Establishment of protective zones of specially protected natural territories

The paper examines the shortcomings of legal techniques (legal uncertainty, legal gaps, lack of specification of legal norms) in the establishment of protection zones for especially protected natural territories (hereinafter – SPNT). The definition of protection zones for SPNT is formulated, and their role in preserving the latter is demonstrated. The need for mandatory creation of protection zones for all categories of federal, regional, and local SPNTs is justified, not only around state nature reserves, national parks, natural parks, and nature monuments. The absence or delayed establishment of protection zones for many regional nature parks and nature monuments of regional importance is identified. Features of imperativeness in their establishment emerged at the end of 2013, as well as the reasons for the current situation (uncertainty about the deadline for establishment, lack of specification of legal norms regarding the moment when the obligation to develop a decision on establishing a protection zone for regional SPNT arises, special procedures for establishing protection zones for border SPNTs of regional and local importance, as well as the possibility of establishing a single protection zone for closely located SPNTs). Taking into account the judicial practice, recommendations for amending the legislation on the establishment of protection zones for SPNT are formulated.