Bureaucratic excuse: how the Ministry of Economic Development justifies the destruction of protected forests

Right now, our readers are receiving official responses from government agencies regarding the draft law on logging protective forests in the mountain ecosystems of the country. There are many letters, so I think there is reason to conduct a thorough analysis with all the details. 

I received a document from our comrade Sergey, who, together with other readers, sent requests to the Ministry of Economic Development, which is precisely the agency that authored the draft law. They sent him a large, detailed reply, exactly the same as everyone else got! 

First, once again in brief:

• The draft law legalizes clear-cutting of protective-category forests in mountain ecosystems
• It will be permitted not only to cut down such forests, but also to sell the timber (which will inevitably lead to a commercial interest)
• At the start of adopting the draft law, plans were already announced to “develop” over 300 billion rubles by building more than 260 resort facilities
• The first version of the draft law was not adopted due to public discontent, after which officials duplicated the draft law on the government website
• On the last day of public discussions, “suddenly,” in just a few hours, thousands of votes supposedly in support of the law appeared
• The operator of the government initiatives website is the Ministry of Economic Development, which is also the author of this draft law

So, we have a draft law that legalizes clear-cutting of protective forests in the mountain ecosystems of the country, which serve as refuges of wildlife. Plans to “develop” billions have been announced, but society has opposed it and demanded to preserve mountain forests untouched! In response, strange manipulations with the draft law appeared: duplication and thousands of “for” votes within a few hours.

That’s it! There’s nothing more there.

Now let’s analyze the response from the Ministry of Economic Development, which is the official position of the authorities. We will remove all the “empty talk” from the document, leaving only specific quotes with the officials’ arguments. 

File Response from the Ministry of Economic Development (PDF) 111 КБ

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia writes:

“At the present time, there is a recorded increase in the number of people skiing on mountain slopes… the number of skiers has increased by 22%…” (p. 1).

In this way, the Ministry is trying to justify the “need to build new ski resorts” in mountain forests, referring to a significant tourist demand. Meaning, in our country, the number of “skiers” has grown so much that there aren’t enough ski resorts, and therefore we have to cut down ancient protected forests.

“…for the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia… one of the main tasks is to create favorable conditions for doing business… with obtaining a positive economic effect” (pp. 3–4).

It is clearly visible here that the Ministry’s priority is economic development, while the issues of preserving mountain ecosystems are basically ignored. At the center of interest are only the economy, only money, only short-term profit.

“…the total area of ski slopes and hotels… corresponds to 0.0055% of the area of the national forest fund…” (p. 2).

Officials seem to have forgotten to mention that it concerns MOUNTAIN PROTECTIVE forests in fragile ecosystems, which they plan to “mow down entirely.” We are talking about refugia—wildlife havens, which are minimally disturbed biogeocenoses, and there are fewer and fewer such places in the world every year.

But in the Ministry’s opinion, this “small share” apparently indicates the “insignificance of the impact” on nature.

“…it is proposed to introduce a provision for the mandatory implementation of compensatory reforestation…” (p. 3).

Here, the Ministry of Economic Development is saying that instead of genuine ancient forests, which have formed over millennia and preserved their primordial state, they will be obliged to restore forests elsewhere. They also forgot to mention that up to 90% of seedlings in reforestation “rows” die, as previously reported by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation. The “reforestation” sector today is simply another area for “splitting” enormous funds and nothing more.

“…the draft law… envisions the targeted development of forest areas… without harming the environment” (p. 4).

I don’t even know how to comment on this quote — after all, in the previous statements, a complete lack of competence in the matter under discussion was already demonstrated: specifically, the fragile mountain ecosystems that serve as wildlife refuges.

The letter also provides data on a 22% increase in tourists and “0.0055%” of the forest fund area supposedly occupied by ski infrastructure. However, there are no references to specific scientific publications or calculation methods! In my opinion, these are simply “numbers pulled out of thin air.”

Further in the text, there is the following phrase: 

“…according to the expert assessment of Opora Russia, the total area of ski slopes… is 65.5 thousand hectares…” (p. 2).

Can anyone explain to them that it is simply impossible to scientifically prove the “insignificance” of deforestation on such a scale in vulnerable mountain ecosystems WITHOUT a detailed environmental justification? For officials, these are just numbers, superficial statistics, while in reality, we are dealing with forests that differ by region, forest species, altitudes above sea level, importance for species conservation and migration routes, as well as other factors that are not considered at all.

And I didn’t see any precise limits on authorized clear-cuts in the law! There is simply a law stating that it will be allowed.

Now we come to the most interesting statement in the document: 

“…the forested area in Russia has increased by more than 4.5 million hectares since 2010…” (p. 2).

Our officials always have their own “calculation methods,” as long as the figures on paper keep growing! For example, even according to the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, between 2013 and 2018, the area covered by forests decreased by 1.1 million hectares.

And in 2023, a scientific study by G.V. Davydov, Yu.R. Shchetinin, “Dynamics and Trends in the Development of Forestry in Russia and China: An Intercountry Comparison”, was published, in which scientists present the following data:

“During the analyzed period, Russia’s forest areas decreased by 4.6 million hectares or by 0.6%, while in the world it decreased by 14.87 million hectares or by 0.37%, i.e., the rate of forest area reduction in Russia is significantly higher than in the world.”

Do you even understand, comrades, what is happening here? The officials are telling us COMPLETELY OPPOSITE DATA.

Let’s look at more quotes from the scientific study.

“In Russia, not only deforestation but also forest degradation was observed, i.e., the deterioration of the species composition, a reduction in the species diversity of forest ecosystems.” (p. 407)

“The forest stock in Russia over the studied period decreased by 963 million m³ or by 1.16%” (p. 410)

I’m publishing the original scientific work, so you can study it. 

File Download the study (PDF) 1,2 МБ

This is just one independent assessment, and there are a great many! What are we even talking about if data differ even between government agencies? I wouldn’t be surprised if none of these officials have ever even been to a real forest in their lives! It’s easy to write numbers on paper while sitting in Moscow, right? 

That is, according to SCIENTIFIC DATA, forests are declining, and the rate of destruction is higher than the global average. Besides the reduction of the area, there is degradation: valuable species are disappearing, and biodiversity is decreasing.

So what kind of growth are the officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources talking about?

I wrote about this back in my book “Notes of the Russian Taiga,” when I conducted dozens of expeditions across the country, studying the destruction of our forests. We visited a huge number of felling sites and reforestation areas and researched wildlife! This is how officials usually “count” all sorts of land, including the overgrowth of abandoned agricultural lands. They can point to any tree and say, “Oh! That’ll do as a forest,” while in reality, no one assesses the quality of newly “added” forests! And no one measures the actual scale of destruction of REAL WILD FORESTS, natural intact ecosystems.

It should be noted that in this case, it’s not even about that, but rather about MOUNTAIN FORESTS — which are a SPECIAL CATEGORY and have PROTECTIVE STATUS under the law. Any “increase” in forest stands at lower elevations or on plains does nothing to compensate for the loss of high-mountain and subalpine ecosystems, which have a unique composition of flora and fauna and serve as WILDLIFE REFUGES (refugia in scientific terminology).

Also, in its response, the Ministry of Economic Development states that there will be “targeted development” without “harm to the environment,” but in reality, every major ski resort requires clearing passages for cable cars, building roads, parking lots, and engineering infrastructure. With multiple such projects in the mountains, the FINAL ACTUAL damage will in no way be “0.0055%,” as the officials claim.

Well, let’s emphasize the very essence of the draft law and the whole point of the bureaucratic reply at the end of this material.

“…one of the main tasks is to create favorable conditions for doing business…” (p. 4).

That’s all!

What are we even discussing, if the central concern is only to “create favorable conditions” for big business? Money and nothing but money!

When there are interests worth over 300 billion rubles, they will say anything. And this “anything” is exactly what we see in these systematic replies now!

Comrades! Let’s tell people the truth. We are trying right now to stop this insane draft law, but it’s getting harder to fight for the TRUTH! Only a genuine public force can put an end to this madness.

Hands off the protected forests! Hands off wildlife refuges!

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© PAVEL PASHKOV