OREANDA-NEWS The deputies of the State Duma adopted in the third reading a law introducing criminal liability for the illegal collection of especially valuable plants and fungi listed in the Russian Red Book or protected by international treaties.

A new article 260.1 will appear in the Criminal Code. The maximum penalty under it provides for six to nine years of imprisonment with a fine of up to 3 million rubles. Criminal liability will come for the destruction, damage, extraction, collection and turnover of especially valuable plants with intent, and not by negligence, according to the State Duma website (how exactly intent will be established is not specified).

The bill was submitted to the Duma in November. One of its authors, the head of the Committee on state Construction and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov, explained that administrative responsibility has been established for the destruction of rare plants under threat of destruction. In the Criminal Code, only the general provisions of Article 259 (destruction of critical habitats for organisms listed in the Red Book of Russia) and Article 260 (illegal logging of forest plantations) apply, he noted.

Krasheninnikov stressed that "at present, the effectiveness of protecting especially valuable objects of the plant world is insufficient" (quoted by Interfax). In some regions, "especially in the Far East, Altai, and Crimea," the number of cases of destruction of rare species of red Book plants has increased significantly in recent years, the deputy stated.

In 2021, the orders of the Ministry of Natural Resources began to take effect, clarifying the rules for collecting mushrooms, berries and birch sap. The department stated that they concern entrepreneurs and legal entities, and not those who go to the forest for mushrooms and berries for themselves.