2017 to be Putin’s Year of Ecology
By Presidential decree the official order is given to attract public attention to environmental issues next year.
It is becoming tradition; President Vladimir Putin announces which topic to pay special attention to in the coming year. 2016 is the year of the Russian cinema. 2017 will likewise be the official Year of Ecology.
Putin’s decree, signed this week, calls for the Government to organize a committee to develop and approve a plan for events to take place, the press service of Kremlin informs.
This plan should help attract public attention to environmental issues in Russia, the conservation of biological diversity and ensure ecological safety.
In December last year, Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the organization All-Russian Peoples’ Front (ONF) that he would consider making 2017 to the year of forests. The suggestion came when discussing problems with logging and pollution of Lake Baikal from the region’s pulp- and paper industry, Baikal Daily reported.
Instead of focusing only on forestry-challenges, ecology as such will be highlighted next year. The presidential decree lists no concrete promises.
