Since 1997 the Committee for nature use and ecological security under the Government of the Leningrad Region has been developing the regional law about "Protected areas in the Leningrad region" to establish the Leningrad region legislation in relation to PA's.
The Concept of the draft regional law implies the step-wise reform of relationships in the sphere of protected area conservation, functioning and development. The stages are shaped as successive actions towards the development and adoption of the law, standards and instructions ensuring the implementation of the document.
The principal statements underlying the Concept are:
Specific features of the natural environment and nature use in the Leningrad region
gradual disappearance of natural terrestrial communities; degradation of all types of ecosystems including forest, coastal and aquatic ones, due to uncontrolled recreational activities; growing degree of disturbance and deterioration of natural complexes as a result of other activities; unsound economic practices; deterioration of the migrating species habitats, and as a consequence reduction of biological diversity and stability of natural complexes.
some shortcomings in the existing network of protected areas; their insufficient area; lack of PA's under some statuses; small area occupied by PA's aimed to preserve natural complexes at various stages of the natural dynamics; the PA complex is not a balanced system; PA management and financing problems are not solved, etc.
In 1998 the "Regional framework programme for the support and development of protected areas in the Leningrad region to the year 2005" was prepared under the Committee's supervision. The final objective of the Programme is to develop argumentation for financial support to the existing network of protected areas and plan further development of PA's in order to conserve unique and typical natural complexes and objects. The Programme is socially-oriented while the amelioration of the environmental situation in the region, and preservation of its unique nature for the coming generation is of importance for practically all inhabitants of the Leningrad region.
In addition to building argumentation for the financing required for PA's the Programme is a blueprint of environmental policy concerning PA's in the Leningrad region. The Programme contains plans for nature conservation, organisational, administrative, silvicultural and socio-economic measures. It implies the development of the legal basis, planning of new PA's, training, scientific research and planning activities. The Programme is an implementation of the Integrated Framework for nature Conservation in the Leningrad Region to the year 2005. It was developed using data obtained in scientific research, including that carried out within international programmes, new PA establishment projects, etc. The Programme was prepared by the St. Petersburg Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Science in collaboration with the St. Petersburg Forest Research Institute, Biological Research Institute of St.Petersburg University, Komarov Botanical institute of RAS, Urban Construction Research and Design Institute, and "Inecol" stock company.
Currently, the total area of PA's in the Lake
Ladoga area districts of the Leningrad region is 0.54% of the territory (the
figure in the whole of the region being 3.02%). The indices in specific
districts are: (1) Priozersky - 2.4%, (2) Vsevolozhsky - 1.7%, Kirovsky - 0.07%,
Volkhovsky - 0.05%, Lodejnopol'sky - 12.3% (Fig. 5). Some protected areas are
now at the planning stage.
