Problems of protecting the world natural heritage sites in Russia and abroad (example of lake Baikal and the “Plitvice lakes” national park)

Abstract

The practice of protecting the World Heritage site “Plitvice Lakes” National Park is considered. The criteria for its inscription in the World Heritage List are revealed. Attention is drawn to the main problems related to the legal and organizational protection of the object. The main content of the conclusions of the decisions of the World Heritage Committee on the protection of the “Plitvice Lakes” National Park is revealed. Parallels are drawn with the main threats to the ecological state of Lake Baikal. One of the acute and underestimated threats is the preservation of authentic Baikal landscapes. Given the insufficiency of the provisions of domestic legislation to achieve these goals, the conclusion is drawn about the possibility of using the provisions of the Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage to prevent the construction of objects that clearly violate the existing landscape within the boundaries of the World Heritage site. The conclusion is drawn about the expediency of the Russian Federation’s consent to be bound by the European Landscape Convention in order to develop domestic legislation on the protection of landscapes. The practice of consolidating the management of the World Heritage site Plitvice National Park in the hands of a legal entity of the same name receives a positive assessment. It is proposed to consider the possibility of securing the sui generis regime of a specially protected natural territory for the Central Ecological Zone of the Baikal Natural Territory. Such a decision will create a single administration responsible for the management of Lake Baikal as a World Heritage Site. The next step should be the development of a World Heritage site management plan in accordance with the recommendations of IUCN and the World Heritage Committee. Such a plan may include a strategy for the development of special economic zones, issues of elimination accumulated environmental damage and regulation of tourist flows.