Viktoria Abramchenko, Deputy Prime Minister, proposes to combine the powers of forestry and timber industry in one federal body

Viktoria Abramchenko, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 27, 2020, to propose to combine the powers of forestry and timber industry in one authority.

Ms. Abramchenko emphasizes the insufficiently coordinated state administration in the field of forestry and the timber industry at the federal level, pointing out that a significant share of powers regarding forest relations are transferred to regional authorities, and certain state powers are exercised by as many as three federal executive bodies: Ministry of Natural Resources, Federal Agency for Forestry, Ministry of Industry and Trade.

“Forestry is still underfunded, which, given the existing extensive forest use pattern and low investment activity in the forest sector, obstructs a comprehensive resolution of problems in this field. Thus, there is an obvious need to synchronize the state policy and administration in the forestry and timber industry,” states Ms. Abramchenko’s letter.

Besides that, the Deputy Prime Minister proposes to combine all federal functions related to state regulation in the said sectors in a single authority with all the necessary powers, citing the sectoral management of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia as an example.