Tatiana Mineava
Resolutions of international meetings and conferences are considered to be an effective mechanism to influence national policy. In order to guarantee effectiveness, one or more of the following conditions need to be fulfilled: either the target state is democratic, or it has strong inside opposition supporting your idea, or it is economically dependent on other democratic countries. As the current situation shows, none of these applies to Russia. As long as oil prices are high, the Russian government is very proud of “choosing its own way” without any tiresome admonitions from the West. And one can feel that every day. Ten years working of NGOs to “educate” the government during the 1990s had step-by-step resulted in a positive reform of the legislation with respect to the use of natural resources and environmental conservation. The “strong government” of the 2000s has ruined all that in 3 years. It tried it once and saw that everything goes smoothly, no public reaction – so it goes further and further...
The funniest thing is that their motivations do not exceed their “datscha” (summer cottage) or the economical problems of their friends and relatives. Because most politicians had already build their houses along riverbanks, the “pocket” parliament has changed the recently adopted Forest Code (that was not bad at all) to make it possible to buy forests along riverbanks. To keep the noise from the public away from their nice houses on the lakeshores, our friends have introduced a new Water Code that enables to buy lakes without public servitude. According to that document it is now possible to bring sand on the bank of Lake Baikal and to construct a beach there; in this way that part becomes “artificial” and can then be used in what ever way, etc. etc. etc. Since October we try to give amendments to the text of the Water Code. The text, by the way, is not public. What is on the Web site differs very much from what is really under consideration. There is no chance to change things. There is no dialogue with the public, not even with the Ministry of Nature Resources.
And who are those bad boys? They are honest bureaucrats, good experts, and clever guys – but they are the macroeconomists of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development. They are just doing their job: increasing commodity. The only Ministry that nowadays prepares laws in our country is the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development. And it does not matter what the Law is about - forest, water, biodiversity…-, they even have their own version of the Law on Protected Areas (naturally with the possibility to buy and sell property inside them). Those guys have applied to GEF for 20 mln dollars with a project proposal aimed to develop peat as an alternative and renewable energy resource! (www.gefonline.org/projectDetails.cfm?projID=2376) Peat as an alternative for coal and oil! It will not be surprising if GEF supports them.
The Conservation Director of WWF Russia gave 3 interviews to journalists of 3 different Russian TV channels explaining the dangerous consequences of the new legislation. All interviews were cancelled from the news on all three channels at the last moment. All of them! I was discussing the Water Code with bureaucrats from the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development. It was obvious that they see no obstacles for the endorsement of the new Codes. “But what about the Ramsar Convention?” I asked, “After endorsement of the new Water and Forest codes, our legislation will not provide mechanisms for the implementation of the Ramsar principles any more.” The answer was: “Everywhere is that awful Ramsar Convention. People in Geneva were shaking when they heard about it. Change it!”
It will be interesting to see the developments. Will they really change the Ramsar Convention?
Do IMCG resolutions help in Russia? Since 2002 I would say: NOT IMMEDIATELY. The only chance is to wait until the oil prices have fallen to 20-22 US$. Now the activities of NGOs should be shifted from the Federal Government and from central regulation to the concrete spots in the regions. It is more effective now to solve very concrete problems. Influence from abroad could also be more concrete.
And then the only possibility is to wait, just to wait…. Maybe they will all leave for Cyprus soon…