Improving forest fire protection in the light of recent amendments to the Forest code of the Russian Federation

Protection of forests from fires is the most important function of forestry. The peculiarities of the constitutional and legal status of the Russian Federation, based on the principles of separation of powers, have seriously affected the organizational system of forest fire protection. The 2006 Forest Code of the Russian Federation, in terms of protecting forests from fires, was initially quite liberal, but subsequently it was amended to establish requirements for restrictions and standards. Serious differences in the climatic, forest-ecological and socio-economic conditions of the regions necessitate the introduction of forest fire zoning, as well as maneuvering of fire extinguishing resources, including a specially created federal reserve. The introduction of amendments to the Forest Code of the Russian Federation at the end of July 2023 was another serious step in the process of almost continuous improvement of forest legislation. The key changes include the norms related to the introduction of the concept of emergency response measures, a new approach to planning measures for fire protection of forests, and a number of others. The analysis of the changes revealed new contradictions and potential organizational and financial problems. The distribution of powers to extinguish forest fires between the federal and regional levels simplifies the issues of maneuvering resources, but generates a number of uncertainties, including the issue of responsibility for extinguishing forest fires on the part of federal and regional authorities. The authors propose a number of ways to improve legislative and managerial mechanisms for the effective prevention and control of forest fires, the key of which are the adjustment of the concept of forest fire zoning, as well as the introduction of mechanisms for assessing the quality (adequacy and expediency) of management decisions in the field of forest protection, including the choice of tactics and methods of extinguishing forest fires.

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