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Russian regions are doing a poor job with forestry
The country's forestry has been farmed out to the regions, but they do not manage this wealth in the best way. Yesterday, at a conference call with First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, who oversees the industry in the government , it turned out that although bringing the structure of forest management and lease relations in accordance with the Forest Code should be completed by the new year, in most regions until the end of the process, as they say, seven miles, all through forest.The leaders of seven federal subjects were summoned via video link to a meeting on the problems of transferring to the regions part of the powers to manage forestry from the federal center. An obvious pattern was observed: those regions that had something to boast about were represented by top officials, and those that felt guilty were delegated by deputies, vice ministers and ministers of local governments.
To begin with, Viktor Zubkov recalled that almost two years have passed (since the Forest Code came into force on January 1, 2007) since the subjects received greater powers to regulate forestry. The federal center left itself only with the development of the regulatory framework and control over the performance of duties by the regions, but did not leave the latter without support. Of the 20 billion rubles allocated by budgets of all levels for forestry, 17 billion go directly to the federal treasury. However, she also receives the main bribe in the form of taxes and fees.
Mr. Zubkov proposed five topics on which the regions had to report: forest management structure, forest planning, leasing relations, construction of forest roads, financing of forestry expenses. The head of Rosleskhoz, Alexey Savinov, clarified what complaints he has against local authorities on each point. Not all regions have finally formed forestry management bodies; of the majority of formally managing departments, not all are staffed, and even those do not have the necessary powers. Most regions have been irresponsible in drawing up forest plans that regulate the structure of forests and, accordingly, their use.
As a result, at the moment Rosleskhoz has approved only three regional plans, although there is only time left until the end of the year. Many subjects decided to take the path of least resistance and registered all or almost all of the forest fund under lease for the needs of hunting, from which the profitability is insignificant, and all costs of forest management are borne by the state. “Such forest plans will not receive approval,” Mr. Savinov warned. Bringing lease agreements into compliance with the new Forest Code is also progressing with difficulty.
The number of forest roads in Russia does not meet even the most lenient international standards - less than 1.3 km per thousand hectares, when the norm is ten times more. Moreover, the distribution of roads throughout the country is inversely proportional to the availability of forest resources; as a result, we use only about 30% of the fund that can be cut down. Expenses of subjects for forest management, including subventions from the center, still exceed income from the stumpage fee. Sergei Dankvert, head of Rosselkhoznadzor, added that if violations were detected in the amount of over 7 billion rubles. Only 100 million rubles were collected. fines. He also corrected the First Deputy Prime Minister, who reproached the department for the insufficient number of forest inspectors - Mr. Zubkov counted 12 thousand people, but, according to Mr. Dankvert, there are already over 15 thousand. However, this is still very far from the number of people employed in state forest protection before 2007 - then there were 83 thousand people.
The performances of the regions began with those who distinguished themselves for the better - the Vologda Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Vologda Governor Vyacheslav Pozgalev reported that forestry profits last year reached 1 billion rubles, forest districts are equipped with machines and night vision devices, and Vologda Cossacks, under an agreement with the regional administration, protect the forest from trespassers. Alexander Khloponin, head of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, reported that the number of renegotiated lease agreements reaches 91%, and the development project for the Lower Angara region involves the construction of five large timber processing complexes. Vice-Governor of the Kostroma Region Alexander Konovalov also did not lose face - he said that the region is actively engaged in reforestation, in particular there is a project for the selection and plantation cultivation of aspens. And by agreement with the tenants, the amount of rent and, accordingly, revenues to the budget have been more than doubled.
All this time, Viktor Zubkov limited himself only to words of gratitude. But then the turn of the guilty regions came, and he actively began to distribute nuts. The Pskov region, which was represented by Deputy Governor Alexander Kotov, suffered for the fall in the volume of forest development. It has become unprofitable to sell unprocessed wood, and processing is not being developed there. The Minister of Natural Resources of the Amur Region, Fyodor Dmitruk, was reprimanded for a record number of forest fires, which no one is monitoring, because the region does not have the means or ability to control tenants. “If you don’t correct it, other authorities will personally take care of you,” Mr. Zubkov threatened.
The Chairman of the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region and the Vice-Governor of the Primorsky Territory escaped with a slight fright, and the former’s request to allow GUIN institutions to cut down forests for their own needs without purchasing plots at auctions was treated favorably. A State Duma representative at the meeting said that there is already a draft amendment that will provide such an opportunity.
Closing the meeting, Viktor Zubkov noted the positive side of transferring forestry “under the wing of the Ministry of Agriculture”. According to him, this makes it possible to use the resources of Rosselkhozbank and Rosagroleasing for the development of the timber industry and wood processing complex. After the meeting, the First Deputy Prime Minister announced that next Saturday he would hold consultations with leading agricultural producers and banks, where possible measures to stabilize the financing of the country's agro-industrial complex would be discussed. “We don’t see any “fire” yet, but nevertheless we are observing the real situation and must respond to it,” Mr. Zubkov noted. Probably, the meeting was needed to discuss the request of the Russian Grain Union to the government to allocate 900 billion rubles to agricultural producers by the end of the year. These funds, according to the union, are necessary for farmers to refinance their current obligations.