The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and the State Inspectorate for Protection of Wildlife and Flora will not be merged. This was announced by Natural Resources Minister Maksim Lysenka following today’s meeting with Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
Lukashenka said he had been offered such a move when appointing Lysenko. A draft of the relevant regulatory act was submitted to today’s meeting. Opening the meeting, Lukashenka noted that the Security Council had not supported the idea.
“Following the meeting, it was decided that the State Inspectorate will continue to operate in its respective areas, while the Ministry of Natural Resources will oversee what is prescribed in our regulatory documents”, Maksim Lysenka said.
At the same time, he said the inspectorate’s powers could be expanded. This would involve not only combating poaching, but also monitoring compliance with regulations and preventing the creation of illegal dumps in forests.
It should be recalled that the State Inspectorate currently reports directly to Lukashenka. It has been proposed that it be transferred under the authority of the Ministry of Natural Resources. It should be noted that the inspectorate has been headed since 2018 by Yury Tertel, the brother of KGB Chairman Ivan Tertel.