Against bill No. 145734 on clear-cutting of protective forests in Russia

The issue has been successfully resolved. The initiative is closed!

On 7 March 2025 the Ministry of Economic Development published draft No. 145734 on regulation.gov.ru—amendments to the Forest Code that would allow clear-cutting of mountain protective forests to build ski-resort infrastructure. The proposal removed first-group (protective) status from these forests, contradicted the existing protection regime, and received a negative opinion from the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation due to avalanche risks, mudslides, and biodiversity loss.  

We launched a public campaign: prepared a technical-legal opinion, organized a petition, coordinated citizen appeals, and ensured wide media coverage. Thanks to sustained public resonance, draft No. 145734 never advanced beyond the public consultation stage; by June 2025 the authors stopped promoting it, and the document effectively stalled in the system.

However, on 30 June 2025 the developers re-submitted almost identical amendments under a new number, No. 155253, for which a separate initiative is already under way. 

This initiative has been successfully closed. 

Closed on 21 June, 2024

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