Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Awards an Internal Grant To Develop a Legal Model of Biosphere Reserves Managment

Plekhanov Russian University of Economics has provided an internal grant for the research on "The development of a regulatory model for Russia's Biosphere Reserves managment in the context of ensuring environmental sovereignty and the development of nature-based technologies." The research team plans to carry out a series of activities aimed at improving the regulatory mechanisms for biosphere reserves in the country. The head of the research team is Olga Petrova, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Administration. The research work is conducted under the overall supervision of Ivan Lobanov, Head of the UNESCO Chair.

The main objectives of the project include:

• an analysis of regulatory documents governing the status and activities of biosphere reserves, land relations and sustainable development issues

• an analysis of international experience in the creation and functioning of biosphere reserves in countries with highly developed environmental legislation.

The result of the work is expected to be a concept of a federal law on biosphere reserves. The proposed concept will cover issues of the legal status, the structure of biosphere zones (core, buffer and transition areas), the managment system and the division of competences among government bodies. It is also planned to introduce an initiative to amend land, urban planning, tax and environmental laws, aimed at aligning them with the new standards for the management of UNESCO biosphere reserves. The legal framework thus created will become the basis for the harmonization of national legislation with UNESCO's international principles in accordance with the requirements of the Man and the Biosphere programme and will enable optimal management of biosphere reserves in the future, ensuring a balance between the conservation of natural resources and the development of society.