On September 29, the State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Republic Sakha (Yakutia) hosted the parliamentary session "Legal aspects of life support and sustainable development of the Northern and Arctic territories" of the II International forum "Northern Forum on Sustainable Development". The event was moderated by the Chairman of the Yakutia Parliament, Pyotr Gogolev.
В мероприятии приняли участие депутаты Государственной Думы Федерального Собрания Российской Федерации, члены Совета Федерации РФ, парламентарии зарубежных стран – члены Постоянной комиссии парламентариев Арктического региона, руководство законодательных органов регионов – участников международной организации Северный Форум, регионов Арктической зоны РФ, ведущие эксперты и практики.
During the session, about 20 reports and presentations were presented on a wide range of issues under the stated theme "Legal aspects of life support and sustainable development of the Northern and Arctic territories". More than 100 participants from Russia, Norway, Iceland, and Finland have been announced.
Republic Sakha (Yakutia), Pyotr Gogolev in his welcoming speech stressed that the parliamentary session under the auspices of the international organization of Northern Forum is being held for the first time within the framework of the II international forum "Northern Forum on Sustainable Development".
On behalf of the Forum organizers, he thanked the participants for their interest and support for the parliamentary session.
"I am very pleased that "Northern Forum on Sustainable Development" is included in the program of the main events of the Russian Federation's chairmanship in the Arctic Council in 2021-2023, which is currently being prepared. I am sure that the Forum as a platform for international scientific cooperation in the Arctic will allow us to actively discuss issues related to improving the regulatory framework and exchange practices," said Pyotr Gogolev.
The moderator of the event announced greetings to the participants of the session received by the State Assembly (Il Tumen).
"The legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation has a special role in the legal solution of economic and social problems in the Arctic. Discussion and analysis of the best international and foreign practices allows us to develop national legislation in a high – quality way," noted in her welcome letter Olga Epifanova, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
Greetings were also received from the Chairman of the Committee on Federal structure, regional policy, local self-government and Northern Affairs of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Oleg Melnichenko..
"In the context of increasing attention of the world community to the Arctic, it is especially important to expand the dialogue between the parliaments of the regions of the Northern and Arctic countries. This determines the relevance of the session. The issues put up for discussion are the priorities of Russia's state policy in Artic," Oleg Melnichenko claimed.
Eirik Sivertsen, Chairman of the standing Committee of parliamentarians of the Arctic region, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, delivered a welcome speech via videoconference.
In his welcoming speech, Eirik Sivertsen noted that the parliamentarians of the Arctic region focus on three main issues that are a priority in all 8 Arctic States.
According to him, these are improving of the living conditions of the population in the North, where people live in more difficult conditions compared to the southern regions; economic development and investment in the construction of infrastructure, including digital infrastructure; climate change, which is associated with global warming and human impact on the environment.
He stressed the need for international scientific projects: "We must strengthen international scientific cooperation, there are many areas for joint work. In particular, to find out what is happening with the climate, with changes in the environment. I look forward to the beginning of Russia's chairmanship of the Northern Forum. The Russian Federation has recently served as an example in the development of the Arctic."
The parliamentarian noted that one of the main goals for all Arctic States should be to ensure that the Arctic remains a territory of peace and stability. "I hope that we will strengthen our international cooperation and continue to preserve the Arctic as a peaceful region," Eirik Sivertsen concluded.
Then there were presentations by the speakers.
Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Federal structure, regional policy, local self-government and Northern Affairs, Chairman of the Arctic and Antarctic Council in the Federation Council Alexander Akimov made a report on "The current issues of legislative support for the socio-economic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation".
He stressed that the Arctic is of particular importance for the development of the national economy of Russia and ensuring of the state's security, in connection with which today the state is carrying out a lot of organizational and legal work on the development of this vast territory.
Among the main documents Alexander Akimov allocated the presidential Decree "On state policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the period up to 2035", the project "The strategy of development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and national security for the period up to 2035", a new developing state program "Socio-economic development of the Russian Arctic", a package of Federal laws on state support of entrepreneurial activities in the Arctic, the standard of liability of the Arctic zone's residents when interacting with indigenous peoples.
"Of course, attracting investors and developing the economy of the Arctic regions should become a locomotive for the development of the social sphere of these territories," Alexander Akimov concluded.
In his report, he also focused on some problematic issues that need to be resolved as soon as possible. Including obsolescence of the system of guarantees and compensation for people working and residing in the Northern areas, the need to reform the system of zoning of the North of Russia, a shortage of personnel for work in the Arctic, the need to address the specifics of educational institutions in the area of nomadic education, the need to develop educational programs and instructional materials necessary for teaching the languages of indigenous peoples, weak transport infrastructure, lack of information-telecommunication environment, inequality of regions in access to communications services.
Oksana Bondar, Deputy Chairman of the state Duma Committee on regional policy and problems of the North and Far East made a report on priority measures of legal regulation of the development Of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
In her report, she raised the issue of attracting the country's population to the Arctic and Far North, as well as reducing the outflow of local population.
Также выступила депутат Госдумы РФ, член Комитета Госдумы по региональной политике и проблемам Севера и Дальнего Востока Татьяна Гоголева. Она остановилась на теме проведения этнологической экспертизы в России.
The report "Legal and municipal foundations of sustainable development in Iceland" was delivered by the Chairman of the Icelandic parliamentary Committee of the parliamentarians' conference of the Arctic region, Deputy Chairman Of the Committee on environment and transport of the Parliament of Iceland (Althing) Ari Trausti Gudmundsson.
The speaker spoke about Iceland's experience in energy issues.
Deputy Chairman Of The State Assembly (Il Tumen) Viktor Gubarev in his report reflected the issues of legal support for the implementation of the strategy for the development of the Arctic region on the example of the Republic Sakha.
He noted that in Yakutia, legislative work is continuing in the field of relations between subsurface users and residents of the territories of traditional nature management, an Environmental doctrine has been adopted, and work is being completed on the code of rights of the indigenous minority peoples of the North. One of the main problems remains ensuring transport accessibility of the population.
"The new railway to Yakutsk and the construction of a bridge over the Lena river open up new prospects for transport links on the North-East of the country, and the current Northern forum will give new ideas and accelerate the implementation of the main goal – improving the living standards of the Northern and Arctic territories," Viktor Gubarev said.
В своем докладе он подчеркнул необходимость сочетания вахтового и традиционного способов организации трудовой деятельности с реализацией минимальных стандартов получения услуг отраслей социальной сферы через использование социальной сети базового поселения; обеспечения приоритета использования внутрирегиональной формы вахты, достижения сотрудничества «Вахта – базовое поселение», что позволит концентрировать финансовые потоки на одной территории для улучшения социальной и жилищной инфраструктуры поселений Севера.
The parliamentarian noted that in view of the current situation with the "Northern benefits", according to which under the labor code of the Russian Federation payments are assigned to employers, which creates financial problems for small and medium-sized businesses. He stressed the need to review modern legislation that would put entrepreneurs in a competitive environment.
Viktor Gubarev said that more than 30 laws on the rights of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East have been adopted at the Federal and national levels. The People's Deputy added that they require improvement in terms of their reflection in various industry laws.
"There are two types of legal gaps that require changes to industry-specific Federal regulatory legal acts in relation to the Arctic zone. This underestimates the complexities of economic activity in the Arctic. As well as the legislative consolidation of excessively strict requirements that are not feasible in the Arctic and lead to a significant increase in the cost of life, which becomes a barrier to the development of certain areas of the economy," Viktor Nikolaevich stated.
He also discussed in detail the issues of transport accessibility of domestic transport, primarily aviation. The Deputy highlighted the problems of small-scale aviation development, including high air fares for the population.
Viktor Gubarev raised the issue of Northern delivery conduct. According to him, the needs of the Arctic population in food supply are met by 20-30%.
"We are confident that the experience of the Republic Sakha (Yakutia) will arouse practical interest from both federal and regional authorities and entrepreneurs, as well as our foreign partners, and our joint efforts will help modernize the economy and achieve a high standard of living in the Arctic," Viktor Gubarev concluded.
Then there were performances from the speakers.
Deputy Chairman Of the Federation Council Committee on social policy Tatyana Kusayko spoke on the topic: "Telemedicine as an important tool for improving the quality and accessibility of medical care in the Northern regions of the Russian Federation".
О правовых аспектах мобильной медицинской помощи в условиях малонаселенных территорий Арктики информацию предоставил первый заместитель председателя Комитета Госдумы по охране здоровья Федот Тумусов.
First Deputy Chairman of the state Duma Committee on health protection Fedot Tumusov provided information on the legal aspects of mobile medical care in sparsely populated areas of the Arctic.
State Duma Deputy Galina Danchikova spoke about the development of mechanisms for state support for the supply of life-supporting goods to the population of remote regions of the Russian Federation's Arctic zone.
Topic of the speech of the Chairman of the Murmansk regional Duma Sergey Dubovoy was referred to the best legislative practices for the sustainable development of the Northern territories.
Chairman of the Legislative Duma of the Khabarovsk territory Irina Zikunova spoke on the topic "Guarantees and compensation for persons working in the Far North and equivalent areas in the context of stimulating business activity in the region".
Viktor Novozhilov, a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, spoke about the best legislative practices for sustainable development of the Arkhangelsk region.
Valery Semikashev, Head of the laboratory of the Institute of National Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, presented information on renewable energy and energy consumption in the Arctic zone of Russia.
The topic of the speech of the Legislative Assembly's Chairman of the Krasnoyarsk territory Dmitry Sviridov was "Transport and logistics Infrastructure: how to ensure safety in permafrost conditions".
Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous district Sergey Yamkin spoke on the topic: "Legal aspects of life support for sustainable development of the Northern and Arctic territories: regional practices".
Alexander Novyukhov, a member of the Committee on economic policy, regional development and environmental management of the Duma of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, spoke about the main directions for improving the system of sustainable development of indigenous minority peoples in Yugra.
Then there were presentations by experts.
Alexander Pilyasov, General Director of the Institute of regional consulting and author of a new theory of Arctic and Northern development, spoke.
Mikhail Zheleznyak, Director of the permafrost research Institute of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about the sustainability of engineering structures and linear transport systems in the Arctic.
Alexander Myarin, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on transport, road infrastructure and logistics of the chamber of Commerce and industry of the Republic Sakha, made a speech. The co-speaker was the co-chairman of the regional headquarters of the All-Russian Popular front in the Magadan region Sergey Zelenkov.
Rum Ushnitsky, Dean of the Law faculty of the North-Eastern Federal University also delivered a speech.
The moderator of the event, Chairman of the Parliament of Yakutia - Pyotr Gogolev, in conclusion, thanked the participants of the first parliamentary session for their fruitful and constructive work and wished them success.
The resolution of the parliamentary session noted the need to create a permanent structure of inter-parliamentary cooperation within the framework of the international organization "Northern Forum", identified current areas of legislative and law enforcement activities within the framework of inter-parliamentary cooperation for the development of the Arctic, and stressed the importance of expanding international scientific cooperation in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.
As a result of the session, the Heads of the Northern Forum member regions were invited to initiate the formation of a digital competence center for Arctic legislation; to support scientific research on climate change assessment.
Пресс-служба Ил Тумэна
