Russia axes its environment agency.

In a move that has provoked outrage from environmentalists around the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 23 dissolved the State Committee for Environmental Protection, Goskomekologil, the only government body responsible for environmental regulation and protection in Russia. The environmental committee's responsibilities were transferred to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is geared toward managing the exploitation and extraction of the country's natural resources.

Goskomekologii was first established in the early 1990s as a Russian Ministry and a part of the presidential cabinet, but in 1996 was downgraded to committee status. Despite the enormous responsibility of coveting the increasingly serious environmental problems in all of Russia's 11 time zones, it was left mostly under-funded and under-staffed. "Environmental laws in Russia," says Rory Cox at the Pacific Environment and Resources Center (PERC), "are stronger than what we have here in the United States, but the level of enforcement [in Russia] is spotty and promises to get a lot weaker with Putin's decision." Russia already harbors more nuclear waste than any other country, for example, but without the ministry to enforce existing laws prohibiting nuclear waste imports, the country is poised to become an international nuclear dumping ground.

Until now Goskomekologii had the power to halt certain projects if they failed to pass an environmental review--similar to the environmental impact statements required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--and to designate protected areas called zapovedniks. Today a total of 99 of these reserves dot the country, protecting everything from Wrangel Island, an important nesting ground for migratory birds in the far north, to Lake Baikal, which contains one-fifth of the world's liquid fresh water. While many of these preserves are rich in timber, minerals, and other natural resources, they have remained unexploited due to their protected status.

According to Laura L. Williams, a Russian conservation consultant, the zapovedniks might fare better under management by the Ministry of Natural Resources, because of its greater wealth and political clout. The new Ministry, however, already has plans to decrease staff size for park administration by more than half, leaving only eight people to take care of the entire Russian preserve system.

Sergei Tsyplenkov of Greenpeace Russia, Alexey Yablokov of the Russian Socio-Ecological Union, and other Russian environmentalists called Putin's unanticipated decision a step backward that will nullify Russia's past advances in environmental protection. They fear that the nation's natural resources, which include 20 percent of the Earth's forests, will be auctioned off to the highest bidders. Surprisingly, some of Russia's regional government and parliament members have also taken a strong stand against the decree. In June, just weeks after Putin's decision, a group of lawmakers, non-governmental organizations and government officials called on Putin to reinstate an independent environment agency. The group also proposed that the Russian Federation organize a Council for Sustainable Development to address the country's economic and environmental concerns.

Even some members of the Russian business community have objected to Putin's decision, fearing the potential for arbitrary enforcement of environmental regulations and the mounting international perception of corruption.

Deutsche Presse-Agenrur reported on June 13th that Russian oil giants had a role in pressuring Putin into eliminating the committee. The oil companies claimed that certain ecological hindrances" would diminish their ability to invest in oil and gas exploration over the next five years, whereas they promised to invest 7 billion dollars if those "hindrances" were eliminated.

Paperwork to completely dissolve the environment committee could take up to six months. In the meantime, Russian environmentalists hope that both national and international concern, particularly from the United States, might force President Putin to reconsider his decision.