Environmental Experts and Human Rights Leaders Call for Rejection of Controversial Baikal Logging Legislation

Environmental specialists and the leader of President Vladimir Putin’s Human Rights Council have urged lawmakers to dismiss a contentious bill aimed at loosening logging regulations along the shores of Lake Baikal, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Proponents of the legislation, which modifies Russia’s laws concerning the safeguarding of Lake Baikal, argue that such amendments are essential for establishing fundamental infrastructure like roads, sewage systems, and public restrooms in isolated villages by the lake.

Opponents caution that the bill threatens to inflict serious harm on Baikal’s delicate ecosystem, potentially allowing for significant deforestation under the pretense of sanitary logging. They also allege that legislators are prioritizing the interests of private enterprises, particularly billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who stands to gain from tourism and logging permits.

«Legislators, your conduct is reckless, unconsidered, and, at its worst, illegal,» stated former municipal deputy Alexander Sosnov in a video message released on Tuesday. «You are fully aware that you will not bear the consequences of this.»

His remarks came a week after reports suggested that the Russian government had approved long-pending changes that would allow sanitary logging—an approach intended to mitigate damage caused by wildfires, pests, and other natural risks—to move forward in the Baikal region.

Valery Fadeyev, the chair of the Presidential Human Rights Council, communicated with State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin on Tuesday, expressing concerns that the legislation would «not only pose a threat to Lake Baikal’s ecosystem but also adversely affect [Russia’s] foreign relations,» as reported by RBC news outlet.

In a separate communication, members of the Russian Academy of Sciences expressed «increasing concern» regarding the future of the lake in their own letter to Volodin, according to RBC.

A government commission that green-lighted the bill for a future vote on July 8 reportedly suggested a compromise that would incorporate reforestation efforts in the Baikal Central Ecological Zone based on «specific research» conducted by the Academy of Sciences.

Dmitry Kobylkin, Chairman of the State Duma Ecology Committee, stated on Wednesday that if the bill is approved, a specific commission from the Academy of Sciences will be responsible for making all final decisions concerning developments near the lake.

UNESCO, which designated Baikal as a World Heritage site in 1996, earlier this month expressed worries about the «unsure legal protections» surrounding the lake.