Special aspects and problems of forest utilization in the legislation of member states of the eeu

Abstract

The paper is concerned with the consideration of the problems of legislative regulation of the sustainable use of forest resources by the member states of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union and cooperation in this field against the background of harmonization of national legislation proclaimed in the 2014 Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union as one of the instruments that should be used to achieve goals set before the EEU. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors analyze the problems related to the need for digitalization and creation of an information resource that would contain information about quantitative and qualitative characteristics of natural resources and information about legal regulation of mechanisms for their provision. Findings: The paper gives consideration to certain provisions of national forestry legislation and legislation on investment activities of the EEU member states, adopted both before and after the creation of a Union; the authors analyzed situations that, against the background of new legal realia which have already arisen and will continue to arise in the future due to the need to coordinate activities within a common economic area. The authors study the provisions formalized in laws and regulations of the EEU member states, which regulate the access of foreign entities to forest resources of states, preventing the efficient economic cooperation of countries or promoting such cooperation. Originality/value: The paper is focused on differences in approaches of national legislators both to the concept of forest utilization as such and to the subjective composition of participants in forestry relations. In this regard, the authors conclude about the need for further harmonization and unification of national policies of the member states of the EEU, as well as the adoption of supranational acts within the Union regulating the use of natural resources, including forest resources. Currently, there are only few treaties between individual states that designate the range of issues in our field of concern; however, they focus on cooperation in the field of environment protection, and do not establish any rules and provisions on the utilization of the natural potential that would be economically advantageous to all member states of the Union