The SEU-Times, June, 2000
NEW GOVERNMENT PROMISES HARD TIMES FOR ENVIRONMENT IN RUSSIA
On May 17 Decree of the new Russian President Vladimir Putin has eliminated
existing environment protection system of the country.
The Decree eliminated
Environmental protection committee and Federal forest service, passing their
functions to the different ministries, mainly to the Ministry of Natural
Resources. Joining the functions of environmental resources use and control
over this use will lead to no good. It is almost the same as to let the fox
guard chicken house.
No one denies that the environment protection system that existed in Russia
needed improvement. But the very fact of the Decree shows the tendencies of
the new Government. And these tendencies are not inspiring. The developments
show that the governmental course is based on increased resource and
environment exploitation, mega-industry and project oriented. All this,
together with attacks on independent media (on May 11, around 500 masked
Federal Security Service people attacked and searched the building of
Media-Most group. Its NTV channel is critical of the regime) and attempts to
restrict information flow, promises hard times for environmental movement
and civil society in general in Russia.
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