Agreement on the prevention and extinguishing of wildfires in the border territories of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Source: http://docs.cntd.ru/document/420220772
The governments of the states parties to this Agreement, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,
Based on the provisions of the Concept for the Further Development of the Commonwealth of Independent States of October 5, 2007,
Based on the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Timber Industry and Forestry of September 11, 1998, the Concept of Interregional and Cross-Border Cooperation of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States of September 15, 2004,
Recognizing the importance of improving work on the prevention and suppression of forest, steppe, peat fires and illegal burning of dry vegetation (hereinafter - natural fires) in border areas and in order to reduce the damage caused by them,
In order to provide mutual assistance and exchange experience in combating wildfires,
Expressing the desire to develop cooperation in the prevention and suppression of wildfires,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
The Parties establish on the territory of each state party to this Agreement a zone of joint protection of territories from natural fires, which will include a strip 10 kilometers wide from the line of the state border between adjacent states parties to this Agreement (hereinafter - the border zone).
The parties to the states parties to this Agreement that have not completed the international legal registration of the state border shall establish a border zone along mutually agreed conditional lines of the state border on the ground.
The Parties shall cooperate in jointly protecting the border zone of the territories of the States Parties to this Agreement from wildfires through their authorized (competent) bodies in accordance with this Agreement, subject to the legislation and international treaties of the States Parties to this Agreement.
Article 2
The Parties determine the list of their authorized (competent) bodies and notify the depositary about this when submitting a notification on the implementation of domestic procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement. Each of the Parties shall notify the depositary in writing about the change in the list of authorized (competent) bodies within one month from the date of such a decision.
Article 3
The authorized (competent) bodies of the Parties shall carry out a set of measures for joint protection from natural fires of the border zone, established in accordance with Article 1 of this Agreement:
create specialized dispatching services (hereinafter referred to as the communication point);
provide control over the prevention of wildfires, coordinate and implement measures to prevent and eliminate wildfires in the border zone;
take measures to extinguish wildfires in the territories of the states parties to this Agreement, including in the border zone, in order to prevent their spread to the territory of another state party to this Agreement;
organize training courses for workers on the prevention and elimination of wildfires;
organize and conduct interstate exercises on interaction in the event of transboundary fires;
conduct explanatory work with the population of the border zone on the fire safety of natural areas of the states parties to this Agreement;
on the territory of the border zone, measures are taken on an ongoing basis for the fire-prevention arrangement of natural areas, including the creation of mineralized belts, fire breaks and their care;
during the fire season, organize monitoring of the state of the border zone by ground, aviation and space means and exchange the received data through communication points;
exchange information under this Agreement.
Article 4.
The authorized (competent) body of each Party, in the event of a natural fire on the territory of its state and there is a danger of the spread of a natural fire into the territory of a neighboring state party to this Agreement, or in case of detection of a natural fire in the border zone on the territory of a neighboring state party to this Agreement, immediately notifies to the authorized (competent) body of the other Party through the contact point in order to take the necessary measures to extinguish a natural fire.
In the event of a threat of the spread of a natural fire from the territory of one state party to this Agreement to the territory of another, the (authorized) competent authorities of both Parties may turn to each other for help, including the mutual involvement of firefighting forces and means, as well as jointly study the causes and consequences fire.
Based on the results of a joint study of the causes and consequences of the fire, the authorized (competent) bodies of the Parties take measures in accordance with the legislation of the states parties to this Agreement and this Agreement.
Article 5.
To provide mutual assistance in extinguishing natural fires in the border zone of the states parties to this Agreement, the authorized (competent) bodies of the Parties shall involve firefighters, emergency rescue services and units.
The crossing of the state border of the states - parties to this Agreement by a contingent of firefighters, emergency rescue services and formations of the authorized (competent) body of the Parties for the elimination of wildfires is carried out in accordance with international obligations and the legislation of the states parties to this Agreement.
Social protection of the personnel of the contingent of firefighters, emergency rescue services and formations who participated in the elimination of a natural fire in the border zone of a neighboring state party to this Agreement, including compensation for damage caused to health or life, shall be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the sending state party to this Agreement.
Article 6.
Financing of measures for the implementation of this Agreement is carried out by the states parties to this Agreement within the framework of funds provided in national budgets for authorized (competent) bodies to perform their functions, as well as from extra-budgetary sources.
The financial mechanism of interaction is determined in accordance with the bilateral agreements of the authorized (competent) bodies of the Parties, as well as with the legislation of the states parties to this Agreement.
Article 7
This Agreement does not affect the rights and obligations of each of the Parties arising for it from other international treaties to which its state is a party.
Article 8
This Agreement, by mutual agreement of the Parties, may be amended and supplemented, which are its integral part, which are formalized by the relevant protocol and come into force in the manner prescribed for the entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 9.
Disputes between the Parties arising from the application and interpretation of this Agreement shall be resolved through consultations and negotiations between the Parties concerned or through another procedure agreed by the Parties.
Article 10.
This Agreement shall enter into force upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of receipt by the depositary of the third written notification of the implementation by the signatories of the internal state procedures necessary for its entry into force.
For Parties that have completed their domestic procedures later, this Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt of the relevant documents by the depositary.
Article 11.
This Agreement, after its entry into force, is open for accession by any member state of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as any other state that shares its goals and principles, by transferring the document of accession to the depositary.
For the acceding state, the Agreement enters into force upon the expiration of 30 days from the date of receipt by the depositary of the document of accession.
Article 12.
This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. Each of the Parties has the right to withdraw from this Agreement by sending a written notification of such intention to the depositary no later than 6 months before the withdrawal.
Done in the city of Minsk on May 31, 2013 in one original copy in Russian. The original copy is kept by the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which will send a certified copy to each state that has signed this Agreement.
For the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan
For the Government of the Republic of Armenia
For the Government of the Republic of Belarus
For the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan
For the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic
For the Government of the Republic of Moldova
For the Government of the Russian Federation
For the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan
For the Government of Turkmenistan
For the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan
For the Government of Ukraine
