A comparative analysis of Russian and international legislation and practices on the issues of assessment and compensation of damage to aquatic biological resources in the field of construction and operation of hydraulic engineering structures was carried out by order of the Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization “Center for International and Comparative Legal Studies”.

Hydropower facilities play an enormous role in the socio-economic development of society: in particular, they serve the purposes of water supply for urban agglomerations, industry, and large irrigation systems. Taking into account the significant scale of works and the public costs associated with their creation, at the design stage, multifaceted studies and forecasting of the consequences of their construction and operation for the environment acquire paramount importance. Based on these studies, the selection of alignments, optimal parameters and operating regimes, environmental protection, protective and compensatory measures aimed at minimizing negative consequences is carried out, and a comprehensive assessment of the facility’s impact on the environment is given.

Within the framework of this project, a detailed analysis was conducted of domestic and international experience in assessing the impact of hydropower facilities on aquatic biological resources, calculating and compensating damage caused by hydropower facilities during construction and operation, in the Russian Federation, China, EU countries, Canada, Brazil, and the USA. Proposals were also made to amend Russian legislation and methodological approaches to assessing damage to aquatic biological resources.