Abstract
The principal legislative document regulating the protection of the plants and animal species in Ukraine is the Law of Ukraine “On the Red Book of Ukraine”. However, Ukrainian legislation related to the Red Book of Ukraine (RBU) is not agile. It does not react to the modern challenges and does not operate by new opportunities provided, for example, through the Law “On Environmental Impact Assessment”. Environmental impact assessments (EIA) are required for many management activities, including woodcutting, mining, and melioration, and should protect the environment. On the other side, unfortunately, the section “Impact on flora and fauna” in EIA reports often prepared superficially and formally. This section usually does not contain real research results and does not offer real measures for the protection of endangered species. Since today, there are no known cases when the EIA report was issued considering the real conservation needs of the species listed in the RBU.This letter proposes introducing several amendments to the legislation on the RBU, which are required for its integration into the EIA. First, it is proposed to introduce individual protection requirements for each species included in the RBU, which will allow the implementation of appropriate environmental conditions in the EIA conclusions. Secondly, it is proposed to introduce the responsibility for conserving species for users and owners of sites where coenopopulations, individuals (for plants), or permanent habitats (for animals) of the RBU species are located. Third, it is proposed to introduce a mechanism for documenting the location of the RBU species. These changes would make it possible to identify specific legal entities and individuals for whom species protection obligations and the penalties for disturbance will be imposed.
Highlights
The principal legislative document regulating the protection of the plants and animal species in Ukraine is the Law of Ukraine “On the Red Book of Ukraine”
Ukrainian legislation related to the Red Book of Ukraine (RBU) is not agile
It does not react to the modern challenges and does not operate by new opportunities provided, for example, through the Law “On Environmental Impact Assessment”
Summary
The principal law regulating the protection of the plants and animal species in Ukraine is the Law of Ukraine “On the Red Book of Ukraine”. Individual protective requirements are indicated for all other species listed in the RBU They are not mentioned in any legislation document, and are not obligatory. It is essential to protect RBU species integrally to their habitats since most cases, especially the plant species, require complex habitat preservation. Such concept of species protection, taking into account their peculiarities and habitats, should significantly improve the RBU legislation and bring it close to the international environmental legislative acts such as the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Berne Convention), as well as to the principles of forest certification according to FSC standards. In case of the introduction of individual requirements for protecting certain species to Ukrainian legislation, it will be possible to include such requirements in EIA
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