Thunder Trail: passages in forests will be divided into types
Roads in the Russian forests will be divided according to their purpose, and right-of-way lanes and road signs will appear on them. The relevant amendments have been developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Experts and environmentalists believe that they will make forests more accessible, but warn of possible abuses in the creation of such roads. Details can be found in the Izvestia article
For agriculture and transport
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has developed "Rules for the creation and maintenance of forest roads." The document has been published on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts. The rules assume the division of forest roads into two main types — forestry and forest transportation. The first, according to the document, "are created to ensure the movement of specialized and other vehicles in order to implement measures for the conservation of forests and forest management." At the same time, it is noted that such roads cannot be created and operated for timber harvesting.
The second type of forest roads, forest transportation roads, is intended for these purposes. As follows from the document, they can be used "including for the implementation of measures for the conservation of forests and forest management."
"In order to create forest roads, non-forest lands and lands not occupied by forest plantations, as well as created forest infrastructure facilities, are used primarily. When creating forest roads, logging of forest stands of any age is allowed, including in protective forests," the draft says.
According to the standards
The project provides that forest roads can be either paved or unpaved. At the same time, depending on the category, the width of the right-of-way of such a highway should be at least 12-30 m. During the operation of forest roads, the requirements for the permissible total weight and dimensions of vehicles, axial load, speed, etc. must be observed.
"For the safe movement of vehicles along forest roads in winter <...>, a set of measures is being implemented to protect the roadway from snow drifts using snow protection equipment: snow removal from the roadway, prevention and elimination of winter slipperiness by treating the roadway with anti—icing materials, care for steep ascents and descents by sprinkling sand," - it follows from the draft rules.
The document sets out separately the conditions necessary to reduce the negative impact on forests and the environment during the construction and operation of railways. In particular, "the requirements of the legal regime of forests located in water protection zones, valuable forests, including forbidden forest strips located along water bodies, forests performing the functions of protecting natural and other objects, and specially protected forest areas" must be observed. Also, when creating roads in forests, "in order to prevent flooding of forest stands, waterlogging and waterlogging," it is necessary to "ensure sufficient drainage of surface runoff and groundwater." To do this, passageways in the forest must be equipped with drains, ditches, ditches and other artificial structures. When operating forest roads, regular cleaning of the right-of-way from grass, trees and shrubs is expected.
There should be devices and facilities on forest roads for animals to pass through on their migration routes. These routes should bypass specially protected natural areas, as well as habitats, nutrition and reproduction of protected animal species. In addition, when creating such roads, "excessive fragmentation of forests" should be avoided. Signs warning of the risk of encountering wild animals are also mandatory.
Get into the wilds
The creation of forest roads will help improve fire safety measures in forests, says a member of the public council of the Forestry Committee of the Moscow Region (or the author and host of the Forester Podcast). Mikhail Sadetdinov.
— The creation of such roads will ensure transport accessibility, especially for remote areas of forests. The services will be able to get to the fires more mobile and quickly, and patrol forests by land," he told Izvestia.
The creation of roads is one of the key factors in improving fire protection measures, fire safety expert Vitaly Boyko told Izvestia.
— A good road and infrastructure means speed. High—quality roads provide a fairly convenient and fast water supply, the delivery of additional forces, the equipment will be able to enter from the other side to extinguish the fire," the expert noted.
According to him, even the road itself serves as a fire gap and will not allow the fire to spread quickly.
— It is important that these roads are constantly cleaned and repaired, and mineralized lanes should be created along forest roads to prevent the spread of fire. Another important factor is access to water sources in order to spend a minimum of time on water delivery," he added.
The expert stressed that a good road network allows for preventive logging of trees and removal of old green spaces, which also reduces the risk of fire.
— The creation of new roads should be carried out in compliance with the requirements for the protection of forests, so as not to harm. It is necessary to prepare the project documentation and the conclusion of the expert commission," Boris Kokotov, President of the National Association of Nature Users, told Izvestia.
The requirements that are planned to be imposed on forest roads should be feasible and not too strict, says Igor Morzharetto, a member of the presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Otherwise, the organizations and departments in charge of a particular flattering array may simply not have enough resources to meet the standards, he notes.
Forest highway
Since the project provides for the possibility of cutting trees, including in protective forests, to create forest roads, this can lead to abuse, says Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Union (NAS).
— There is a high probability that, under the guise of a forest road, a multi-lane highway or a shorter route to some elite cottage settlement will appear in one place or another. This will have the most negative impact on both the forest itself and its inhabitants," he said.
In addition, taking into account the long procedure of supervisory measures, it will be extremely difficult to monitor compliance with the established requirements for forest roads, the NAS Vice president believes. As a result, these norms may remain only on paper, Anton Shaparin believes.
Such a risk certainly exists, Igor Morzharetto agrees. To avoid this, it is necessary to establish limited access to roads passing through protective forests or other special zones, he believes.
— If we are talking about nature reserves, sanctuaries, special natural territories through which a forest road must be built, then it should be accessible only to foresters and employees of emergency and operational services. This will reduce the temptation to secretly pave the way to the cottage," Igor Morzharetto emphasized.
In this case, there must be warning signs and information signs on such a road and at the entrance to it, Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, is sure. This will avoid fines for those who unknowingly entered the restricted area, he believes.
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