Promoting
Sustainable Forest
Management in
Russia
Elena Kulikova,
WWF Russia Forest
Programme Director
Russian Forest
Sector: Overall
Context
Forests of Russia: Wealth and Poverty
• Forest sector as a part of
resource-based economy
• 22% of World forests
• 3% of World timber trade
• 1 place in World by amount of
round wood trade
• The lowest stumpage fee in
the World
• Profit from forest management
per 1 ha about 10 times less,
than in Scandinavia
Global Importance of Russian Forests:
Biodiversity and Climate Change Agenda

One of four mega-areas of
intact forests in the World
(along with Canada, Brazil,
and Congo basin)

Russia accounts for 25% of
the world's large massifs of
intact forests

Russian boreal forests has
highest biodiversity and
endemism among the other
boreal forests in the World

Sink for 15% of global CO2
emissions
Map of Russian Intact Forest
Key Ecological Problems of Russian Forests
• The pioneer “mining” of intact
forests massifs is still on-going
• Imperfect forest management
practice
• The biodiversity of commercial
forests is decreasing (share of
aspen and birch increased up to
30-40% of total area)
• As the result of forest fires about
2 mln ha of commercial forests
burn every year
On-going Reforms
in Russian Forest Sector
• Forest Code (frame character, about 60 sub-ordinate
normative acts needed to be developed)
• Maximum decentralization - delivery of responsibilities
on forest management to the regional level (reorganization of stricture and staff)
• Changing in export tax policy for round wood
• Priority investment projects
• May, 2008 – new Government, forestry under the
Ministry of Agriculture, new Head of FFA
Specificity of Forest Reforms
Implementation
• All they are implemented simultaneously
• Short-term period of realization
• Lack of information and communications, a lot
of uncertainties
• Lack of public involvement into decision-making
process
WWF Russia
Forest Programme Priorities
•
•
•
•
•
•
Forest Policy,FLEG and illegal logging
HCVF
Model forests
Certification
GFTN
Forest and Climate
Forest Policy,FLEG
and Illegal logging
Forest Policy
•
•
•
•
Tools: Public Ecological Council under Federal
Forestry Agency and Forest Council under the
Ministry of Agriculture
Major problem: low quality of new forest legislation
Developing set of amendments
A scorecard of ecological responsibility and
sustainability of forest management of Russian
forest regions has been created (by 2010)
Status of FLEG Issues
• Programme of measures on elimination of illegal
turnover of wood, adopted by the Government
(February, 2007).
• Federal level - set of activities
• Regional initiatives
• Relevant agencies’ activities (Ministry of Interior,
Custom, Transportation, etc.)
Status of FLEG Issues
BUT…
• Due to reforms, uncertainties in legislation, poor
practice of law enforcement, etc. scale of illegal
logging is raising
• There are no regional bodies designated for forest
violation control or they are very limited in
capacities
• Forest guard is abolished and its functions are
distributed among 5-9 servicies
• Statistic is not available
FSC Certification
in Russia
FSC standard
• November 11, 2008 Russian national FSC
standard got official accreditation.
• Development of this standard started in
1998; the last (fifth) version of it was sent to
FSC in December 2007.
Rate of FSC Certification Growth
in Russia
• 2000 – first certificate in Altaysky Kray - 32,7
thousand ha
• 2009 – 21 ml ha (North-West, Siberia, Far East)
• It comprises 15% of commercial forests
• 2-nd place in the world
• Leads to improved forest management
FSC Forest Management Certificates in Russia: Geography
FTN Russia as a
Driver of FSC
Certification
Russian Export of Forest Products by
Value in 2008
Other
28%
China
30%
Azerbaijan
2%
Turkey
3%
Ukraine
3% Germany
4%
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
4%
4%
Egypt
4%
Japan
6%
Finland
12%
Total Russian Export of Forest Products in 2008:
12 549 million USD
Problems of Russian Forests
ILLEGAL
LOGGING
LOGGING IN
HIGH
CONSERVATION
VALUE
FORESTS
POOR
FOREST
MANAGEMENT
Russia avoided deforestation,
However there is a lack of high-quality wood in
accessible commercial areas
Global Forest and Trade Network –
Russia
GFTN in Russia was
established in 1999 as the
Association of
Environmentally Responsible
Timber Producers
Goal – to eliminate illegal logging and drive
improvements in forest management
by encouraging voluntary forest certification
At present, GFTN-Russia consists of 50
participants and 10 applicants,
Which manage near 24.8 million ha of leased
forests, or 21% of such forests in Russia
GFTN-Russia in 2009
1 – Ilim Group
2 – Arkhangelsk PPM
3 – Volga
4 – Solombala Sawmill
5 – Kartontara
6 – TAMAK
7 – Sawmill-25
8 – Cherepovetsles
9 – Lesosibirsk Sawmill-1
10 – Solikamskbumprom
11 – SLT – Sawmill-3
12 – Fankom
13 – Dammers
14 – Swedwood Tikhvin
28 – Mospromstroymaterialy-Vyatka
15 – Siberian Silver Pine – Management
29 – Pankratov
16 – Zalazna Sawmill
30 – Primorsklesprom
17 – VM-Invest
31 – Primorsky GOK
18 – Cardinal
32 – Serebryanaya Sosna
19 – Les Export
33 – TMKPerspektiva
20 – Premium-les
34 – Mondi Syktyvkar
21 – Yeniseylesozavod
35 – Kay
22 – Arkhangelsk Sawmill-3
36 – Segezha PPM
23 – Priozersky DOZ
37 – Sorvizhi-les
24 – Terneyles
38 – Kata
25 – Lesinterkom
39 – Malakhit
26 – Titan-Lesprom
40 – PLO Onegales
27 – Technoclassik
41 – Prizma Holz
42 – Onega Sawmill
43 – Investlesprom
44 – ResursLesTrans
45 – Delta-Plus
46 – Lesprom-Invest
47 – Baikal
48 – Gogohiya
49 – Exportles Co.
50 – Sib-Ekologiya
Share of GFTN-Russia Participants in
the Russian Forest Export
Pulp & Paper
Fibreboard
Furniture
16%
32%
35%
68%
65%
84%
Shaped wood
Sawnwood
13%
87%
Round wood
5%
6%
94%
95%
Voluntary Forest Certification Systems
in Russia
FSC certification began in
PEFC National Standard was
Russia in 2000
endorsed in 2009
FSC National Standard was PEFC forest area – 0 ha
endorsed in 2008
FSC forest area – 21.5 mln ha
FSC controlled wood certification
and other legality verification systems
FSC certification Development in Russia
25 000 000
24%
20 626 613
20 000 000
19 277 928
76%
14 760 675
15 000 000
га
All over the world – > 100 ml ha in >
80 countries
10 000 000
Canada – > 24 ml ha
7 831 949
5 000 000
3 860 682
1 282 111
101 623
0
2000 г
132 823
2001 г
132 823
2002 г
2003 г
2004 г
2005 г
2006 г
2007 г
2008 г
FSC COC Certificates in Russia
80
72
70
65
60
60
50
43
40
30
19
20
8
10
2
2
2
4
0
2000 г
2001 г
2002 г
2003 г
2008 – 19, 2009 – 11
2004 г
2005 г
2006 г
2007 г
2008 г
2009 г
FSC FM certificates
The biggest areas :
IlimSeverLes – 1 677 413 ha
IlimSibLes – 1 589 944 ha
Segezha PPM - 1 524 470 ha
The smallest areas:
Mospromstroymaterialy-Vyatka – 4263 ha
Lesintercom – 6903 ha
Priozersky lesokombinat – 8707 ha
The biggest certified companies:
Ilim Group – 4 323 116 га
Investlesprom – 3 994 821 га
Mondi Syktyvkar – 3 078 091 га
Siberia – 4 965 481 ha (22%)
Far East – 1 443 504 ha (6%)
FSC Promotion Campaign
in Russia
Main goals:
1. To communicate ecological, social and forest management features of
certified forests/products, thus influencing the development of purchasing
policies of companies and purchasing priorities.
2. To raise up FSC logo recognizability among the interested
parties on a domestic market as a sign of guarantee that the
unwanted timber volumes are minimized and better forest
preservation is secured
Partners:
FSC Promotion Campaign in Russia
1 – Work with big customers of forest products
(big corporate customers, including banks, with
social responsible policies)
2 – State and municipal purchasing (Moscow,
St.Petersburg, etc.)
3 – Work with big retailers (office paper, DIY,
furniture, etc.)
4 – Work with individual customers (mass
media, Internet, social advertising)
5 – FSC logo promotion (among corporate and
individual customers, promotion campaign)
High Conservation
Value Forests
High Conservation Value Forests
• Concept is widely used by business in certification
process
• WWF role: adaptation to the Russian conditions,
possible legalization, identification and mapping,
management
• Cases, geography, practical use
• WWF «Key Requirements on HCVF for the FSC
Process Participants» - widely using
• Number of publications
• Attempts of legalization are not successful yet
Pskov Model
Forest
Topical Questions of Russian
Forestry
• How to ensure sustainable forest
management
• Profitability of forest use
• Social and ecological issues of forest
use
• Role of forests in different forestgrowing zones
Pskov Model Forest
• System of intensive sustainable management is
implemented and demonstrated for the first time in
Russia
• Priorities:
increased and stable profit,
conservation of biodiversity,
account of interests of local population
Nature Conservation Effect of
Model Forests
• Key question: is it necessary to explore remote
primary forests including intact forests?
• Idea of intensive sustainable forest management in
secondary forests of already explored territories as
an alternative of intact forests exploitation
• Cluster approach
• Already demonstrated ability under Russian
conditions (Pskov Model Forest)
Forest and Cimate
•
•
•
•
•
Pioneer demonstrator project in North-West
Russia
Forest conservation through the retiring of
harvesting concessions – creation of
regional protected area – decision of
regional administration
Improving harvesting practices – forest
harvesting company Svetlozerskles - FSC
GDNI- expertise on LULUCF
FCNI – membership in Advisory Board on
green standards
Education, Training, Publications
• Text book on
sustainable forest
management for
secondary school
• Text book on
sustainable forest
management for Higher
Education
• “Sustainable Forest
Management” Journal
ekulikova@wwf.ru