The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved in the second reading Draft Law 11024, which is aimed at protecting the country’s nature reserves. The document provides for a ban on jeeping and vehicle traffic in nature reserves, and introduces new rules for establishing, changing and cancelling protection zones around these areas.
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The draft law amends the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine’ to stipulate that decisions on protection zones must be made in consultation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine (MENR). This will ensure additional protection of the territories from potential damage associated with activities that may adversely affect the natural environment.
Protection zones are areas around nature reserves where construction, hunting and other activities that could damage ecosystems are prohibited. Previously, decisions on the establishment of such zones were made at the local level without the need for expert opinion or approval. The new law stipulates that such changes are now possible only with an expert opinion and the consent of the Ministry of Ecology.
The draft law does not change the procedure for cancelling the status of a nature reserve fund, but only regulates the issue of protection zones by introducing additional mechanisms to protect natural resources.
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