Law No. 56/95-VR “On status of mountain settlements”. Country/Territory Ukraine Document type Legislation Date 1995 (2005) Source FAO, FAOLEX Subject Agricultural & rural development, Environment gen. Keyword Policy/planning Mountain area Agricultural land Hazards Flood Geographical area Black Sea, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), Eastern Europe, Europe, Europe and Central Asia Entry into force notes This Law enters into force on the date of its official publication. Abstract This Law establishes the criteria by which settlements acquire the status of mountain areas, defines the basic principles of state policy for the development of mountain settlements and guarantees of social protection of citizens living, working or studying therein. The criteria shall be as follows: (a) location of a settlement or part of it, where more than one third of the inhabitants of this settlement live, at an altitude of 400 meters and above sea level in the territory, the relief of which is very dismembered by ravines, watercourses, etc., and the placement of 50 and more percent of agricultural land within this point on the slopes of a steepness of 12 degrees or more; (b) if for one inhabitant falls less than 0,25 hectares of arable land, or in case of absence of such areas - less than 0.60 hectares of agricultural land; (c) severe climatic conditions: cold and long winter (average duration - not less than 115 days, average daily air temperature in January does not exceed minus 4 degrees Celsius), cool short summer (average duration - not more than two months, the average daily temperature in July does not exceed 20 degrees per Celsius), a large amount of precipitation (average annual precipitation in liquid and solid state - not less than 600 millimetres), occur mudflows, floods, winds, snow tents, seismicity land. Settlements located at an altitude of 400 meters and up above the sea level that meet two criteria and not less than two indicators of the third criterion - "severe climatic conditions" as above-mentioned acquire the status of mountain areas settlements. Full text Ukrainian Website zakon5.rada.gov.ua