The law on sea (offshore) planning to be or not to be...
Today
Preparation of the draft Federal law "On sea (offshore) scheduling of the Russian Federation" was provided for by paragraph 59 of the plan of legislative activities of the Government of the Russian Federation for 2014, approved by the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 30 December 2013 № 2590-R.
However, until now, Federal law does not what is not submitted to the State Duma, and the text is still undergoing numerous approval of the relevant ministries and departments.
Thus, once again we see how "enthusiastic" and responsibility is legislative work to improve the current legislation.
Don't forget that today in Russia there is no legislative act regulating the relationships of different levels of authorities, not only among themselves but also with individuals and legal entities engaged in certain types of activities in seas and lakes.
As long time the theme of urban development and spatial planning was close to me, I consider it necessary to highlight the problems of determining the instrumentation of a single development planning of coastal areas and coastal waters as one of the most important components of the future of Russia in General, and the territorial planning in particular.
I hope that the following suggestions will help Interdepartmental working group, specially created for the development of this bill, quickly resolve all issues related to the content of the text of this document and deal with important and critical tasks for which it is, in fact, created.
Analysis of the norms
In the Russian Federation experience in the development of documents marine spatial planning.
The analysis of the current legislation of the Russian Federation allows to draw a conclusion that the term "marine offshore planning" does not appear in any legislative act of the Russian Federation. The waters are within the exclusive competence of the Federal authorities, management is implementing a number of sectoral ministries, for which Maritime activities is not the primary. Such management could not provide an integrated approach to managing marine areas and the optimal use of marine resources.
The current legal and regulatory framework of the Russian Federation in respect of water bodies land and water area of the seas does not provide relations and the rational organization of marine (offshore) activities within a single river basin district. This is related to risks of direct and indirect environmental and economic impacts in the implementation of Maritime activities, including directly localized types of such activities, as well as distant in time and space of various violations of the parameters of the aquatic environment, certain dynamic processes occurring in the water mass affecting state coastal zones.
To date, strategic spatial planning is mostly localized in the borders of the country, individual regions and municipalities. However, at sea documents of spatial planning and distribution of types of economic activity are not prepared and therefore not approved and are not for comprehensive, effective, environmentally safe and sustainable environment.
Separate plans and programs of development of some species of marine and Maritime activities are of a bureaucratic nature that promotes inter-sectoral and interregional conflict situations.
Analysis of the current state legislative, regulatory and legal framework for the conduct of marine activities, showed that, at the present time in the Russian Federation there is a vertical structure of the potential in the management of marine activities. However, the legislation of the Russian Federation does not allow to realistically define the spatial boundaries and content of powers of subjects of Maritime activities and subjects of water relations.
Lack of legislation regulating relations between state authorities of the Russian Federation, bodies of state power of subjects of the Russian Federation, bodies of local self-government, natural persons and legal entities arising in the implementation of all possible activities in the waters of seas and reservoirs, is a major problem for the implementation of the rational functional zoning of water areas — offshore zoning.
The concept of the bill
Priority of the concept is ensuring the interests of the Russian Federation stipulated in the Marine doctrine of the Russian Federation for the period till 2020, Strategy of development of Maritime activities of the Russian Federation until 2030, the concept of long-term socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2020.
In developing the concept of the bill "On the offshore marine (spatial) planning in the Russian Federation" should be considered the necessity of organising in the offshore marine (spatial) planning and integrating these activities into the system of strategic and spatial planning acting in the Russian Federation.
The bill should define the tasks and the regulation of sectoral legislative acts concerning the issues of usage of spatial resources of the state, in the offshore activities within river basin districts, of the dynamic processes occurring in the water mass affecting the condition of coastal zones and others.
The main purpose of the bill should be the maximum consideration for the national geopolitical, social, demographic, territorial-administrative and natural factors, as well as ensuring continuity and optimization of the system for coastal and marine management as a new public administration, a specific tool, which is in the offshore marine (spatial) planning,aimed, including functional zoning of water areas and efficient accommodation of competing users of natural resources on confined spaces.
The subject of legal regulation
The subject of legal regulation of the bill should be the totality of social relations on realization of state policy in the field of coastal and marine management.
The bill would establish General principles of coordination of actions aimed at the development of different types of Maritime activities, on the one hand, and to create providing these activities to coastal infrastructure, on the other, thereby to overcome the fragmentation of strategic planning of socio-economic development of territories.
The basis for the development of the draft law on offshore marine planning should be based on the ecosystem approach, precautionary principle, participation of all stakeholders in the development process of marine planning documents, public access to information, cooperation of subjects of offshore activity, given the fact that the planning of offshore activities should be done at the Federal level ecoregions of the marine parts of the basin districts.
When drafting the bill a priority should be ensuring a balance between obtaining short-term economic benefits and achieve long-term aims of innovative development, defined by the Concept of long-term socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2020.
The consequences of the implementation of the law
The bill will provide the regulatory, legal and institutional conditions for long-term sustainable integrated development of the regions in the offshore zone of the Russian Federation under condition of preservation of natural ecosystems, natural landscapes and their biodiversity.
Preconditions will be created for:
— modernization of a morekhozyaystvenny complex with use of modern technologies, including in such industries as shipbuilding, mining of mineral resources offshore and exploration, marine instrumentation, marine engineering;
— highly qualified specialists in the field of Maritime activities, including working professions;
— rational use of natural resources, preservation of favorable environment, introduce elements of "green economy";
— to obtain a synergistic effect by the use of cluster policy, the creation of zones of priority development and special economic zones;
— harmonization of systems of targets for specific activities and coastal-marine component as a whole;
— better control in the process of conducting strategic development planning of Maritime activities;
— increase the security of the population of coastal regions, and reduce the economic damage from the negative impacts of marine natural hazards;
— create an effective regional Maritime complex and capacity development of coastal territories and coastal water areas and to improve the use of existing methods, tools, and resources through development of human and institutional capacities;
— create optimal structure of the economic system of the coastal zone that most closely meets the goals and objectives of the development of Maritime activities;
harmonization of relations between users of different resources in the coastal zone.
The entry into force of the bill will improve the interaction between the Federal Executive authorities, Executive authorities of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local authorities of coastal regions.
Better late than never
Can not but rejoice the presence of understanding about the need for the development of such draft law at the government level. It is hoped that the developers of the Federal law "On sea (offshore) scheduling of the Russian Federation" not "give up" and will bring it started to end, developing a suitable document at an appropriate quality level, which does not contain declarative rules and principles, and becoming an effective mechanism capable of bringing marine spatial planning to a new level of development.