Putin orders drafting Ecology national project

MOSCOW. April 1 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has tasked the government with drafting the Ecology national project.

The order is on the list published on the Kremlin website following the presidential address to the Federal Assembly.

According to the document, the government, among others, is tasked with finalizing before 2030 "the cleanup of hazardous sites causing accumulated environmental damage at industrial facilities in Usolye-Sibirskoye, Irkutsk region, the Baikal Paper and Pulp Mill, and the Krasny Bor industrial waste landfill, in addition to conservation and rejuvenation of the unique ecosystem of Lake Baikal."

The president also ordered setting up a network of rehabilitation centers for injured and seized wild animals.

"To fund the implementation of the national project in 2025-2030 with allocations from the federal budget totaling at least 600 billion rubles," the order said.

The national project envisages a gradual halving by 2036 of hazardous emissions with the severest negative impact on the environment and human health in cities with high and very high levels of air pollution, development of a comprehensive system for monitoring environmental quality, as well as halving the volume of untreated wastewater discharged into main water bodies by 2036. At least 50 hazardous sites causing accumulated environmental damage shall be cleaned up by the end of 2030.

The national project aims at a circular economy, ensuring by 2030 the sorting of 100% of the volume of annually generated municipal solid waste and the involvement of at least 25% of secondary resources and raw materials from municipal solid waste into economic circulation. Also by this date, it is planned to build at least 400 solid waste management facilities and eight eco-industrial parks to involve in the reuse of production and consumption waste, providing conditions for stimulating investment in the implementation of environmentally friendly technologies and circular economy principles.

Also, the national project includes measures for forest conservation with special attention to the restoration of forests around cities and industrial centers, the preservation and development of protected natural areas, the conservation and restoration of rare and endangered species of animals and plants, as well as the preservation and improvement of the unique ecosystems of Lake Baikal.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will oversee the preparations and make a relevant report by September 1.