Forest Code (No. 200 – FZ).

The Forest Code governs the protection, ownership, use and renewal of forest resources in the Russian Federation based on the notion of forests as an ecological system. Forest legislation and other normative legal acts regulating forest relations are based on the following principles: (1) sustainable forest management, conservation of forest biological diversity, increasing their potential; (2) preservation of the environment-forming, water-protective, protective, sanitary-hygienic, health-improving and other useful functions of forests in the interests of ensuring everyone’s right to a favorable environment; (3) use of forests taking into account their global environmental significance, as well as taking into account the duration of their cultivation and other natural properties of forests; (4) ensuring multi-purpose, rational, continuous, sustainable use of forests to meet the needs of society for forests and forest resources; (5) conservation of forests, including through their protection, conservation, reproduction, afforestation; (6) improving the quality of forests, as well as increasing their productivity; (7) participation of citizens and public associations in the preparation of decisions, the implementation of which may have an impact on forests during their use, protection, conservation, reproduction, in the manner and forms established by the legislation of the Russian Federation; (8) use of forests in ways that do not harm the environment and human health; (9) use of forests for their intended purpose, determined in accordance with the types of forests and the useful functions they perform; (10) inadmissibility of the use of forests by state authorities and local governments; and (11) payment for the use of forests. The Act consists of 16 Chapters divided into 109 articles: (1) general provisions; (2) forest use; (3) forest protection; (4) forest renewal and afforestation; (5) forest management planning; (6) making publicly-owned and municipally-owned forest parcels available to citizens and legal persons; (7) sale-purchase contracts for forest stands; (8) forest auctions; (9) powers of the public authorities in the sphere of forest relations; (10) administration of forest use, protection and renewal; (11) payment for forest use and forest valuation; (12) state forest inspection; (13) liability; (14) dispute settlement; (15) protection forests; (16) production forests and reserve forests. The Act contains important provisions regarding ownership and use of forests specifying that forest parcels within the forest estate lands shall pertain to federal property and the ownership of other forest parcels shall be regulated by land legislation. Public forests shall be conceded on lease, which shall be charged, and gratuitous use for established periods. Regarding classification of forests the Act establishes that forests on the forest estate lands shall be classified into protection forests, production forests and reserve forests in accordance with their designation. Forest managers and lessees shall submit annually to public authorities forest declaration stating forest use compliance with the forest development plan. Forest parcels made available for game management shall be classified as hunting grounds and shall be granted for the aforesaid use under lease agreements for forest parcels. Regarding citizens rights they shall be authorized to stay in forests freely and gratis and to harvest and collect, wild fruit, berries, nuts, mushrooms, other edible forest resources (except for protected and prohibited species), and non-timber forest resources, for their subsistence needs. Regarding timber extraction it shall be authorized for: (a) mature and over-mature forest stands; (b) middle-age, premature, mature and over-mature forest stands to remove dead and damaged forest stands and for purposes of forest tending; and (c) forest stands of any age within forest parcels designated for construction, reconstruction and operation of facilities. Timber extraction shall be prohibited in volumes exceeding the allowable cuts (permissible volumes of wood extraction) as well as earlier than at the ages of cutting.