Ministry approves protective zone for Caucasian Reserve, land safe

Order of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources dated December 30, 2025 No. 757 «On the establishment of the protective zone of the Caucasian State Natural Biosphere Reserve, as well as on the approval of the regulations on this protective zone» was signed by Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation Alexander Kozlov.

The document was registered with the Ministry of Justice on January 23. It regulates economic and nature use activities, reports the press service of the Caucasian Reserve.

The protective zone of the Caucasian Reserve is a stretch of land running along the borders of the specially protected natural area, with a width of at least 1 km. It was created to protect the unique natural complexes and objects of the reserve from adverse anthropogenic impacts on adjacent land plots and water bodies within the boundaries of Krasnodar Krai (the city district of the resort city of Sochi, Apsheronsky Municipal District, Mostovsky Municipal District), Adygea (Maykopsky Municipal District), and Karachay-Cherkessia (Urupsky Municipal District), with a total area of 29,025.0759 hectares.

It is stated that land plots in the protective zone will not be seized from owners, land users, and tenants, however, their use, as well as visiting it, must be carried out in compliance with the protection regime, according to the approved regulations on the protective zone.

As experts note, the protective zone is a buffer separating wilderness and urban agglomerations; the emergence of such an area should mitigate the impact on the ecosystems of the Caucasian Reserve, especially near its borders.

«The creation of the protective zone for the Caucasian Reserve is especially important for its northern borders, since from the South the reserve is protected because it borders the Sochi National Park, whose regime is significantly stricter than that of the protective zone. On the northern side, there was nothing similar. The emergence of the protective zone will prevent the appearance of new infrastructure and economic facilities and should reduce the level of anthropogenic impact on the reserve»s animals and plants,« said Nikolai Eskin, deputy director for scientific work of the Caucasian Reserve.

According to specialists, protective zones are important for preserving the migration routes of wild animals, for expanding the range, and for minimizing human influence on natural complexes.

Scientists have repeatedly noted that due to the lack of a buffer zone for the reserve, natural processes of animal movement and expansion of the range of some plant communities were disrupted. Moreover, with the growth and development of cities, settlements, construction of new roads and infrastructure facilities in close proximity to the reserve«s borders, the issue of forming a protective zone became critically important for the preservation of the natural complex.