New information on bill No. 1096223-8 on the destruction of protected areas: good news and bad news

The situation surrounding bill No. 1096223-8, which legalizes the destruction of Russia’s protected areas, is intensifying. Both the first positive changes and even more serious problems have emerged. So, Allies, this information is urgent and extremely important.

First, let me remind you that bill No. 1096223-8 legalizes changing the boundaries of any protected areas in the country (specially protected natural territories), and also allows pieces to be cut out of protected areas and even permits their protected status to be abolished entirely. All of this is being done for development in the interests of business, with the pretext being the need to build “facilities of federal significance.” Accordingly, this could mean anything from industrial resource extraction to tourism clusters. Moreover, the law supposedly seeks to introduce a “compensation mechanism,” requiring the party placing such a facility to pay into the development of protected areas. In plain terms, it is an ordinary financial kickback from business.

Second, let me also remind you that this bill, in different versions, has already been pushed through by officials seven times in a row over recent years. This now appears to be the eighth attempt, and they will most likely pass it, because the support behind it is too strong. Earlier attempts were openly lobbied by representatives of big business, who literally demanded permission to develop protected territories.

We launched a Public Initiative, and by April 17, 2026, more than 38,000 people had taken part in it. We are trying to influence the problem, but everything is extremely difficult.

So, there are now two pieces of news.

The first.

At the Committee meeting today, April 17, the text for the second reading was not approved. They want to revise it and introduce changes to the bill precisely because of pressure from society and demands from environmental advocates. In addition, it was decided to abandon the provision that allowed land to be taken away from protected areas in cases of alleged “complete loss of its conservation value.” This is exactly what we had been demanding: this provision WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE BILL. That is already good.

The fact is that nature is capable of recovering on its own after fires and other disasters, while officials wanted to use this as a pretext to remove land from protected status altogether. In other words, they could deliberately set fires and then “write off” the land, selling it off to big business, even into private ownership.

In addition, they are prescribing a stronger composition for the commissions that will consider questions of withdrawing land from protected areas. In the regions, these commissions will be headed by governors, as well as the presidential plenipotentiary representative in the corresponding federal district. And in the federal commissions, the participation of scientists is now being allowed, whereas in the earlier version of the bill their participation was not provided for at all.

These are positive changes, already something, even if it is not possible to stop this madness completely. To some extent, it will already slow the process of destroying the protected-area system. But the work must continue, and we must seek the complete removal of the bill from consideration: the truth is, under the current political and social conditions, this is extremely difficult to achieve. If previously we managed to stop seven attempts to seize the country’s protected-area system, now everything is much more difficult.

The second.

Now for the very bad news. It was absolutely NECESSARY to add an amendment to the bill prohibiting the withdrawal of UNESCO natural heritage sites included on the World Heritage List. Unfortunately, as expected, the Ministry of Natural Resources refused to include this provision in the law. Most likely, officials are specifically targeting the most sacred refuges of wild nature first of all. We must demand that all UNESCO natural heritage sites be protected and that their withdrawal be prohibited.

And the second piece of bad news is that they want to expand the grounds for “development” of protected areas for the sake of the church as well. The Russian Orthodox Church appealed to State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin personally on behalf of the Patriarch. They are asking to add to the list of permitted activities in protected areas the holding of worship services, other religious rites and ceremonies, pilgrimage, and activities for the preservation and use of cultural heritage sites. They also say they are facing a shortage of cemetery space, and therefore protected areas may be used for this purpose as well.

The situation is dangerous from two sides. First, of course, there is the support of the bill by the Russian Orthodox Church, and that is bad because it openly endorses the destruction of the last refuges of wild nature. Second, there is the expansion of the very grounds for developing protected territories. Church infrastructure may also appear in specially protected natural territories. And pilgrimage, speaking plainly, almost inevitably entails increased flows of people, the construction of access roads, accommodation facilities, utility structures, and other accompanying infrastructure. In other words, this is no longer simply about one-time presence, but about additional anthropogenic pressure on the last refuges of wild nature.

Let us sum up.

There are minimal changes, and that is already good, but we need to apply even more effort and continue defending the protected-area system. Let me remind you that earlier more than 120 leading Russian scientists sent the President of the country an open letter about the destructive effect of the bill on protected natural territories currently under consideration by the State Duma.

Right now, this madness is being held back only because of public resonance and enormous civic activity, even under conditions of blocking and restrictions. We are now carefully awaiting the text of the bill being prepared for the second reading in the State Duma, and we continue actively demanding that it be withdrawn from consideration.

In truth, this is simply surreal: the point is that we have all the scientific assessments on the decline in animal populations worldwide, on humanity having transgressed seven of the nine planetary boundaries, and on the degradation and destruction of all the world’s ecosystems. And at the same time we are seeing bills that legalize the development of the last refuges of wild nature.

How is this possible?!

We continue the struggle, Allies. I ask everyone to take part in the Public Initiative, and also to study the material on how they have been trying to pass this bill in different versions eight times in a row over recent years.

• Take part in the Public Initiative: sign and review the instructions
• Read information about the earlier attempts to push the bill through

© PAVEL PASHKOV