THE WEAKENING OF PROTECTED AREAS: AN ANALYSIS OF ENFORCEMENT GAPS AND ECOLOGICAL RISKS IN RUSSIA

Abstract

Protected areas are cornerstones of global conservation and sustainable development strategies. Their effectiveness, however, depends not just on designation but on robust enforcement against violations. Using Russia as a case study, this paper identifies a critical gap between the formal establishment of protected areas and the practical mechanisms available to protect them. A significant change in 2014 stripped many territories, including nationally important resorts, of their status as "specially protected natural territories”. This research assesses different categories of protected territories, including nature reserves, national parks, and most notably, resort regions. The analysis is grounded in a detailed case study of the Caucasus Mineralnye Vody (CMW) resort region. The analysis reveals several critical shortcomings: ecologically valuable areas like resorts left without adequate protection; non-standardized terminology and competing norms; inconsistent sentencing guidelines (e.g., for "significant damage") undermine the deterrent effect; practical issues, such as the lack of clearly registered boundaries for protected zones, further cripple enforcement. The case of CMW demonstrates how these failures directly enable environmental degradation, overdevelopment, and the depletion of natural healing resources. It is argued that the current framework is insufficient to ensure the ecological integrity of Russia's protected areas. The paper concludes by proposing specific steps to close these enforcement gaps. The findings have broader implications for the global discussion on the governance of protected areas, highlighting that without clear and enforceable liability, even the most ambitious conservation designations risk becoming "paper parks," failing their core sustainable development objectives.