - 1995.

The situation has changed for the last two years. Total livestock of fur and wild ungulate animals has been growing throughout Russia. The improvement of weather-climatic conditions for the recent years and a better game animal feed base have produced their positive effect. In addition, anti-poaching efforts have been intensified in Russia. A certain positive role in stabilizing the livestock of wild ungulates and creating prerequisites for its growth was played by the strategy of rigid restriction in hunting quotas for these species in the period of exposure to negative natural factors pursued by the Hunting Department of the RF Ministry of Agriculture.

Anyhow, there are specific problems in the game animal biodiversity conservation of Russia. They are primarily associated with a shortage in game animal protection financing, particularly insufficient funding of the RF Ministry of Agriculture Hunting Department system.

Conservation of sea and inland waters biodiversity. A level of understanding of Russian sea biodiversity has been still relatively low. Better than others are studied the Black, Azov, Baltic, White and Barents Seas and individual parts of the Sea of Japan. There is no single entity that would perform management of sea biological resources and biodiversity conservation. In addition to a high fishing load, through the last years marine ecosystems have been experiencing significant impacts from companies that carry out oil/gas prospecting and extraction (the Barents, Kara, Caspian, and Okhotsk Seas). In southern and northern seas remains a threat of losing unique maritime ecosystems as a result of oil pipeline building and tanker transportation. The invertebrates and fish intended introduction is proceeding absolutely uncontrolled. This situation dictates setting priority in the biodiversity conservation on the setup of a network of sea zapovedniks and expansion of protected sea areas in existing reserves along with efforts on taking inventory of sea biodiversity.

Fresh water basins of Russia are undergoing drastic antropogenic impacts - pollution, transformation and flow withdrawal, and the like (Annex 5.1.8). Their ecosystems, flora and fauna are dramatically altering and a number of species is becoming extinct (especially fish - sturgeon, salmon, etc.).

Biodiversity conservation in agriculture. In terms of the reduction of agricultural areas under the economic decline, some regions demonstrate restoration of wild vegetation in sites where plowed fields used to be. Reduction of cattle stock, lowering of loads on natural grazings and recovery of their biodiversity are also occurring in a lot of regions. Positive environmental results have been brought by a recent cut in the use of pesticides and toxic chemicals on fields. However, a decreasing state support to agriculture poses a threat of destruction for the system of agricultural plant and animal genofund protection. Currently there are 30 119 sorts of cultural plants, including 11 117 Russian breeds, available in Russia. 375 sorts out of them are under conservation (242 - of Russian origin). The total number of domestic animal breeds known in Russia is 454 with 124 among them being conserved. Principal areas in the agricultural biodiversity conservation strategy are: the implementation of ecologically efficient production technologies, optimization of agrarian landscape and conservation of domestic animal and cultural plant breeds (breakthroughs of the past in breeding).

The Global Environment Facility Project Conservation of Biodiversity in Russia

In 1993 - 1996, the preparation of the biodiversity conservation Project based on the Global Environment Facility grant was carried out in Russia. On April 11 - 12, 1996, negotiations with the World Bank of Reconstruction and Development (WBRD) were held in Moscow where the parties discussed the agreement on the grant. On May 30, 1996, in Washington, the WBRD Council of Directors approved the Project to be implemented in Russia and on September 23, 1996, the Prime Minister V.S. Chernomyrdin signed the Russian Federation Government Edict No 1130 On ratification of the agreement between the Russian Federation and World Bank of Reconstruction and Development. On September 29, 1996, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the USA Yu.M. Vorontsov, on behalf of the RF Government, signed the Agreement on the grant.

The total Project cost is 26.0 million US dollars out of which 20.1 million US dollars are allocated directly through the Global Environment Facility grant. Russia is to finance the Project implementation with the sum equivalent to 4.8 million US dollars. In addition, the Government of Switzerland granted 1.1 million US dollars to support non-governmental and educational programs in the biodiversity conservation.

The Project will be being implemented through the years of 1997 - 2001. It consists of three Components:

A. Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (2.7 million US dollars from the GEF grant). The Component envisages to develop the National Strategy and Action Plan, a model of the Regional Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, economic and financial mechanisms and information support to nature protection measures.

B. Protected Areas (9.3 million US dollars from the GEF grant). The Component was designed to consolidate a system of Russian protected areas under new socio-economic conditions. In addition to GEF-funded efforts, the Component will carry out training of protected area top managers and local population. The training will be financed by the Swiss Government via the WWF Russian Program Office.

C. Regional Baikal Component (6.3 million US dollars from the GEF grant). The Component was designed to support cross-regional relations in the conservation of the Lake Baikal and its watershed biodiversity within the Buryat Republic, Irkutsk and Chita oblasts.

Management of the Project was placed on the Russian Federation State Committee on Environmental Protection (SCEP). To ensure feasible management of the Project, the Chairman of SCEP appointed the SCEP Deputy Chairman as the Project Director and Chairman of the Project Supervisory Committee. Similar to that, top managers of the SCEP (Head of the Biodiversity Conservation Department, Head of the Natural Reserves Management and responsible secretary of the Baikal Commission) were appointed, respectively, as Directors to Components A, B, and C. Routine management of the Project is accomplished by the Project Implementation Group (PIG). In 1997, with the support of the Project, workshops and conferences were held, the Informational-Analytical Center was set up and is being equipped, a small-grants bidding for zapovedniks and national parks was conducted, computers and other equipment for protected areas were purchased, and bulletins and other periodic editions were published. The year of 1998 will give a start to the preparation of national and regional strategies, sectoral strategies and action plans in the biodiversity conservation and generation of ecological networks of protected areas, ecological education programs, etc. The Project integrates 74 zapovedniks and national parks, governmental and non-governmental organizations, numerous sectoral and basic science institutes, and international ecological organizations. The GEF Project will retain its key positions in fulfilling CBD obligations by Russia in the coming years.

Reforms and changes in political, economic and social spheres will affect and are already affecting the biodiversity conservation in Russia. A system of nature and biological resource protection in the former USSR used to be adapted to a totalitarian political system, centralized administration and multilevel structure of the Soviet power. It featured a number of positive properties which ensured financing of the biodiversity conservation, keeping record of the Red Data Book, regular registration of commercial fauna, etc. Decentralization has brought sound disruption to biodiversity conservation control and management. Sovereignty of Russian Federation subjects and challenges in the issues of ownership, use and management of natural resources aggravate the problem with a political aspect. A transition to a multivariant social and economic structure and new economic policy demands novel approaches to biodiversity issues.

Ratification of the Convention on Biodiversity by Russia in 1995 and law-making activities in this field (the adoption of RF laws On protected areas (1995), On fauna (1995) and On ecological expertise (1995)) have become a milestone in the generation of the national policy with regard to the biodiversity conservation. Yet, current law-making practice is actually lacking a conceptual idea of living nature protection. This was vividly manifested in adopting a new Forest Code (1997) and slow preparation and ratification of federal laws On fishery, On hunting, On flora, etc. This creates a certain gap in legislation and a one-sided approach to biodiversity conservation matters (not all animal and plant species are protected by law at most; until now there have been non-existent legal acts securing allotment of land for the expansion of the protected area system as habitats of diverse plant and animal species in Russia although Russia is already being looked at as a real and rather promising site of action for national and foreign companies).

Considerable drawbacks in the conservation of Russian biodiversity are associated with the absence of efficient economic mechanisms of nature protection and underestimation of their role in the provision of sustainable development of Russia. Approaches to the evaluation of environmental investment efficiency are not operating.

Russia is lacking economic levers for the sustainable use of biological resources, i.e. rational taxation policy that would guarantee priority to the biodiversity conservation in the course of economic activity. Unfortunately, there is no differential economic evaluation of how the country is fulfilling its CBD obligations and that of biosphere functions of Russian ecosystems - climate stabilization, sustainability of air quality and carbon global balance, preservation of fresh water reserves, biodiversity conservation, etc., in Russia.

Environmental policies of Russian ecologically unsafe sectors (ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical industry, oil and gas production, lumbering, etc.) are specific of a sectoral approach. Relevant Russian Federation ministries and sectoral agencies have their own environmental services which, as a matter of fact, substitute federal monitoring and independent control bodies responsible for tracking biodiversity environmental exposure. The establishment of the Cross-Sectoral Commission for Biodiversity Problems does not cover all objectives in the coordination of Russia's CBD actions. As a result, the only barrier on the way of ecologically unsafe projects is ecological expertise. Real economic incentives for the implementing clean technologies into industry have not been found so far. Federal environmental agencies ignore almost completely ideas of ecological restoration of degraded lands as the basis for sustainable development.

Russia's coming back to global political, economic and environmental systems after a long isolation period turns the biodiversity conservation issue of this country into a component of a world-wide process. Russia cannot fulfill its CBD obligations without cooperative efforts of other countries. It needs a full information access to data on advanced land-use technologies, toxic waste cleaning, ecosystem restoration, conservation of rare plant and animal populations, etc. It is necessary to develop mechanisms for a joint responsibility of countries-partners in the implementation of large international investment projects in Russia (e.g. in the development of 250 deposits on terms of products' sharing).

Priorities of the future biodiversity conservation strategy may be presented as a totality of legislative, social, political, international, economic, managerial, communicational and scientific initiatives. They will constitute a background for specific biodiversity conservation undertakings - development of territorial forms (creation of zapovedniks, national parks), protection of rare and endangered species of plants and animals, ex-situ conservation of biota, restoration of disrupted ecosystems and habitats, inventory of flora and fauna, anti-poaching actions, implementation of CITES requirements, etc.

The goal of the national biodiversity conservation strategy is to provide legislative and executive bodies, governmental, private and non-governmental environmental organizations, and mass media with scientifically and economically substantiated recommendations, long-term forecast schemes and action plans for management of the biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.

The national strategy should be focused on persons responsible for decision-making in the Government, ministries and sectoral bodies which use natural resources, exercise control over the biodiversity status, and provide financial, legal, scientific and information support to these activities. The General Consumer of the National Strategy is the RF SCEP.

According to the GEF Project Conservation of Biodiversity, the preparation of the Russian National Strategy is to be completed at the end of 1998. By this moment, it is suggested to prepare a long-term program in priority areas, such as:

1. Development of territorial biodiversity conservation forms. Herein the core areas of the strategy are: increasing a share of the zapovedinks' and national parks' area to 3 % of the area of Russia (for November 1, 1997 - 1.92 %) and generating regional ecological networks of protected areas. It is vital for protected areas of European Russia to join the Pan-European ecological network. Russian Federation Government Resolution No 572-r of April 1994 approved the List of state zapovedniks and national parks recommended to be set up on the territory of the Russian Federation in 1994 - 2005 (totally 72 new zapovedniks and 42 national parks with the total area of 103.6 thousand km2). On December 1996, the RF SCEP approved the List of federal-level state zakazniks recommended to be set up on the territory of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2005 (totally 40 zakazniks with the area of over 24 thousand km2). The implementation of the national strategy is achievable only with the active participation of regional bodies engaged in the creation of ecological networks of protected areas. Local legislative grounds thereof have been created in Kamchatka, Orenburg, Chita, and other oblasts.

2. After collapse of the former USSR, an integral system of protected areas with a 100-year history was also broken. Present-day strategy of Russia in this sphere focuses on the restoration of links and the integral system. On inception steps, it is feasible through the creation of bilateral cross-border zapovedniks and national parks along the borders with Belorussia, Ukraine (along the Vorksla river, Staraya Guta forests), Kazakhstan, Georgia, Mongolia (Ubsunur hollow), China (the Khanka lake), etc.

3. Generation of the integral system of biodiversity conservation management. The creation of the legislative base for the biodiversity conservation is currently being completed. Among strategic objectives, the following should be singled out: the preparation and publishing of a new edition of the Red Data Book of Russia, monitoring of the status of rare animal and plant species populations, fulfilling of CBD obligations by Russia along with obligations under other international conventions and agreements (including CITES, Wetlands Convention, etc.), and joining the Bonn and Bern Conventions. A representative range of biota on protected areas is still rather narrow. Therefore, the key area of the national biodiversity conservation strategy is establishing an appropriate regime to ensure the conservation and reproduction of rare species in their habitats.

4. Improvement of the legislative base (Annex 5.2.1). There are envisaged certain actions to accelerate the adoption of laws important for fulfilling the CBD obligations, namely On fauna, On hunting, On fishery, etc. The key initiator of the development and adoption of new environmental laws is the Government. As for legislative efforts, it is the Committee on Ecology and Committee on Natural Resources and Nature Use under Gosduma. Strategy of the legislative activities suggests to complete the adoption of baseline laws and creation of a standing order for their enforcement on each executive level. New legislation in the biodiversity conservation is forecast to be developed through 5 - 10 years.

5. Creation of sectoral biodiversity conservation strategies and action plans and cross-sectoral coordination strategy. The first step in this direction was made by the Rosleskhoz by having prepared a relevant program. A new Forest Code (1997) regulates nature conservation while using forest resources. There are no analogous legal acts for tundra, steppes, deserts, and mountains. Though there exists a strategic goal according to which sectors-nature users must have biodiversity impact-minimizing programs. In fishery, it is attained through setting norms, quotas and licensing of activities for individual water basins, regions and resource types. In hunting, monitoring of game animal populations serves as the basis for commercial hunting strategy, issuing licenses, establishing norms, terms and methods of animal preying. Strategy applied in agriculture to conserve biodiversity makes for the implementation of clean technologies, reduced use of pesticides, arrangement of the agrarian landscape, conservation of domestic animal and cultural plant diversity. By the end of 1998, independent sectoral strategies will have been generated by specialists of these sectors within the National Strategy efforts under the GEF Project.

6. Improvement of Russian international activities in the biodiversity conservation. Key strategic goals - efficient partnership in conventions: CBD, CITES, Ramsar, Whaling, On the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, etc., participation in the PanEuropean Strategy of Landscape and Biological Diversity Conservation, joining the Bonn and Bern Conventions, conclusion of bilateral and multilateral agreements with countries having common with Russia biodiversity conservation interests in individual regions (the Caspian, Baltic, Black Seas, the Amur, etc.). The Asian region where the PanAsian strategy may be applied offers prospects for expanding Russia's international CBD activities. Yet, for the coming 5 years, the top-priority area will be promotion of the biodiversity conservation cooperation with CIS countries. It has been initiated by the conclusion of the Multilateral Agreement on Migratory Animals.

7. Advancement of scientific research on the biodiversity conservation. In this field, the key strategic area is scientific support to biodiversity conservation measures. This is achieved through promotion of research in the plant and animal classification (a condition for the correct biodiversity identification), study on the rare species ecology, creation of scientific grounds for the in-situ and ex-situ conservation. An important objective for fulfilling the CBD obligations may be considered the utmost restoration of scientific activities at the SCEP Institute of Environment Protection and Natural Reserves Management (national focal point under the CBD).

8. Development of ideas of the openness of biodiversity status information, provision of equal access to biological resources. The strategy lies in the combination of state and public control over the status of biodiversity, support to ecological NGOs and strengthening of mass media activities in this sphere. An important strategic area is publishing of a sectoral journal on biodiversity issues. The GEF Project provides for the financial support to such journal (a quarterly, circulation up to 1 500 copies). This unit also includes ecological education in the field of the biodiversity conservation.

9. Creation of the informational space for biodiversity conservation management. Currently a system of information support to nature protection does not exist in Russia. Strategic actions in this sphere should be focused on the establishment of the Informational-Analytical Center, biodiversity meta-database, respondents' network for collecting, analyzing and communicating information in managerial decision making in the center and regions.

10. Improvement of biodiversity conservation economic and financial mechanisms. Today's strategy consists in upgrading old economic mechanisms and creating new ones to provide actual evaluation (cost) of natural resources, efficiency of environment investments and economic incentives for fulfilling the CBD obligations. Core strategic actions include training of young economists with a new way of thinking and advanced knowledge.

National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (for the nearest 5 - 15 years) and Action Plan (for 5 years) along with the plan of current actions (for one year) will be developed in Russia in 1998. It is difficult to determine funds required for these purposes - in addition to federal funding, they suggest active involvement of regions and sectors. The GEF Project will be supporting specific actions on the National Strategy implementation for 5 years.

At present, biosafety is understood in Russia as "safe transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and their fragments containing recombinant DNA". This approach seems to be coinciding with the CBD provisions and opens ways for harmonizing a national biosafety mechanism with its international analogs. The CBD key provisions (articles 8, 16, 19, etc.) address prevention of an uncontrolled introduction of GMOs, being biotechnology products able to produce adverse impacts on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, into the environment.

A system of biosafety within the CBD requirements includes four basic sections which, to a great extent, are overrunning:

- legal aspects of biosafety;

- access to genetic resources;

- biotechnology transfer;

- distribution of benefits from the use of biotechnology.

On the national level, building of biosafety mechanisms should start with the generation of a legal system for regulating gene engineering activities and creating an informational infrastructure in this pool. This base will be able to regulate at most an access to genetic resources, biotechnology transfer (and intellectual property issues), and distribution of potential benefits associated with the use of biotechnology.

The beginning of the national biosafety building process may presumably assigned to the middle 1970s. The evolution of the legal base for gene engineering activities in Russia (prior to 1991 - in the USSR) may be presented chronologically as follows:

1978 Tentative safety rules for handling recombinant DNA molecules

1989 Sanitary-epidemiological safety rules for handling recombinant DNA molecules

1991 USSR draft law "On the organization of works and ensuring safety in gene engineering"

1993 Initiation of the Cross-Sectoral Commission for providing legal grounds to gene engineering activities

1994 Draft law "On gene engineering activities" was submitted to Gosduma.

1995 Federal law "On state policy in gene engineering activities" was approved by Gosduma. President of the Russian Federation put a veto on it (September)

1996 Work of the conciliation commission consisting of delegates from the President's Administration, Gosduma and Russian Government. Federal law "On state control over gene engineering activities" was adopted by Gosduma in the third reading (June 1), signed by the Russian Federation President (July 1) and entered legal force upon its open press release (July 5)

1997 The Russian Federation Government established the Cross-Sectoral Commission on Gene Engineering Issues which started its work on April 22.

As seen from the above chronological list, Russia is focusing on the creation of vertical regulatory-legal control in modern biotechnology. This approach seems to be the only possible for Russia which incorporates 89 Federation subjects.

On the other hand, inevitable integration of Russia with the global economic community and legal pool (its participation in the CBD) governs a necessity of establishing a biosafety system compatible with internationally accepted schemes. This requires the identification of baseline elements of the national biosafety structure (protocol) in biotechnology. It would be logical to assign the following element to this kind:

- scope of action

- goals and objectives

- definitions

- general rules concerning basic principles in supporting a biosafety system

- safety rules specific of individual sectors (protocols)

- application, transfer and joint use of information

- risk assessment mechanisms and protocols

- risk management mechanisms intellectual property rights and commercial secrets

- licensing and certification systems

- ransboundary transfer

- responsibility

- compensation

- changes in the legal system of biosafety

- generation of the national potential

Analysis through official questionnaires sent to Russian ministries and sectoral bodies has shown that in the country exist no less than 40 legal and subordinate legal acts regulating, directly or indirectly, biosafety issues within the above proposed structural elements (Annex 5.2.1.). A number of acts (e.g. draft Federal law on bioethics) are in the process of either development or consideration. Let us specify some of the structural elements of Russian biosafety:

• general rules and principles in supporting the biosafety system - have not been completely finished though principles of risk assessment and management, decision making criteria (e.g. on the basis of a risk/benefit ratio), and terms and definitions common for international practice can be utilized as grounds;
• safety rules specific of individual sectors (protocols) - have been detailed in many instants, primarily for microorganisms and immunobiological preparations. However there are notable distinctions in understanding of pathogenic microorganism lists and their applicability to potential risk assessment schemes depending on a sector they belong to;
• application, transfer and joint use of information - are most mature. Moreover, almost all regulatory materials of specific sectors control information exchange issues;
• copyright - these issues strongly need further elaboration, they feature mostly general provisions or those regarding breeding;
• licensing system - incorporates state legislation on licensing of various activities and is looked at as an opportunity for individual sectors to impose duties and tariffs;
• risk assessment mechanisms and protocols - are lacking as they are, though a number of instructions allude to pathogenic organism lists;
• risk management mechanisms - are absent as they are, with rare exceptions;
• transboundary transfer - there are available general principles and separate cases concerning bacteriological weapons and materials that can be potentially used in their production, maintenance of microorganism culture collections, zoological collections and veterinary products;
• responsibility, compensation - general practice - reference to Criminal and Civil Codes;
• changes in the legal system of biosafety - an opportunity of introducing changes is never mentioned although a periodic revision of regulatory and legal acts is evidently needed with knowledge in this sphere progressing;
• creation of the national potential - the notion as it is does not exist, yet, a number of Governmental acts mention the establishment of coordination centers, including nation-wide ones, target funding and material supply;

A basis for a biosafety regulatory structure is the Russian Federation Federal law On state control over gene engineering activities. The law contains articles on objectives and principal directions of state regulation in gene engineering, on licensing of such activity and standardization and certification of products (services) in this area. Vital are the provisions on responsibility and on general access to data on gene engineering safety.

The second level of the regulatory and legislative base is "Rules for Safe Transfer, Handling and Use of Genetically Modified (Transgenic) Organisms and their Fragments Containing Recombinant DNA". These Rules fall into two groups:

1. General rules - "General Principles in Risk Assessment and Management and Information Supply in Transfer, Handling and Use (including introduction to the environment) of LMOs and their Fragments Containing Recombinant DNA". The most close analogs of "General Principles" may be the OECD "blue Book" (Recombinant DNA Safety Considerations, OECD, Paris, 1986), "UNEP International Principles of Safety in Biotechnology" and respective articles in the draft "Protocol on Biosafety" within the CBD.

2. Safety rules specific of individual sectors (protocols): "Rules for Safe Transfer, Handling and Use of Genetically Modified (Transgenic) Organisms and their Fragments Containing Recombinant DNA" a) for closed systems and industrial microorganisms; b) in voluntary introductions of microorganisms into the environment.

- "Rules for Safe Transfer, Handling and Use of Genetically Modified (Transgenic) Plants and their Fragments Containing Recombinant DNA".

- "Rules for Safe Transfer, Handling and Use of Genetically Modified (Transgenic) Animals and their Fragments Containing Recombinant DNA".

- "Rules for Safe Transfer, Handling and Use of Living Vaccines Containing Recombinant DNA".

A mechanism for adopting these "Rules" by executive power bodies admits on-line editing and introducing corrections in accordance with the growth of knowledge in gene engineering and modern biotechnology. In so doing, initial data on LMOs are transformed into information and undergo expertise. In line with the expertise findings, they are compared with one of the potential risk groups, this being decisive in setting rules (protocol) for a specific activity (including a risk management procedure). Monitoring enables to achieve a feedback, i.e. to have a mechanism for verifying information credibility and correctness of decisions made as well as introducing corrections at each phase.

A relevant biosafety infrastructure is needed to implement this scheme. For this purpose (implementation of the Russian Federation Federal law On state policy in gene engineering activities), the Russian Federation Government set up the Cross-Sectoral Commission on gene engineering activities. Among its key functions, it features those of an agency similar to the National Biosafety Committee. Its key objectives include the following:

• creation of infrastructure for gene engineering biosafety control;
• generation of rules for safe transfer handling and use of LMOs and their fragments;
• creation and maintenance of a centralized database on gene engineering and biosafety;
• coordination of gene-engineering research and developments based on the evaluation and management of potential risks;
• coordination of activities of federal agencies, RF subjects executive power bodies, scientific, production and educational institutions in developing the order and guarantees for safe transfer of LMOs, their fragments and gene engineering technologies;
• control over harmonization of the Russian biosafety mechanism with acting international analogs.

Decisions of the Cross-Sectoral Commission are obligatory for all executive bodies it has representatives of and for enterprises and organizations operating within their administration. The Commission is headed by the Russian Federation Minister of Science and Technology who has four deputies representing the Russian Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, The State Committee for Environment Protection and Russian Academy of Sciences. It has delegates from 14 ministries and sectoral agencies and state scientific centers engaged in gene engineering.

The Commission's work scheme is compatible with the Clearing House structure provided for CBD articles 16 - 19. Implementation of the biosafety mechanism is achieved through a system of links established by the Commission with ministries, state sectoral agencies and gene engineering commissions at organizations and enterprises (an analog to the Institutional Biosafety Committee). Russian current mechanism of getting approval for submitted applications on LMOs is based on Commission's recommendations for concerned ministries and state sectoral agencies. This was the way passed to receive a positive decision on the limited field tests (on biosafety) of Monsanto potatoes resistant to Colorado beetle and of soy resistant to Roundup herbicide. Field tests of a number of transgenic plants applied for by other Russian organizations are also being carried out.

A rather complex system of the biodiversity conservation and biological resource use management has been established in Russia. All branches of power, many economic sectors and various population pools have organizations that participate in the implementation of biodiversity conservation strategy and tactics actions.

President of the Russian Federation. The President has undertaken certain environmental actions to bridge a gap in Russian legislation. His Decrees On state strategy of the Russian Federation in environmental protection and sustainable development (of February 4, 1994) and On the concept of transition of the Russian Federation to sustainable development (of April 1, 1996) are currently governing policy in environmental protection, including the biodiversity conservation.

Security Council. The Security Council incorporates the Cross-Sectoral Commission on Environmental Security (established in 1993). It has an important coordinating state management function in national security, including environment. Issues of the biodiversity conservation, directly and indirectly, have been discussed repeatedly at Commission meetings. During the last years, the Commission has made a number of decisions significant for nature protection regarding reduction of risk of technogenic accidents, radiation safety, soil degradation prevention, forest protection, chemical weapons storage and disposal, protection of Arctic environment, forest-and-park belt of Moscow, environmental security of the Baikal region, etc.

Executive power. Back in 1995, the Cross-Sectoral Commission for Biodiversity Issues (the Chairman - V.I. Daniliv-Danilyan) was set up under the Russian Federation Government to coordinate actions of various ministries, sectoral agencies and organizations.

A state body authorized for the implementation of Russia's fulfilling the CBD obligations is the Russian Federation State Committee on Environmental Protection (SCEP). Direct administration stays with the Department for Biodiversity Conservation and Department for Natural Reserves Management and Protected Areas. Under the RF SCEP, there is the All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Environmental Protection and Natural Reserves Management - focal point of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Russia. It is the leader in scientific substantiation of practical actions addressed to rare plant and animal species, evaluation of the biodiversity status in this country, and implementation of the Convention's obligations and of other international agreements.

Among Federal ministries and agencies responsible for specific areas of nature protection, the following should be singled out:

• Rosleskhoz (forest biodiversity conservation, operation of national parks, conservation of high-value forest lands, monitoring of the forest ecosystem status through periodic forest taxation;
• Ministry of Agriculture (conservation of agricultural animal and plant diversity, keeping record of the state cadaster for cultural plant sorts and forms and domestic animal breeds, veterinary control, state quarantine - control over the import and export of quarantine plants and animals, conservation and use of sea and inland water biological resources, and commercial fauna conservation, reproduction, registration and use);
• Ministry of Natural Resources (compliance with ecological regulations in mineral resources prospecting and extraction, conservation and monitoring of the water ecosystem status); - the Russian Federation Ministry of Health and Medical Industry (putting medicinal plants resources into practice, implementation of biosafety objectives, support to scientific and technological microorganism collections, maintenance of medicinal plants breeding farms);
• Ministry of Science (development and implementation of scientific and science&technology programs on biodiversity conservation issues);
• Ministry of Culture (fulfilment of Russia's obligations under the Convention on World Cultural and Natural Heritage, including those to be fulfilled in cooperation with the State Committee for Environment Protection; control over the status of natural heritage sites; conservation of natural complexes on areas of museums-zapovedniks, historical and cultural monuments, ex-situ conservation of plants and animals in arboreta, dendrological parks, resort forests and zoos);
• State Customs Committee (control over the export and import of fauna and flora items, including Russia's fulfilling some of CITES obligations, participation in veterinary, sanitary and quarantine control on state borders);
• Federal Border Service (protection of sea biological resources on high seas and in the Caspian Sea, assistance in the CITES obligations' fulfillment);
• Federal Postal Service (control over the export and import of flora and fauna items, zoological and botanical collections).

State management of the biodiversity conservation process - protection of rare species and functioning of federal protected areas is exercised within the executive power authority. However direct planning, financing, monitoring, etc. are accomplished on the regional level. That is why a leading position in the Russian biodiversity conservation belongs to regional authorized agencies - ecological committees, oblast administration structures responsible for the environment, hunting and fishing control agencies, zapovedniks and other protected areas.

Legislative power. Gosduma incorporates the Committee on Ecology which is an operating body in the nature conservation. It played the key role in the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity by Russia (1995) and in the preparation and adoption of Federal laws: On fauna (1995), On protected areas (1995), and the like (Annex 5.2.1.). At present, the Committee on Ecology in cooperation with other committees is preparing other laws for adoption: On fishery, On hunting, On flora, etc. During 1996, the Committee prepared 29 draft laws for consideration, yet none of them was approved and submitted to the Federation Council (there were more than 10 such draft laws in 1995).

Active in environmental law-making is the Committee on Natural Resources of Gosduma which prepared a number of key laws regulating the biological resources use (Forest Code, Water Code, Law on product sharing, etc.). The Committee has lately started the work over the law on land reservation for developing a system of protected areas.

Both Committees participate in the work of the Interparliament Assembly of CIS countries, directly in the Commission on Environment. The High Ecological Council that was created as a public organization consisting of scientists and specialists for expertise and lobbying of environmental projects functions under the Committee on Ecology.

Prospects in the operation of the above bodies are associated with the completion of law-making activity and adoption of about 50 new environmental laws, including those regarding the biodiversity conservation and preparation of CIS agreements on nature protection and biological resources use. Russia also needs a law On environmental performance management to regulate and coordinate biodiversity conservation actions of various state bodies.

Research institutions of RAS, ministries, universities. Institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) together with the RF Ministry of Science, universities and some sectoral scientific research institutes provide scientific support to biodiversity conservation undertakings. It includes identification of biodiversity objects, inventory of flora and fauna of the whole country and its regions, evaluation of biota genetic diversity, reveal and description of both typical and unique nature objects to be conserved, grounds for norms and regulations in biological resources use, and generation of approaches and methods for biota recovery and ecosystem ecological restoration. The subprogram Biological Diversity has been working within the Federal Target Science&Technology Program since 1995. In the Biological Sciences Division of the RAS, research in the biodiversity pool is carried out by dozens of institutes, among them those of Botany and Zoology (St. Petersburg), on Ecology and Evolution Problems (Moscow), on Ecology of Plants and Animals (Ekaterinburg), on Animals Systematics and Ecology (Novosibirsk), Marine Biology Institute (Murmansk), Biology and Soil Institute (Novosibirsk), etc. RAS botanic gardens of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kirovsk, Novosibirsk, and other, constitute a critical element in the ex-situ conservation of flora. The Russian Fundamental Research Foundation supports a great number of basic science projects on biodiversity.

Environment-focused NGOs and mass media. Environmental NGOs has been acting as stakeholders in the generation and implementation of biodiversity conservation national strategy for a long time. The All-Russia Nature Protection Society, which held its 10th Congress (230 delegates from 61 Federation subjects) in 1996, has been keeping up traditions of attracting public to nature protection. Local units of the Society participate actively in the identification and conservation of natural monuments (totally over 11,500). The largest public ecological movement on the territory of the former USSR is the Socio-Ecological Union. Among union's multiple areas and projects, the top position is occupied by nature protection, support to local initiatives on the rare plant and animal species conservation, development of the ecological network of protected areas, etc. Recently, NGOs have started working on a more professional basis. The Wild Nature Center can be taken as an example. It realizes several biodiversity conservation projects (including that on the Russian Biodiversity Atlas), assists in expanding a system of protected areas and releases periodicals on nature protection (Forest Bulletin, Wild Nature Protection, Bulletin for Zapovednik and National Park Personnel). Since 1993, the Union of Bird Conservation that publishes bulletin World of Birds has been functioning in Russia. Numerous scientific, governmental, private and international environmental funds, including Eurasia, WWF, J. and K. McArthur Foundation, Know-How , V.N. Vernadsky Foundation, etc. provide financial support to certain biodiversity conservation projects.

Russian television has special nature protection shows on actually each state, public and private channel. High-circulation publications on biodiversity conservation matters in special central and regional editions are released in Russia (magazines Nature, Nature and Man, Young Naturalist, Ecos, In the World of Animals, Nature of Russia, Hunting and Management, etc., bulletins - Russian Conservation News, Living Arctics, On the Way to Sustainable Development, etc., newspapers - Green World, Salvage, Bereginya, ZapovedniksÒ News, and others). Anyhow, the number of environmental editions, volume of publications and public interest to nature protection problems has dropped dramatically for the recent years. Therefore one of the biodiversity conservation strategy objectives should become a search for new partners in mass media.

Basic phases in the development of the National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan are to be realized within the GEF Project in 1998. Through the same year, it is suggested to prepare a series of sectoral strategies and action plans for the biodiversity conservation in agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, etc.

Designing of a model for the regional biodiversity conservation strategy (with Nizhni Novgorod oblast as a pilot site) and its implementation in other regions are scheduled for 1998 - 1999 and the circulation of the outputs of these efforts will proceed till 2001.

A process of setting up and equipment of the Informational-Analytical Center on Biodiversity will be completed in 1998 and the creation of the respondents' network for information reception, communication and processing will start. In 1998 - 2001, the Center will be functioning as an information support provider for the CBD science & technology cooperation (international focal point for the Clearing House Mechanism of the Convention).

Starting with 1998, a regional bulletin on biodiversity conservation in Russia will be published (tentatively - 4 issues per year). Training workshops on biodiversity conservation economics and workshops for zapovedniks' personnel are scheduled to be held in 1998 - 2000.

Federal laws On hunting and On fishing (protection of water basin biological resources) are supposed to be adopted, preparation of draft laws On fauna, On land reservation for developing a system of protected areas, etc. is intended to be finished in 1998.

Implementation of the Federal Target Program Conservation of Amur Tiger will be underway in 1998 - 2003. In addition to the expansion of the protected area network, it makes for fostering the anti-poaching campaign and actions against illegal tiger trade, public ecological education, etc.

Implementation of the subprograms Biodiversity and Priority Areas in Genetics (the Russian Federation Ministry of Science) is to be continued in 1998 - 2000.

Main areas and periods set for the efforts under the GEF Project Conservation of Biodiversity can be judged from the Table on the Project Budget in 1997 - 2001 (Table 1).

Total budget of Russia's actions addressed directly to the implementation of the CBD requirements amounts to no more than 270 - 300 billion rubles (45 - 50 million US dollars) annually. This is 2 - 4 times less than required for maintaining the biodiversity conservation in the country. Lack of funding most acutely tells on protected areas, rare species conservation, practical implementation of information technologies, ecological education and setting up of the monitoring system for tracking the biodiversity status.

The GEF Project Conservation of Biodiversity allocates funds to the fulfillment of the CBD obligations by Russia in accordance with priorities set at the phase of the Project preparation (Table 1). Their bulk was received to support the Russian network of protected areas having an important biosphere function in the global biodiversity conservation. At the same time, the state budget funding of merely Russian zapovedniks constituted 6.7 million US dollars in 1996.

The total budget of the subprogram Biological Diversity (RF Ministry of Science) under the Federal Target Science&Technology Program is 47.43 billion rubles (7.9 million US dollars).

The overall system of Russian environmental funds was evaluated to have received 1,200 billion rubles in 1996. In 1996, 58.7 billion rubles were directly allocated to the Federal Ecological Fund, 7.7 billion rubles of which went to protected areas. As a whole, it is difficult to estimate the size of local environmental funds' investments to the biodiversity conservation.

One of the outputs of the GEF Project implementation in Russia will become a system of collecting and analyzing data on biodiversity conservation financing and their accessibility for all concerned parties. It will make possible to specify investment priorities and attract donors to solving biodiversity conservation problems.

Table 1

Budget of the Global Environment Facility Project Conservation of Biodiversity in Russia for 1996 - 2001

According to Goskomstat, funding of wild animal counts and protection in 1996 did not exceed 6 and 13.5 billion rubles respectively and that of their maintenance 14.1 billion rubles. The total funds available from different sources for game species conservation, counting, and reproduction in Russia in 1996 was 106.2 billion roubles or 1/3 of the respective 1990 budget.

Evaluation and monitoring of the biodiversity status. Russia is lacking an integral state system of biodiversity status monitoring. A system of observations in zapovedniks most fully corresponds to conditions of continuous control over biodiversity components. Annually, zapovedniks (most of 95 available ones), especially those included in the international network of biosphere reserves (18), prepare detailed reports (Chronicles of Nature) which contain uniform-scheme and template information on the status of ecosystems and biota.

Russian Federal Forestry Service performs monitoring in the course of forest development taking place on one and the same areas once in 10 - 15 years. In addition, National Forest Inventory is made every 5 years under the State Registration of forest fund. As a result, such indicators as changes in areas occupied by various forest types, composition of forest breeds, reserves of wood and other forest resources, clearings, forest injuries and diseases, etc. are subjected to monitoring and evaluation. State registration data are of official character, they are most accurate and comprehensive to be used for the characterization of Russian forests. Annual statistics on forests are generalized by the All-Russia Scientific Research Institute of Forest Reserves under the Rosleskhoz (starting from 1995) in the annual report Status and Use of Russian Forests.

The evaluation of the game animal resource status (mammals and birds) on the Russian Federation territory is carried out annually by the State Service for Registration of Game Resources of Russia within the authority of Hunting Department under the RF Ministry of Agriculture in 84 RF regions. These data are generalized in special reference books once in 5 years. The latest Resources of Key Game Species and Hunting Lands of Russia (1991 - 1995) was published in 1996. Currently, attempts to organize a system of periodic registrations of Russian water fowl are being undertaken. A network of stations for monitoring of water fowl populations is being developed on 35 sites identified by the Ramsar Convention (Annex 5.2.2).

RF Ministry of Agriculture Fishery Department performs evaluations of the water biological resources status on the annual basis along with setting norms, periods and commercial use methods (permissible catches, confiscation quotas, etc.) for individual water basins and resource types. Annual statistics on the status of resources are generalized in sectoral reports and in the Russian Federation State Report on the Environment Status.

Monitoring of the exchange of quarantine plants, animals and microorganisms and control over invasions of species unsafe for economy are exercised by the State Service for Plants Quarantine under the RF Ministry of Agriculture. Unfortunately, it does not control consequences from voluntary and involuntary plant and animal introductions, thus leading to the intensification of biological pollution of the Russian territory.

Evaluation and monitoring of the Russian biodiversity conservation strategy and action plan implementation. The preparation of the national biodiversity conservation strategy has just begun in Russia. The available Russian Federation Government Action Plan for environmental protection and nature use for 1996 - 1997 (approved by the Russian Federation Government Edict No 155 of February 19) covers only some of the actions on the biodiversity conservation: on the generation of sustainable development policy and its legislative support (e.g. preparation of the Federal Program Creation of the Integral State Ecological Monitoring System); on ensuring environmental security (e.g. Government edicts On the order of state control realization in protection, reproduction and use of fauna objects and their habitats, On the order of issuing long-term licenses for fauna use, Federal Program for Amur Tiger conservation, etc.); on the participation of Russia in solving interstate and global environmental problems (e.g. Federal Programs for the complex management of maritime zones of the Black and Azov Seas, Improvement of the Environment Situation in the Baltic Sea Basin).

Control over the Action Plan realization is placed on the Russian Federation Government and budgets of Federal Programs are approved by the RF Ministry of Economics.

Evaluation and monitoring of the GEF Project Conservation of Biodiversity implementation. The Russia-WBRD Project Agreement singles out areas for monitoring of the GEF grant implementation: by its content, terms of execution and budget. Moreover, the Project has a special section that deals with the audit of all efforts within Project Components and the evaluation and monitoring of the Project efficiency. Independently, it is suggested to evaluate efficiency of biodiversity conservation investments through the last years and in the course of the Project tasks implementation (1997-2001). Within the Component "Biodiversity Conservation Strategy", evaluation and monitoring mechanisms addressing the national biodiversity conservation strategy and action plan realization and control over Russia's fulfillment of the CBD obligations have been designed.

PREFACE
PART 1
PART 2.1
PART 2.2
PART 2.3
PART 2.4
PART 2.5
PART 2.6
PART 2.7
PART 3
PART 4
ANNEXES
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