Institutional Instability and the Challenges of Protected Area Management in Russia

Abstract

Since the fall of the USSR, the protected-area system within the Russian Federation has been plagued by insufficient financial support and instability in the federal administration. In 2000 President Putin dissolved the State Committee on Environmental Protection and the Federal Forest Service, transferring both agencies’ responsibilities to the Ministry of Natural Resources; since that time, protected-area administration has undergone repeated restructuring. Through a series of elite interviews and site visits, this investigation explores how a lack of stability has been a source of confusion among staff, reduced the ability to secure finances, and impeded the continued development of the system. Though solutions such as partnerships with nongovernmental organizations and capacity-building workshops are being developed, effective protected-area management depends on federal administrative stability and a steady source of financing.

Keywords:

• ecological education
• ecological tourism
• institutional instability
• management planning
• partnerships
• protected areas
• zapovedniks