Call to Action: Environmental Leaders and Human Rights Chief Demand Rejection of Controversial Baikal Logging Legislation

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

Proponents of the bill, which modifies Russia’s law on the safeguarding of Lake Baikal, argue that such amendments are essential for developing basic infrastructure like roads, sewage systems, and public restrooms in isolated lakeside communities.

Opponents caution that the legislation poses a serious threat to Baikal’s delicate ecosystem, potentially allowing extensive clear-cutting under the pretext of sanitary logging. They also accuse lawmakers of serving private business interests, including those of billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who could gain from tourism and logging permits.

“Legislators, your decisions are reckless, uninformed, and potentially unlawful,” former municipal deputy Alexander Sosnov stated in a video message released on Tuesday. “You are well aware that there will be no consequences for you.”

This remark followed the Russian government’s reported approval of long-delayed amendments that would allow sanitary logging—intended to minimize damage from wildfires, pests, and other natural threats—in the Baikal area.

Valery Fadeyev, head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, wrote to State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin on Tuesday, warning that the bill would “not only jeopardize Lake Baikal’s ecosystem but also undermine [Russia’s] international relations,” as reported by the news outlet RBC.

In a separate letter to Volodin, members of the Russian Academy of Sciences expressed their “increasing concern” for the lake’s future, according to RBC.

The government commission that approved the bill for a vote in the coming months reportedly suggested a compromise involving reforestation efforts in the Baikal Central Ecological Zone, based on “special research” conducted by the Academy of Sciences.

Dmitry Kobylkin, Chairman of the State Duma Ecology Committee, stated on Wednesday that a designated panel from the Academy of Sciences would be responsible for making all final decisions related to development near the lake should the bill be enacted.

Earlier this month, UNESCO, which designated Baikal as a World Heritage site in 1996, expressed concerns regarding the “uncertain legal protection” of the lake.