Establishment and current status of the regulatory framework for the allocation of OZU forests: and suggestions for its improvement

The article describes in detail the history of the formation and development of the regulatory framework for the allocation of specially protected areas of forests in the Russian Federation since the late 1970s to the present. The previously adopted documents defining the list of types of RAM, the process of their allocation, the legal regime, and current legislation in this area are analyzed. Based on the analysis carried out, as well as on the results of a study conducted in 2008-2020 of the existing practice of allocating RAM forests on the lands of the forest fund of the Russian Federation, the authors have prepared a number of proposals for inclusion in existing documents in order to improve the existing regulatory framework of RAM forests and overcome the problems associated with their allocation and the establishment of a legal regime. The proposals outlined in the article should lead to the involvement of significant areas of forests in the process of their use in accordance with the intended purpose and the stipulated restrictions on farming.