Putin to chair conf on measures to improve ecol situation

MOSCOW (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
on Wednesday will chair a conference on measures aimed at improving the
ecological situation in the Russian Federation (RF). The conference will
take place in the grounds of the Vorobyovy Gory (sparrow hills) ecological
center, the government press service announced.
Those present at the conference are to discuss changes in the current
ecological legislation, suggested by the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Ecology. The suggested amendments envisage, in particular, the creation of
economic incentives to industrial enterprises that are main polluters to
introduce "green" (environment-friendly) technologies and thereby lower
the adverse effect on the environment.
Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology YuriTrutnev, Minister of
Energy Sergei Shmatko, Minister of Regional Development Viktor Basargin,
officials of respective ministries and agencies, Alexander Shokhin,
president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, as
well as experts on ecology will take part in the conference.
These measures are part of work being carried out by the RF Government
to refine nature conservation legislation, which is designed to ensure a
transition to modern environmental safety principles within a timeframe
acceptable to the economy.
Within the scope of this work, in July 2010, amendments were
introduced to the Code on Administrative Offences and to the Federal Law
on Industrial Safety of Hazardous Production Facilities. The amendments
enable State environmental regulation bodies to suspend the operation of
hazardous production plants as an administrative measure.
A package of bills relating to the management of natural territories
of preferential protection, the regulation of the use of Russia's seashelf
and protection of the marine environment from petroleum pollution specify
the powers of government bodies in the field of ecology.
Putin will also tour an exhibition arranged at the Vorobyovy Gory
ecological education center. The Center with an area of over 1,000 square
metres, is located in the wildlife sanctuary of the same name in Moscow's
natural territory of preferential protection. Open in January 2011, the
Center is oriented at fostering in children and young audiences practical
skills of careful and responsible atittude to the natural environment.
The interactive exhibition comprises three exhibition modules, a 3D
cinema hall, a video library, a zone of temporary exhibitions, a
pedagogical studio, and a laboratory. All the items on view have been
created with the use of electronic interactive elements and 3D
technologies.