Reliable environmental protection system is formed in Bashkortostan - Rustem Khamitov

UFA, 7 June 2017. /Bashinform News Agency/. Today at the "VDNKh-Expo" exhibition centre the Head of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov examined an exposition of the 2nd specialized exhibition "Ecology. Technologies. Life" and delivered a speech at the plenary meeting of the International Environment Forum.

The Head of the Region congratulated participants of the forum on the World Environment Day and the Ecologist's Day that had been held the day before, noting that Russia had a reliable legal, administrative and social base that allows it to protect the environment reliably and confidently.

Issues of improving interaction between protected natural areas for the conservation of biodiversity, developing tourism industry and responsible tourism were considered at the "Russian Reserves – Developing Through Protection" plenary session.

"Today we are talking about the Russian reserves. Our republic is quite well developed in this part. New reserves and nature conservation areas are being formed. We are planning to declare a number of areas of our republic as specially protected natural areas", Rustem Khamitov stressed.

During the meeting it was noted that Bashkortostan is closely cooperating with UNESCO. During these years, much work has been done to promote globally the specially protected natural areas of the republic. The "Bashkir Urals" biosphere reserve was created. The Executive Secretary of the Commission of the Russian Federation for the UNESCO Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Grigory Ordzhonikidze, proposed to expand its territory, including a habitat of the Burzyan wild hive bee into it, in order to prevent a possible reduction of its population.

Another area of cooperation between the region and UNESCO is creation of the country's first Geopark. According to Grigory Ordzhonikidze, one of the possible places of its location can be Mount Yangantau in the Salavat district.

The head of the ecology working group of the Expert Council under the Government of Russia Rashid Ismailov said that Bashkortostan had taken the first place in the recently compiled environmental rating of the regions. In addition, the first real estate property in the country was constructed under the "green standards" of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia in the territory of the Shulgan-Tash reserve. This unique experience is now planned to be replicated in the specially protected natural areas of other regions of the Russian Federation.

The Head of the Republic supported a proposal of the deputy chairman of the Russian Committee for the UNESCO Program "Human and Biosphere" Valery Neronov on the need to legislatively formalise the concept of "biosphere reserve" at the federal level and to approve the relevant regulations.