The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has passed a bill on landscapes.
A total of 231 of the 413 MPs registered in the sitting hall supported the document on Feb. 23, 2012.
The law deals with relations in the sphere of landscapes protection and regulation.
It is aimed at protection and planning of landscapes for their preservation and careful use for ecological, cultural, public health, and economic needs of the society.
According to the law, the state regulation of landscapes is aimed at balanced and complex management, the use of landscapes, taking into account a range of cultural, natural and geological components, the preservation of the variety of landscapes, and the creation of conditions for balanced functioning of landscapes.
The law stipulates that the state regulation in the sphere of protection of landscapes will be carried out by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, central executive agencies for ecology and natural resources, land resources, forestry, regional development and construction, preservation of cultural heritage, agrarian policy, municipal state administrations and local governments within the frames of power foreseen by the law.
