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Model law to address mountain development in CIS region

26.01.2021

The governing body of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) adopted a model law that aims at supporting the sustainable development of its member states' mountain communities.

The model law "On the development and protection of mountain territories" was adopted during the fifty-first plenary meeting of the governing body of the Assembly on 27 November 2020 in St Petersburg, Russian Federation. The event was attended virtually by the heads of the parliamentary delegations of the countries participating in the IPA CIS, which include the Azerbaijan Republic, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is an observer parliament of the IPA CIS.

The model law addresses the social and economic development of mountain regions, including defining mechanisms to support economic activity, in combination with identifying measures to increase investments in the most significant activities in mountainous areas.

Particular attention is paid to state regulation of natural resources and environmental protection in mountainous areas; addressing outmigration, unemployment, poverty and various types of inequality; protecting traditional ways of life; and measures to prevent and eliminate the consequences of emergency situations.

One of the experts involved in the development of the model law, E.A. Galinovskaya, noted at a meeting of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Agrarian Policy, Natural Resources and Ecology, "If this law is adopted, its text and provisions can become the basis for the further development of national legislation, which in a comprehensive, directed, interconnected manner will contribute to resolving the most complex issues of the development of mountain areas."