The Verkhovna Rada has voted in the first reading in favor of draft Law No 11024 "On Amending the Law of Ukraine 'On the Natural Reserve Fund of Ukraine' to Ensure the Preservation of Territories and Objects of the Natural Reserve Fund".
This was reported by the representative of the Government in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk in Telegram.
This bill concerns amendments to Articles 3, 14, 64 of the relevant law.
The most expected by environmentalists and eco-activists additions are contained in Article 14 "Determination of the regime of territories and objects of the natural reserve fund". The lawmakers prohibited the passage of motorized vehicles within the territories and objects of the natural reserve fund (NRF), except for public roads, streets and roads of cities and other settlements, highways on private territories.
An exception was made for vehicles:
- land users and landowners on whose land plots these territories and objects are located;
- officials of special units of the central executive body implementing state policy on the implementation of state supervision (control) in the field of environmental protection, rational use, reproduction and protection of natural resources, executive bodies of township, village, city councils exercising state control in the field of protection the natural environment, as well as law enforcement agencies, emergency rescue services, health authorities and institutions, formations of military units, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations created in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine, mine action operators during the performance of official duties;
- public environmental protection inspectors exercising public control in the field of environmental protection;
- employees of enterprises, institutions and organizations providing maintenance to infrastructure facilities located within these territories and facilities;
- local residents within the economic zones of national natural parks, regional landscape parks and buffer zones and zones of anthropogenic landscapes of biosphere reserves used by them for their needs;
- visitors to institutions of natural reserves moving along automobile tourist routes within the economic zones of national natural parks, regional landscape parks and zones of anthropogenic landscapes of biosphere reserves, in which the projects for organizing the territories of these institutions provide for seasonal and temporary restrictions on movement, as well as restrictions on the number and type of vehicles and speed of their movement;
- visitors to institutions of natural reserves moving along roads to travel to recreational areas, places of mass recreation of the population within stationary recreation zones, economic zones of national natural parks, regional landscape parks and zones of anthropogenic landscapes of biosphere reserves, determined by projects for organizing the territory or decisions of administrations these institutions.
It is expected that the new law will put an end to uncontrolled jeeping in protected areas. Until this moment, a direct ban on the passage of cars was valid only in strictly protected areas, and passage in economic zones and stationary recreation zones was allowed. Therefore, protected areas were systematically turned into racing tracks.
In Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Natural Reserve Fund of Ukraine”, legislators added a new type of reserves and natural monuments – mycological , that is, created to protect valuable species of mushrooms.
Article 64 “Types of liability for violations of legislation on natural reserve funds” was supplemented with liability for violation requirements of regimes of territories and objects of natural reserve fund , and also banned not only economic, but also " other activities "
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that on February 19, 2024, The Cabinet of Ministers approved bill No. 11024 “On amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Natural Reserve Fund of Ukraine”, which provides for a ban on jeeping in protected areas and strict liability for this.
Later, on March 25, the Committee on Environmental Policy and Natural Resources Management recommended parliament to adopt this government bill.
