SC allows construction of tourist facilities in Sochi Natural Reserve

The Supreme Court (SC) of Russia has dismissed the appeal filed by ecologists concerning the Greenpeace's claim against the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. The ecologists demanded to recognize null and void the paragraphs of the provision on the Sochi Natural Reserve, which allowed constructing facilities of the tourism industry in its territory. This was reported by the director of the Greenpeace programme in Russia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in November 2015, Yevgeny Usov, the press secretary for Greenpeace in Russia, stated that the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources had developed the drafts of new provisions on the Sochi National Park and Reserve to legalize the construction of resorts in the reserved areas and special protected zones.

According to Mikhail Kreindlin, the director of the Greenpeace programme in Russia, the construction of facilities of the tourism industry in the territory of the Sochi Natural Reserve "may result in serious consequences" and inflict damage to the Sochi Natural Reserve.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.