Role of public in protection and use of wildlife: problems and solutions. Russian federation, Trans-Baikal territory, Republic of Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan

This article examines the principles and criteria of public participation in solving issues in the field of protection and use of wildlife. Interaction between the authorities and the public should be built on a fair, effective and informative basis. The author states that public participation in general can be regarded as providing people with an opportunity to influence the results of the plans and work processes that constitute the activities of government bodies. Based on the analysis of certain provisions of the legislation on the animal world and law enforcement practice, the author comes to the conclusion that the legal framework for the citizens participation in the management of the protection and sustainable use of wildlife in Russia is quite extensive. However, the subsequent provisions of the law did not reflect the specific forms and mechanisms of such participation. The rules for public participation and access to information in the field of wildlife management remain unsatisfactory, since these problems are simply addressed in a limited number of cases. The relevant rules are developed in excessively general terms and without detailed procedures that must be followed to ensure their full implementation. The author suggests specific problem-solving options to draw the public attention to the management issues in the protection and use of wildlife.