Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Russia · 2020–2026

Baikal Natural Territory: expertise exemptions and clear-cutting rules

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
What the record lacks: 1 self-reported only · 1 not measured · 4 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Width of the strip cleared next to railways
  • Company or project Russian Railways (2020): The law allows clearing a 10–15 m strip next to existing tracks for technical facilities. The Moscow Times (Russian edition)
  • Press and investigations Novaya Gazeta (2020): The bill sets no limit on strip width. Novaya Gazeta
Effect of the 2025 clear-cutting amendments on Baikal forests
  • Government and regulators Lawmakers supporting the bill and Governor Aleksei Tsydenov (reported by Meduza): Bacterial disease left too much dead wood and selective cuts no longer work. Meduza
  • Government and regulators Nikolai Buduev, United Russia deputy: The bill makes the nature-protection regime in Baikal's central ecological zone weaker. Meduza
  • Researchers Viktor Danilov-Danilyan: The adopted law encourages crooks to set fire to the forest around Baikal. Meduza
  • Researchers Russian Academy of Sciences scientific councils: Three of five relevant councils opposed the bill. Meduza

Federal Law 254-FZ of 31 July 2020 added Article 25.1 to the Law on Lake Baikal, allowing railway-capacity works with clear-cutting in the central ecological zone until 31 December 2033. Amendments signed on 16 December 2025 widened clear-cutting rules from 1 March 2026.

Until 31 Dec 2033Period of the railway-capacity regime (Article 25.1)
Law No. 94-FZ on Lake Baikal as amended 8 August 2024.

Status As of July 2026: the 2025 clear-cutting amendments were in force; the World Heritage Committee reportedly deferred the in-danger listing decision to 2027, according to Rivers without Boundaries.

What?
Federal Law 254-FZ (31 July 2020) added Article 25.1 to the Law on Lake Baikal, allowing railway-capacity works with clear-cutting in the central ecological zone until 31 December 2033, and amendments signed on 16 December 2025 widened clear-cutting rules from 1 March 2026. Rosprirodnadzor (hosted file)
Where?
Central ecological zone of the Baikal Natural Territory, including the railways along the southern (Trans-Siberian) and northern (BAM) shores. Rosprirodnadzor (hosted file)
When?
Law 254-FZ of 31 July 2020; amendments of 1 May 2022 and 8 August 2024; clear-cutting amendments signed 16 December 2025, in force from 1 March 2026; World Heritage Committee session in July 2026. Rosprirodnadzor (hosted file)
Who?
Gained
  • Russian Railways (RZD) — Works to increase the capacity of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian mainlines allowed in the central ecological zone until 31 December 2033 Rosprirodnadzor (hosted file)
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Forest of the central ecological zone — At least 4,000 ha affected by the 2025 amendments; clearing of 400 ha for a tourist complex began in June 2026 Meduza
Why?
Nikolai Nikolaev said in 2020 that a strip of forest had to be removed to expand the BAM; lawmakers supporting the 2025 amendments argued that bacterial disease left too much dead wood and selective cuts no longer worked. Novaya Gazeta
How?
Article 25.1 allows works to increase railway capacity and construction on forest-fund land with clear-cutting; the legal-database review of 254-FZ describes replacement of the separate state ecological expertise by the general state expertise of design documentation. Rosprirodnadzor (hosted file)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Federal Law No. 254-FZ of 31 July 2020, passed by the Duma in third reading on 15 July 2020, amended the Law on Lake Baikal (No. 94-FZ) by adding Article 25.1. As amended by Laws No. 124-FZ (1 May 2022) and No. 261-FZ (8 August 2024), Article 25.1(1) provides that "until 31 December 2033" activities needed to increase the capacity of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railway mainlines are allowed in the central ecological zone. Article 25.1(2) allows construction on forest-fund land "with clear-cutting and transfer of these lands to other land categories", and Article 25.1(3) has the government set the list of objects, excluding housing and recreation objects. The same law states that new economic facilities may not be built in the Baikal Natural Territory without a positive conclusion of state ecological expertise.

A legal-database review of Law 254-FZ states that until 31 December 2024 the environmental assessment of design documentation for infrastructure in specially protected natural areas is carried out within the general state expertise of design documentation under the Urban Planning Code, which replaces the separate state ecological expertise, and removes regional authorities' power to conduct state ecological expertise for objects in regional and local protected areas. Novaya Gazeta wrote in 2020 that until 31 December 2024 state ecological expertise was not required for objects tied to modernising transport infrastructure, and The Moscow Times wrote that the law cancelled the mandatory environmental impact assessment before building or upgrading transport routes and allowed felling in protected areas until 2024.

State Duma committee chair Nikolai Nikolaev said in 2020: "To expand the BAM, a strip of forest has to be removed". Russian Railways said it did not plan new railways along the shore and that the law allowed clearing a 10–15 m strip next to existing tracks for technical facilities; Novaya Gazeta wrote that the bill set no limit on strip width. Greenpeace Russia's Mikhail Kreindlin said the law would affect all protected areas and national parks in the country.

On 16 December 2025 the President signed amendments to the Law on Lake Baikal on clear-cuts, in force from 1 March 2026. According to Meduza, they allow clear-cuts in the central zone on land that is not forest fund or protected area; allow forest-fund land to lose status for infrastructure such as roads, power lines, mudflow protection and cemeteries; allow forest-fund land inside settlements to be registered as settlement land until 2030; set up a special commission including the Duma, Federation Council, presidential administration, government, the FSB and the two regional heads; require a positive position of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a state ecological expertise conclusion for removing forest land from protection; and affect at least 4,000 ha. Mediazona reported that the first reading in 2023 approved clearing 553 ha next to the Sobolinaya Gora resort. In June 2026 The Insider reported that 400 ha of forest in the central zone had begun to be cleared for a five-star tourist complex.

The Insider reported that the draft decision at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in July 2026 proposed in-danger listing of the property. According to the NGO Rivers without Boundaries, the Committee voted by majority, on Kazakhstan's proposal, to defer the decision to 2027, pending a joint UNESCO/IUCN reactive monitoring mission in August 2026. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said in July 2026 that legislation was being systematically improved to balance the ecosystem and regional development.

  1. 2020Duma passed the bill in third reading (15 Jul); Federal Law 254-FZ (31 Jul) added Article 25.1 to the Law on Lake Baikal
  2. 2022Amendment to Article 25.1 by Law No. 124-FZ (1 May); Order No. 4344-r projected Sobolinaya Gora investment at over RUB 6bn (29 Dec)
  3. 2023First reading approved clearing 553 ha next to the Sobolinaya Gora resort (Mediazona)
  4. 2024Amendment to Article 25.1 by Law No. 261-FZ (8 Aug); regime runs to 31 December 2033
  5. 2025President signed amendments on clear-cuts (16 Dec)
  6. 2026Amendments in force (1 Mar); clearing of 400 ha began (June); World Heritage Committee session in Busan (July), deferral per Rivers without Boundaries

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“To expand the BAM, a strip of forest has to be removed”

Nikolai Nikolaev, State Duma · 2020 · translated from Russian · Novaya Gazeta

“This will affect not only Baikal but all protected areas and national parks across the country”

“makes the nature-protection regime in Baikal's central ecological zone weaker”

Nikolai Buduev, United Russia deputy, on the 2025 bill · 2025 · translated from Russian · Meduza

“The adopted law encourages crooks to set fire to the forest around Baikal”

Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, scientist · 2025 · translated from Russian · Meduza

“is being systematically improved”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

End date of the exemption from separate state ecological expertise
Press and investigations
Novaya Gazeta (2020)

Until 31 December 2024 state ecological expertise was not required for objects tied to modernising transport infrastructure.

Novaya Gazeta
Press and investigations
Legal-database review of Law 254-FZ, reprinted by Stroyinf

Until 31 December 2024 the assessment is carried out within the general state expertise of design documentation.

Stroyinf
Government and regulators
Law No. 94-FZ, Article 25.1 as amended 8 August 2024

The railway-capacity regime runs until 31 December 2033.

Rosprirodnadzor (hosted file)
Width of the strip cleared next to railways
Company or project
Russian Railways (2020)

The law allows clearing a 10–15 m strip next to existing tracks for technical facilities.

The Moscow Times (Russian edition)
Press and investigations
Novaya Gazeta (2020)

The bill sets no limit on strip width.

Novaya Gazeta
Effect of the 2025 clear-cutting amendments on Baikal forests
Government and regulators
Lawmakers supporting the bill and Governor Aleksei Tsydenov (reported by Meduza)

Bacterial disease left too much dead wood and selective cuts no longer work.

Meduza
Government and regulators
Nikolai Buduev, United Russia deputy

The bill makes the nature-protection regime in Baikal's central ecological zone weaker.

Meduza
Researchers
Viktor Danilov-Danilyan

The adopted law encourages crooks to set fire to the forest around Baikal.

Meduza
Researchers
Russian Academy of Sciences scientific councils

Three of five relevant councils opposed the bill.

Meduza

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • The expansion of the BAM required removing a strip of forest.
    State Duma (Nikolai Nikolaev), 2020 · Novaya Gazeta
  • No new railways were planned along the shore; the law allowed a 10–15 m strip next to existing tracks for technical facilities.
    Russian Railways, 2020 · The Moscow Times (Russian edition)
  • Bacterial disease had left too much dead wood and selective cuts no longer worked.
    Lawmakers supporting the 2025 amendments (reported by Meduza) · Meduza

Recorded

  • The Insider reported in July 2026 that the draft decision at the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee proposed in-danger listing of Lake Baikal.
  • Article 25.1 of Law No. 94-FZ, as amended through 8 August 2024, runs "until 31 December 2033".
  • Three of five relevant Russian Academy of Sciences scientific councils opposed the 2025 bill, according to Meduza.
  • Governor of Buryatia Aleksei Tsydenov supported the 2025 bill, according to Meduza.
  • Order No. 4344-r (2022) projects investment at Sobolinaya Gora at more than RUB 6 billion.

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Sobolinaya Gora investment projected in Order No. 4344-r> 6bn
Window: 2022
Currency: RUB · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • Russian Railways (RZD) (2020): Said in 2020 that it did not plan new railways along the shore and that the law allowed clearing a 10–15 m strip next to existing tracks. · The Moscow Times (Russian edition)
  • State Duma (2020): Nikolai Nikolaev said in 2020 that a strip of forest had to be removed to expand the BAM. · Novaya Gazeta
  • Government of Russia (2026): Deputy Prime Minister Patrushev said in July 2026 that legislation was being systematically improved to balance the ecosystem and regional development. · Government of the Russian Federation
  • Government of Buryatia (2025): Governor Aleksei Tsydenov supported the 2025 bill. · Meduza

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Forest land affected by the 2025 amendments
≥ 4,000 ha
Meduza
Forest clearing begun for a tourist complex
400 ha
The Insider, June 2026
Clearing approved at first reading, 2023
553 ha
Next to the Sobolinaya Gora resort, per Mediazona
Railway-capacity regime runs to
31 Dec 2033
Article 25.1, Law No. 94-FZ

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
  • Disputed Width of the strip cleared next to railways
  • Disputed Effect of the 2025 clear-cutting amendments on Baikal forests

Accounts

  • Disputed End date of the exemption from separate state ecological expertise

Record

  • Unclear Unclear: whether the exemption from separate state ecological expertise was extended together with the Article 25.1 railway-capacity regime to 2033. A legal-database review and Novaya Gazeta dated the expertise exemption to 31 December 2024.
  • Disputed Disputed: the width of the strip cleared next to railways. Russian Railways said 10–15 m; Novaya Gazeta wrote that the bill set no limit.
  • Self-reported only Self-reported only: the Committee's July 2026 deferral to 2027 is described by Rivers without Boundaries; The Insider reported that the draft decision proposed in-danger listing.

Did the harm stop?

The railway-capacity regime in Article 25.1 runs until 31 December 2033, and the clear-cutting amendments took effect on 1 March 2026; clearing of 400 ha for a tourist complex had begun by June 2026.

Who paid?

None on record: a budget figure attached to the exemption itself.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

Government and regulators

  1. Order of 29.12.2022 No. 4344-р (Baikalsk development programme to 2040)
    Government of the Russian Federation · 2022-12-29
  2. Dmitry Patrushev: systematic work will continue
    Government of the Russian Federation · 2026-07-01

Communities and civil society

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

Institutions

IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and its global list assessing species' risk of extinction.