Russia Forms Elite Council to Oversee Environmental and Resource Policies

The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources has formed a new Scientific and Technical Council to guide strategic decisions in environmental and resource management. The body will oversee key national projects and policy initiatives. Its leadership includes prominent figures from the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). Stepan Kalmykov, vice president of the RAS, will co-chair the council alongside Alexander Zakondyrin, director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Ecology. The group consists of 83 members, among them 70 doctors of sciences and 33 academicians or corresponding members of the RAS.

The council’s work will cover six specialised areas: geology and subsoil use, water resources, environmental protection, specially protected natural areas and wildlife management, forest resources, and systemic issues of state ecological policy. Its main tasks include strategic planning for natural resource management, reviewing regulatory acts, and evaluating the performance of technologies used in the Ecological Well-Being national project and the Geology: Revival of a Legend initiative. The council aims to improve decision-making in ecology and natural resource use. Its expertise and broad representation are expected to strengthen the implementation of major environmental programmes. The new body will begin its work under the joint leadership of Kalmykov and Zakondyrin.