2011 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Sari Karvinen, Elina Välkky, Yuri Gerasimov and Alexander Dobrovolsky Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Sari Karvinen, Elina Välkky, Yuri Gerasimov and Alexander Dobrovolsky Disclaimer The information, statements and statistics (together the ‘Information’) con- tained in this publication have been prepared by the authors from publicly available material. Every attempt has been made to ensure the information is accurate and up to date at the time of publication, but it cannot be guaranteed that it is complete or reliable. Any liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting from use of this information is expressly disclaimed. This report is the intellectual property of the Finnish Forest Research Institute, and may not be used without permission in writing. Publisher Finnish Forest Research Institute Layout Sirpa Luukkonen Photographs Finnish Forest Industries Federation S. Karvinen J. Laitila T. Leinonen P. Tommola E. Välkky Contact information idanmetsatieto@metla.fi, lesinfo@metla.fi ISBN 978-951-40-2342-2 (PDF) 978-951-40-2343-9 (paperback) Printing Vammalan Kirjapaino Oy, Sastamala, 2011 Abbreviations Concept Definition In Russian Central Russia Central Federal District Federal district Administration level between the federal government and the federal subjects. Federal district includes several federal subjects. Primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with federal laws. Federalny okrug Forest district An elementary organisational unit of forest administration at the local level Lesnichestvo (former leskhoz) Forest park An elementary organisational unit of forest administration at the local level Lesopark Forest range Sub-unit of a forest district Uchastkovoye lesnichestvo National System of Voluntary Forest Certification in Russia (RSFC) Russian voluntary forest certification scheme suggested by the National Council of Voluntary Forest Certification Natsionalnaya sistema dobrovolnoy sertfikatsii lesopolzovaniya v Rossii (RSSL) Northwest Russia Northwest Federal District of the Russian Federation, including the Arkhangelsk, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, Pskov and Vologda regions, Republics of Karelia and Komi, city of St Petersburg and Nenets Autonomous District Regional forest authority State authority of a subject of the Russian Federation executing power on forest use, protection and regeneration Organ gosudastvennoy vlasti subyekta Rossiyskoy Federatsii v oblasti lesnykh otnosheniy Russian National Forest Certification System (FCR) Russian voluntary forest certification scheme suggested by the Russian National Council of Forestry Certification (RNSLS) Natsionalnaya sistema dobrovolnoy lesnoy sertifikatsii Subject of the Russian Federation Constituent unit of the Federation: republic, region (oblast, kray), federal city, autonomous region (oblast), autonomous district (okrug) Subyekt Rossiyskoy Federatsii AAC Annual Allowable Cut ECF Elementally Chlorine Free FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FAOSTAT FAO Statistical Database FLEGT Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade FSC Forest Stewardship Council MDF Medium Density Fibreboard n/a Information not available NFI National Forest Inventory OSB Oriented Strand Board PEFC Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WTO World Trade Organisation Definitions English name Acronym Russian name Avialesookhrana – state organisation on forest fire monitoring Avialesookhrana FBU Avialesookhrana Federal Forestry Agency Rosleskhoz Federalnoye agenstvo lesnogo khozyaistva Federal Service for Inspecting the Utilisation of Natural Resources Rosprirodnadzor Federalnaya sluzhba po nadzoru v sfere prirodopolzovaniya Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat Federalnaya sluzhba gosudarstvennoy statistiki National Council of Voluntary Forest Certification in Russia Uchastkovoye lesnichestvo Research and Project Design Institute for Mechanization and Power Supplies of Forest Industry TsNIIME Tsentralny nauchno-issledovatelskiy i proyektno-konstruktorskiy institut mekhanizatsii i energetiki lesnoy promyshlennosti Research institutes subordinate to the Federal Forestry Agency Rosleskhoz Far East Forestry Research Institute DalNIILH Dalnevostochny nauchno-issledovatelskiy institut lesnogo khozyaystva Northern Research Institute for Forestry SevNIILH Severny nauchno-issledovatelskiy institut lesnogo khozyaystva Research Institute of Forest Genetics and Breeding NIILGiS Nauchno-issledovatelskiy institute lesnoy genetiki i selektsii Research Institute of Silviculture and Forestry Mechanisation VNIILM Vserossiyskiy nauchno-issledovatelskiy in- stitut lesovodstva i mekhanizatsii lesnogo khozyaystva St Petersburg Forest Research Institute SPbNIILH Sankt-Peterburgskiy nauchno- issledovatelskiy institut lesnogo khozyaystva Roslesinforg – state enterprise on forest inventory and forest management planning Rolesinforg FGUP Roslesinforg Far East Forestry Research Institute DalNIILH Dalnevostochny nauchno-issledovatelskiy institut lesnogo khozyaystva Russian Forest Protection Centre Roslesozashchita FBU Rossiyskiy tsentr zashchity lesa Russian National Council of Forestry Certification RNSLS Rossiyskiy natsionalny sovet po lesnoy sertifikatsii Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Rosselkhoznadzor Federalnaya sluzhba po veterinarnomu i fitosanitarnomu nadzoru Russian organisations Contents Preface 1 1 Introduction  3 2 Forest Policy and Administration   5 2.1 Forest Legislation 5 2.2 Development Programmes and Strategies 6 2.3 Ownership and Administration of Forest Resources 7 2.4 Institutional Framework 9 2.5 Regional Forest Plan 13 2.6 Silvicultural Regulations 13 3 Forest Resources  17 3.1 Forest Area and Growing Stock 17 3.2 Designated Functions of Forest 19 3.3 Age-Class Distribution and Development Classes 20 3.4 Tree Species 21 4 Forest Certification  25 4.1 Forest Certification Schemes 25 4.2 Verification of Wood Origin 26 5 Education and Research  29 5.1 Education in the Field of Forestry 29 5.2 Research on the Field of Forestry 30 6 Silviculture  33 6.1 Forest Regeneration 33 6.2 Production of Tree Seeds and Seedlings 37 6.3 Seedling Stand Management 38 6.4 Intermediate Fellings 39 6.5 Forest Health and Protection 42 7 Nature Conservation 49 7.1 Organising Nature Conservation 49 7.2 Nature Conservation Areas 50 8 Forest Planning and Inventory  55 8.1 Assessment of Forest Resources 55 8.2 National Forest Inventory 57 8.3 Forest Planning from the Viewpoint of a Leaseholder 58 8.4 Assessment of the Inventory and Planning System 60 9 Forest Utilisation  63 9.1 Forest Use Rights 63 9.2 Payment for Forest Use 63 9.3 Planning, Reporting and Monitoring of Forest Use 64 9.4 Allowable Cut and Fellings 66 9.5 Wood Harvesting and Transportation 71 9.6. Multiple-use of Forests 79 9.7 Forest Energy 82 10 Forest Industry  87 10.1 Russian Forest Industry in General 87 10.2 Competitiveness of the Forest Industry 92 10.3 Investments in the Forest Industry 96 10.4 Sawmill Industry 101 10.5 Wood-based Panel Industry 103 10.6 Pulp and Paper Industry 108 10.7 Wood Pellet Industry 113 10.8 Foreign Trade of Forest Industry 116 Statistical Appendix 129 Appendix 1 133 1Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a NutshellPB Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Preface Russia is an important collaborator for people operating in the Finnish forest sector. Regardless of changes in the wood trade and investment plans, Russia will still remain as an important partner for Finland and, thus, a need for up- to-date information is evident. However, obtaining information on Russia can be difficult and time-consuming. Despite the uncertainty caused by numerous changes in the Russian forest sector, this publication aims at providing a reli- able and quick source for anyone interested in Russian forests and the Russian forest sector. The publication is targeted for specialists and decision-makers in companies, forest administration and management, and it can also be used for research and training purposes. The publication studies Russian forestry on two different levels. The first level covers the general questions of forestry and forest policy in the Russian Federa- tion, that are the same in all regions of Russia. The second level illustrates the forest management practices in the Northwestern Federal District (okrug). All the statistics are presented at the Russian level in general, and in more detail for the different regions of the Northwestern Federal District. Further information on topical forestry issues may be obtained, in Finnish, on the Internet Service on Russian Forestry at www.idanmetsatieto.info. We would like to express our gratitude to the Director of the Russian Institute of Continuous Education in Forestry, Professor Anatoly Petrov, the Counsellor on Forestry Affairs at the Embassy of Finland in Moscow, Mr. Timo Leinonen as well as to Professor Timo Karjalainen from the International Forestry Group of the Finnish Forest Research Institute, for providing expert assistance and suggestions for improving the contents of the book. Joensuu and St Petersburg, December 2011 Authors 3Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell2 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 3Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell2 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 1 3Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Introduction Russia has been an important trade partner for the Finnish forest industry for two centuries. Owing to changes in the political and economic environment, the volume of Finnish-Russian trade has varied over the years, but currently Russia is the fourth most important target country for Finnish forestry indus- try exports, and the most important single country for forestry industry im- ports. As the standard of living and the purchasing power of Russian customers are increasing, Russia is also becoming a more interesting market for other European countries. At present, Russia is actively developing its own forest industry, which also makes it a competitor in the markets for Finnish and other European forest products’ manufacturers. Changes that have taken place over the past few years in the Russian forest sec- tor have had a major effect also on Finnish-Russian forestry relations. Russia’s significance will hardly diminish over the coming years, even though its role has changed. Russia has reduced the export of roundwood to the European market substantially, and aims to continue this trend in the future. Regard- less of political efforts to attract international investments to Russia, foreign companies have still been hesitant to make big investments particularly in the Russian pulp and paper industry. The investment climate is still too volatile and it has been seen that easier operational environments can be found elsewhere, for example, in Latin America. Despite the current uncertainties in Finnish- Russian forestry relations, Russia is, and will be a significant partner, which makes the need for information on the Russian forest sector evident. This pub- lication aims to provide a comprehensive, but compact, picture of the current state of the forest sector in Northwest Russia. Although the emphasis of the contents is on Northwest Russia, most of the issues and principles are relevant to the whole Russian Federation. Obtaining general statistical information on Russia has become very easy as a result of the openness of the Federal State Statistics Service ‘Rosstat’. All of its publications are available on the Internet and, in addition, Rosstat maintains a wide online database with open access. Statistics concerning forest resources and their use are, on the contrary, very hard to access. Complete data at the Russian Federation level is no longer available, and regional forest authorities are publishing information with varying accuracy. A challenge for interpreting this information is that data from different sources may be contradictory. Most of the data in this publication is based on information verified by Rosstat, with the most recent figures being from 2009. Preliminary information on 2010’s statistics has also been presented, but this information may be altered greatly as Introduction 4 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 5Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell4 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell the confirmed statistics are published later on. At the regional level, corrections may be done to already confirmed information, and thus even official informa- tion may be sometimes unreliable. Most of the data concerning forest utilisa- tion has been collected from presentations, reports and books published by the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation, ‘Rosleskhoz’, and from the regional forest plans of the Russian regions. 2 5Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell4 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Policy and Administration 2.1 Forest Legislation The Forest Code of the Russian Federation (lesnoy kodeks) is the main docu- ment governing the protection, management and utilisation of forests. The first forest law of post-Soviet Russia, ‘Principles of the forestry legislation of the Russian Federation’, was confirmed in 1993, but was reviewed only four years later in 1997. In the past, all the regions, i.e. subject to the Russian Federa- tion (republics, oblasts, krays, etc.), had a right to compile their own regional stipulations as long as they were in line with the federal forest law. In 2005, a general centralisation of legislation and administration took place in Russia, which meant that only the Forest Code was valid, and federal authorities were solely responsible for the management of forest resources. So-called agricultural forests were the only exception, as these forests were managed by the regional authorities. The latest change in forestry legislation took place on 4 December, 2006, when the President of the Russian Federation signed a new Forest Code for the Russian Federation, which came into effect on 1 January, 2007 (Federal Law of 4 December, 2006, № 200-FZ). This Forest Code (2006) introduced several significant changes compared with the old legislation. The decision-making power was delegated from the federal level to the regional. The new legislation broadened the rights and obligations of the forest leaseholders and, at the same time, abolished the right of local authorities to harvest wood commercially. The old system, where the same or- ganisation was able to both conduct forestry operations and control them, was demolished, and forest use management and control duties were divided be- tween different authorities. Concerning the use of forests, the most significant change in the new legislation was the aim to make long-term leases the main form of forest use instead of short-term harvesting licences. The implementation of the new Forest Code has not been easy and the Code has been under constant modification: since 2007 a dozen amendments to the Code and the implemented provisions of the Code were made. To implement the provisions of the Forest Code in practice, it was necessary to update over 60 normative documents. From the forest user point of view the main docu- ments to be updated are the logging rules (Pravila zagotovki 2007), the rules for forest tending (Pravila ukhoda 2007) and the rules for forest regeneration (Pravila lesovosstanovleniya 2007). New versions of these are currently prepared Forest Policy and Administration 7Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell6 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 7Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell6 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell and waiting for confirmation. All stipulations concerning forest management and silviculture are set by the federal authorities alone. In addition to the Forest Code and related rules and guidelines, the basic means for regulating Russian forest policy have been different development programmes and strategies, as well as legislation, which regulates the forest sector indirectly; for example, through customs duties. At a regional level, the tools for the Federation subjects to regulate forestry in their particular areas are regional forest plans and other forest planning documents, which determine the goals and operations in the region in question. One of the means of pro- moting the goals of the Russian forest policy is the Act on Priority Investment Projects, which aims at boosting forest industry by providing privileges in raw material acquisition and mandatory payments for those companies investing in Russia (see Section 10.3). In addition to the Forest Code, also Civil Code, Land Code, Water Code and Federal Law on Environmental Protection regulate operations in the forests. In all, the collection of stipulations concerning the Russian forests comprises several hundred documents. 2.2 Development Programmes and Strategies One of the problems of Russian forest policy has been the lack of coordina- tion between the development of the forest and forestry industry policies. The development of forest policy has been the responsibility of the Rosleskhoz, whereas the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been in charge of the develop- ment of the forest industry. Both sectors have had their own long-term strategy plans: the Development Concept of Forestry for 2003–2010, and the Main Directions of Forest Industry Development for 2002–2015. The first attempt to combine these two development plans was made only in 2008, when the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry and Trade ratified a joint Forest Sector Development Strategy up to 2020 (see Section 10.2). Regarding forestry, the strategy lists an extensive number of sub-objectives, but does not specify how the objectives should be reached. Rosleskhoz is updating the strategy plan of forestry, and a draft of the state programme, ‘Development of Forestry’, for the years 2012–2020 was presented in 2011. The objective of the programme is to increase the efficiency of use, protection and regeneration of forests, and to satisfy the demand for resources and services from forests sustainably, taking into account the available resourc- es and their ecological potential, as well as the global functions of forests. The main tasks are presented as follows: 7Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell6 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Policy and Administration 7Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell6 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Improving the efficiency of prevention, detection and extinction of for- est fires, and minimising socio-economic losses caused by them. Increasing the effectiveness of forest protection against insects and dis- eases, as well as other harmful factors. Improving the productivity and quality of forests by better regeneration and tending, primarily in regions losing ecological, recreational and sil- vicultural potential. Ensuring intensive forest use while maintaining its ecological functions and biodiversity; improvement of control over use, protection and re- generation of forests. Improving the socio-economic conditions of forestry; improving the quality of forest research and education. The tasks are designated to solve some systemic problems in Russian forestry, caused by inadequacies of complex decision-making and a lack of coordina- tion between the authorities regulating forest relations. Examples of these are: the decreasing area and deteriorating quality of coniferous forests as a result of extensive use; the growing amount of damaged forests (fire, insects, dis- eases), related to insufficient organisation and financing of forest protection and monitoring; large extent of illegal logging; problems in forest regeneration and tending of young stands; lack of accurate information on forest resources and their potential; weak state of control on use, protection and regeneration of forests; problems in recruiting highly skilled labour; and low productivity of work. 2.3 Ownership and Administration of Forest Resources In Russia, the forest resources are owned by the Russian Federation. Forest administration is shared between the Federation and the regions, while forest management as a whole is the responsibility of the regions. Regional authori- ties are responsible for forest management, protection and rational utilisation, whereas the authority of the federal bodies focus mainly on public policymak- ing, governance of forest relations by laws and regulations, and on some specific issues, such as carrying out a state forest inventory, etc. Administratively, forest resources are divided into two groups: forest fund (les- noy fond), and forests that do not belong to the forest fund (Figure 2.1). The forest fund is for the land area that could, potentially, be covered by forests, excluding protected areas and forests that belong to the armed forces or mu- nicipalities. However, all forests, regardless of their administrative body, are bound by stipulations of the Forest Code, by which their utilisation is regu- Forest Policy and Administration 9Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell8 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 9Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell8 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 2.1. Administrative division of Russian forest resources in 2010. lated. Forests outside the forest fund can be privately owned; for example, if forest is situated on a privately owned territory. Forests of the Russian Federation Forest fund, 97.2% Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhoz) 97.2% Urban forests 0.1% Others (Min.of Defence) 0.4% Forests not included in the forest fund, 2.8% Protected areas (Min. of Natural Resources) 2.3% Nowadays, the previously named ‘agricultural forests’ are included in the forest fund and are administrated by the regions. The protected areas are governed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology and urban forests by local administrations (cities, municipalities). Regional authorities govern about 96% of the forested land in Northwest Russia (Figure 2.2). 9Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell8 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Policy and Administration 9Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell8 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 2.4 Institutional Framework The main authorities in Russian forestry are the Government of the Russian Federation, the Federal Forestry Agency ‘Rosleskhoz’ [Federalnoye agenstvo les- nogo khozyaistva] and the regional executive authorities. Rosleskhoz was an independent organisation until 2000, when it was subor- dinated to the Ministry of Natural Resources. In 2008, it was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture and, since 2010, it has been directly subordinate to the Government of the Russian Federation. Rosleskhoz, as a Federal executive body, is responsible for public policymaking, legal regulation and control in the field of forest relations (with the exception of forests located in protected areas), as well as for managing public assets in forestry. Its main power is related to: Forest policy implementation. Supervision of the powers delegated to the regional authorities. Murmansk region Region 94% MNR 4% Others 2% Republic of Karelia Region 97% MNR 2% Others 1% Arkhangelsk region Region 98% MNR 1% Others 1% Leningrad region Region 90% MNR 5% Others 5% Vologda region Region 98% MNR 1% Others 1% Novgorod region Region 98% Others 2%Pskov region Region 97% MNR 1% Others 2% Republic of Komi Region 95% MNR 5% Figure 2.2. The share of forest land governed by the regional authorities, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology (MNR) (state protected areas) and other authorities in Northwest Russia in 2010 (excl. Kaliningrad region). Forest Policy and Administration 11Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell10 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 11Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell10 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Allocation of state subventions. National forest inventory. Forest health monitoring and forest seed breeding. Forest fire protection and monitoring. Approval of minimum unit rates for forest use in areas under federal ownership. Management of forest research. Preparation of guidelines and rules for forestry operations. Rosleskhoz has a territorial body in each Federal District and a separate forest- ry department for the Moscow region (Figure 2.3). The central administration of Rosleskhoz employs 420 state officials; the maximum number of employees in the territorial bodies of Rosleskhoz is 1,131. Figure 2.3. Institutional framework of forestry at the Russian Federation level (as of 1 January, 2011). (Source: modified from Petrov 2011) State forest inspection and oversight is the responsibility of the regional forest authorities and the Federal Service for Inspecting the Utilisation of Natural Resources ‘Rosprirodnadzor’ [Federalnaya sluzhba po nadzoru v sfere prirodopol- zovaniya], which is subordinate to the Ministry of Natural Resources. The Fed- eral Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance‘Rosselkhoznadzor’, [Federalnaya sluzhba po veterinarnomu i fitosanitarnomu nadzoru] also carries out surveillance on its competency. In 2009, there were about 10,000 forest inspectors in Russian regions. Government of the Russian Federation Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhoz) Entities subordinate to Rosleskhoz: Roslesinforg Avialesookhrana Roslesozaschita Roslesresurs Tsentrles Russian forest museum Forest research institutes Continuing education centres Territorial bodies of Rosleskhoz: Forestry Administration of the Moscow region and the Moscow City Forestry Department of the Central Federal District Forestry Department of the Northwestern Federal District Forestry Department of the Southern Federal District Forestry Department of the Volga Federal District Forestry Department of the Urals Federal District Forestry Department of the Siberian Federal District Forestry Department of the Far Eastern Federal District Forest policy and law-making Public services Supervision 11Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell10 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Policy and Administration 11Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell10 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell At the regional level, forest administration can have three or four levels (Figure 2.4). Beneath the Government or Federation Subject administration there can be ministries, departments, committees and other types of administrative units acting as the highest regional forest authority in the field of forest use, conser- vation, protection and regeneration. The powers of regional authorities are: Implementation of the regional forest policy, based on regional forest plans and silvicultural regulations. Allocation of forest use rights. Organisation of forest use, protection and regeneration. State inspection for forest management plans. Maintaining the public Forest Resource Register in the region. Organisation of forest inspection and oversight. Figure 2.4. Institutional framework of forest administration at the regional level in Russia. (Source: Maslyakov 2011) The elementary organisational units of Russian forest administration at the local level are forest districts (lesnichestvo) and forest parks (lesopark), which also include forests outside the forest fund. The number of forest districts and forest parks, as well as their boundaries, are established by the federal executive body (Rosleskhoz). Currently, there are 1,479 forest districts and forest parks in Russia, the areas of which vary from a couple of thousand hectares to a couple of million hectares. Figure 2.5 presents, as an example, the forest districts of the Republic of Karelia. The average area of a forest district is approximately 800,000 hectares and, on average, it has 15 employees. In Russia, the forest districts employ 38,700 persons in total. Government (administration) of the Federation Subject Forest sector ministries Forest or forestry committees Forestry departments Forest administrations Forest agencies Forest services Forest districts and forest parks 4 level structure 3 level structure Ministries of natural resources and env. protection Ministries of agriculture Committees on environment protection Departments of natural resources Forest districts and forest parks Forestry departments Forestry administrations Government (administration) of the Federation Subject Forest Policy and Administration 13Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell12 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 13Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell12 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest districts branch off further into smaller administrative units, forest rang- es (uchastkovoye lesnichestvo), that are run by one to three forestry professionals. Typically, one forest district comprises of 3–7 ranges. The total number of for- est ranges in Russia is 7,587 with the average area of 156,000 hectares. Figure 2.5. Forest districts in the Republic of Karelia. Kostomukshskoye Medvezhegorskoye Kalevalskoye Pudozhskoye Ladvinskoye Pitkyarantskoye Sortavalskoye Pyaozerskoye Pryazhinskoye Suoyarvskoye Ladvinskoye Sosnovetskoe METLA, 2011 13Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell12 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Policy and Administration 13Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell12 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest management planning data Regional forest plan Regional planning documents Regional socio-economic development plans Forest inventory data Forest resource register Reports of forest users 2.5 Regional Forest Plan A regional forest plan (lesnoy plan subyekta) is compiled for each region of the Russian Federation, and is the core document describing the objectives for forestry of a particular region. The plan describes the forest resources, their utilisation and their needs for protection and regeneration, as well as analys- ing the economic effects of the proposed operations. The plan is made for 10 years, and is based on existing forest management planning and inventory data. Socio-economic development plans for the region are also taken into account (Figure 2.6). The compiler of the plan is chosen through a competitive bidding process organised by the highest forest authority in each region, and the plan is undersigned by the head of the Federation subject. Figure 2.6. Compilation of the regional forest plan. 2.6 Silvicultural Regulations Silvicultural regulations (lesohozjaistvenny reglament) are compiled for each for- est district and forest park. They are also made for protected areas and forests in lands of the armed forces. The document is valid for up to 10 years depend- ing on the intensity of forestry and trends in regional economic development. The silvicultural regulation determines conditions for the use, protection and regeneration of the particular forest district (park). It includes detailed regula- tions: for example, types and periods of allowed forest use, harvesting age, an- nual allowable cut, etc. In addition, restrictions for forest use and requirements for forest protection and regeneration are defined. Similar to the regional forest plan, the silvicultural regulation is composed by a company winning a tendering process. Forest Policy and Administration 15Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell14 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 15Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell14 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Both the regional forest plan of the Federation subject and the silvicultural regulation of the forest district are taken into account when the forest user compiles a forest management plan for his leased forest area (Figure 2.7.). Figure 2.7. Forest management planning on regional level: an example from the Republic of Karelia. Regional forest plan Strategic plan on regional level Silvicultural regulation Forest management plan on the administration unit level (Forest districts and forest parks) Forest managemen plan Plan for the forests of a leaseholder Forest declaration Operative plan of forest leaseholder for the next year Objectives and indicators Use volumes, restrictions and other requirements Le as eh ol de r w ith ow n fu nd in g R eg io na l a dm in is tr at io n w ith bu dg et fu nd in g 15Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell14 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Policy and Administration 15Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell14 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Sources of Information Forest plans of the regions: Lesnoy plan Arkhangelskoy oblasti, korrektirovka Lesnogo plana sostavlennogo v 2008 godu. 2010. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Arkhangelsk region, corrections in 2010 to the Forest plan compiled in 2008. Draft]. Available at: http://www. dvinaland.ru/power/departments/deples/acts/actlh.html. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Kaliningradskoy oblasti na period do 2019 goda. 2009. [Forest plan of the Kaliningrad region until 2019]. Available at: http://alh39.ru/?page_ id=74. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Respubliki Kareliya. 2010. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Republic of Karelia 2010. Draft.]. Available at: http://gov.karelia.ru/gov/Power/Commit- tee/Forest/Docum/plan10.zip. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Respubliki Komi. 2008. [Forest plan of the Republic of Komi]. Available at: http://komles.rkomi.ru/page/5880. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Murmanskoy oblasti. 2008. [Forest plan of the Murmansk re- gion]. Available at: http://www.gov-murman.ru/power/comit/forestry. Ac- cessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Leningradskoy oblasti. 2008, corrections 2010. [Forest plan of the Leningrad region. Compiled in 2008, corrected in 2010.] Available at: http://www.lenobl.ru/economics/ecology/nature/dop_info_les_plan. Accessed 26.5.2009 and 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Novgorodskoy oblasti. 2010. [Forest plan of the Novgorod re- gion]. Available at: http://leskom.nov.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view =article&id=249:2011-10-17-10-58-36&catid=38:2009-07-29-08-47- 02&Itemid=55. Accessed 14.11.2011. Lesnoy plan Vologodskoy oblasti. 2007. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Vologda region. Draft.]. Available at: http://www.forestvologda.ru/page/wood_plan. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Pskovskoy oblasti. 2007. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Pskov region. Draft.] Forests in Russia 2010. Federal Forestry Agency. VNIILM. 48 p. Gosudarstvennaya programma ‘Razvitiye lesnogo khozyaystva’. 2011. [State pro- gramme ‘Development of forestry’] Rosleskhoz. 206 p. Korotkov, V., Leinonen, T., Palenova, M., Filipchuk, A. & Nesterenko, Yu. 2009. Towards sustainable and intensive forest management in Northwest Russia. Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Institute 107. 41 p. Lesnoy kodeks Rossiyskoy Federatsii ot 04.12.2006 № 200-FZ. [Forest Code of the Russian Federation 04.12.2006 № 200-FZ] Maslyakov, V.N. 2011. Osnovnye itogi raboty lesnogo khozyaystva Rossiyskoy Fed- eratsii v 2010 godu i zadachi na 2011 god. [Summary of the activities of for- estry in the Russian Federation in 2010 and tasks for 2011. Presentation]. Rosleskhoz. Available at: http://www.rosleshoz.gov.ru/media/appearance/57. Accessed 10.5.2011. Forest Policy and Administration 17Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell16 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 17Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell16 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Petrov, A.P. 2011. Gosudarstvennoye upravleniye lesami. [Public forest administra- tion]. VIPKLH. Pushkino. 166 p. Välkky, Elina, Viitanen, Jari & Ollonqvist, Pekka. 2011. Impacts of Changes in Forest and Economic Policy and Business Preconditions in Russia and Finland - Final Report of the Research Project. Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Institute 218. 131 p. 17Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell16 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 3 17Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell16 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Resources 3.1 Forest Area and Growing Stock Russia possesses about 20% of the world’s forestry resources. The total area of Russian forests is 1.18 billion hectares, of which actual forest land comprises 892 million hectares (Table 3.1). The volume of growing stock is 83 billion m³ and the average annual increment is slightly less than one billion m³. In Russia, the mean annual increment (sredny prirost) is calculated by dividing the volume of stock by its age. In Northwest Russia, the total area of forests is 117 million hectares, of which forest land comprises 76%. The total volume of growing stock is 10 billion m³, and its gross annual increment 130 million m³. More than half of Northwest Russian forest resources are located in the Republic of Komi and the Arkhangelsk region (Figure 3.1). The Russian forest fund is divided into two categories according to land use; forest land (lesnye zemli) and non-forest land (nelesnye zemli). Forest land com- prises all the land area allocated for growing forests, i.e. land area that is covered by forests, treeless forest land such as clear-felling sites, forests destroyed by storms or forest fires, sapling stands and nurseries. Non-forest land includes the land area that is not used for growing stock, but is otherwise used by for- estry, such as land area occupied by peatland, roads, power lines, water bodies or pasture. Figure 3.1. Total and exploitable volume of forests in the regions of Northwest Russia. (Sources: see Table 3.1) 2,687Arkhangelsk region 52 239 342 622 825 959 1,710 Kaliningrad region Murmansk region Pskov region Novgorod region Leningrad region Republic of Karelia Vologda region million m³ Exploitable volume in mature and over-mature stands 3,062Republic of Komi Forest Resources 19Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell18 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 19Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell18 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Table 3.1. Forest resources of the Russian Federation and Northwest Russia. Region Area 3a,b) 1,000 ha Forestland 4) 1,000 ha Volume, million m³ Mature and over mature forests, % of the total volume Mean annual increment 5) million m³ Russian Federation Total Forest fund 1) Other forests 2) 1,183,682 1,143,564 40,118 891,955 862,575 29,380 83,454 79,977 3,477 55 947 Northwest Russia Total Forest fund Other forests 117,485 112,578 4,907 88,873 85,754 3,119 10,488 10,096 392 48 134 Arkhangelsk region Total Forest fund Other forests 29,238 28,479 759 22,733 22,220 513 2,687 2,608 79 70 31 Kaliningrad region Total Forest fund Other forests 308 273 35 277 244 33 52 48 5 20 1 Republic of Karelia Total Forest fund Other forests 14,898 14,531 367 9,504 9,265 239 959 933 25 50 14 Republic of Komi Total Forest fund Other forests 38,880 36,256 2,624 30,233 28,625 1,608 3,062 2,857 204 74 29 Leningrad region Total Forest fund Other forests 5,898 5,595 303 4,827 4,593 234 825 790 35 42 14 Murmansk region Total Forest fund Other forests 10,023 9,456 567 5,475 5,186 289 239 226 12 59 3 Novgorod region Total Forest fund Other forests 4,118 3,912 206 3,553 3,408 145 622 593 29 32 * 10 Pskov region Total Forest fund Other forests 2,467 2,409 58 2,151 2,102 49 342 334 8 27 7 Vologda region Total Forest fund Other forests 11,661 11,477 184 10,090 9,945 145 1,711 1,688 22 46 25 * of the area (Sources: Forests in Russia 2010; Forest plans; Gosudarstvenny uchet…2008; Leningrad and Pskov regions: Lesnoy fond…2003) 1) Lesnoy fond 2) Lesa, ne vkhodjaschiye v lesnoy fond 3a) Zemli lesnogo fonda 3b) Zemli, ne vkhodjaschiye v lesnoy fond 4) Lesnye zeml 5) The mean annual increment (obschiy sredny prirost) is alculated by adding the average annual growth (sredny prirost) according to age-classes. Sredny prirost = volume of the stand / age of the stand 19Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell18 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Resources 19Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell18 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 3.2 Designated Functions of Forest Russian forests are classified into three groups according to their designated function. Each of the groups is set with limitations in forest use. Nearly half of the forests, 55%, is for commercial purposes and thus belongs to the produc- tion forests. Remote areas, not planned for use in the near future are classified as reserve forests. In addition to nature reserves, protection forests also include various types of shelterbelts and valuable forest areas. Shares of production and protection forests differ greatly between the regions in Northwest Russia (Figure 3.2). Protection forests Specially protected nature areas Water-conservation zones Forests with protective function (shelterbelts, park forests, etc.) Forests with other valuable functions (anti-erosion, deserts, moun- tains, etc.) Clear fellings are partly forbidden Production forests The main source of raw material for forest industry Clear felling areas may not exceed 50 hectares Reserve forests Not intended for wood harvesting in the next 20 years May be used after transferring to other categories Figure 3.2. Designated functions of the Russian forests. (Sources: Forest plans, Forests in Russia 2010) 36 77 74 52 79 87 71 68 55 64 23 26 48 21 13 29 39 32 23 23 Murmansk region Pskov region Novgorod region Leningrad region Republic of Karelia Vologda region Arkhangelsk region Republic of Komi Northwest Russia Russian Federation % of the forest area Production Protection Reserve 61 Forest Resources 21Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell20 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 21Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell20 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 3.3 Age-Class Distribution and Development Classes The Russian forests are categorised into ten age-classes marked by Roman nu- merals I–X. Each age-class covers 20 years for coniferous species (and some deciduous species, such as oak), and 10 years for most of the deciduous species. Development classes are divided into five classes: young, middle-age, maturing, mature and over-mature stands (Table 3.2). The rotation periods in Russian forestry are long. On the same latitudes where the rotation period for coniferous forests in Finland is 80–100 years, the Rus- sian period is commonly 120–140 years. In Russia, the rotation period is deter- mined according to biological facts, not according to economic aspects. Almost half of the Russian forest area belongs to the mature or over-mature development classes (Figure 3.3). The share in the exploitable forests of North- western regions is similar, although regional differences in development class distribution do occur (Figure 3.4). Figure 3.3. Development class distribution in forests of the Russian Federation. (Source: Forests in Russia 2010) Table 3.2. Average age of a stand with regard the development classes Development class Average age of a stand, years Coniferous Deciduous Young 0–40 0–20 Middle-age 41–80 21–40 Maturing 81–100 41–50 Mature 101–160 51–80 Over-mature > 161 > 81 92 54 258 27 56 20 64 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Young Middle-age Maturing Mature and over-mature m ill io n ha Deciduous Coniferous 123 21Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell20 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Resources 21Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell20 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 3.4. Development class distribution of exploitable forests in Northwest Russia. (Sources: Forest plans, for the Leningrad and Novgorod regions ‘Gosudarstvenny uchet…2008’) 3.4 Tree Species According to the established practice in Russia, tree species are divided into three categories: coniferous (khvoinye); soft deciduous (myakhkolistvennye); and hard deciduous (tvyordolistvennye). The dominance of coniferous species is characteristic of the Northwestern Russian forests (Figure 3.5). The Vologda, Novgorod and Pskov regions stand out from the other regions of Northwest Russia owing to the large share of deciduous species in their forests (Figures 3.6 and 3.7). 9 7 2 213 6 2 6 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 m ill io n ha Young Middle-age Maturing Mature and over-mature Deciduous Coniferous % of the volume of the exploitable stock Young Middle-age Maturing Mature and over-mature 32 34 4 30Murmansk region 17 36 28 19Pskov region 15 37 19 29Novgorod region 23 35 16 26Leningrad region 43 21 7 30Republic of Karelia 13 24 7 56Vologda region 22 22 5 52Arkhangelsk region 18 20 4 57Republic of Komi Forest Resources 23Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell22 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 23Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell22 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 3.5. Main tree species by volume in Russia and Northwest Russia. (Source: Gosudarstvenny uchet…2008) Figure 3.6. Tree species composition of forests in the regions of Northwest Russia. (Source: Gosudarstvenny uchet…2008) Pine 20% Spruce 13% Birch 14% Aspen 4% Other 19% Larch 30% Russian Federation Pine 30% Spruce 43% Birch 20% Aspen 5% Other 2% Northwest Russia Murmansk region Pskov region Novgorod region Leningrad region % of the volume of the growing stock Other Spruce Pine Aspen Birch 37 11 17 29 48 30 18 35 8 9 15 38 42 25 13 1 15 8 Republic of Komi 57 25 4 14 1 Arkhangelsk region 57 26 2 14 1 Kaliningrad region 13 16 3 28 39 Vologda region 26 23 11 39 1 Republic of Karelia 28 59 1 11 23Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell22 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Resources 23Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell22 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 3.7. Tree species composition of the exploitable volume in mature and over-mature development classes in Northwest Russia. (Sources: Forest plans) Sources of Information Gosudarstvenny uchet lesnogo fonda na 1 yanvarya 2008. [State forest account in 1.1.2008]. Roslesinforg. Forest plans of the regions: Lesnoy plan Arkhangelskoy oblasti, korrektirovka Lesnogo plana sostavlennogo v 2008 godu. 2010. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Arkhangelsk region, corrections in 2010 to the Forest plan compiled in 2008. Draft]. Available at: http://www. dvinaland.ru/power/departments/deples/acts/actlh.html. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Kaliningradskoy oblasti na period do 2019 goda. 2009. [Forest plan of the Kaliningrad region until 2019]. Available at: http://alh39.ru/?page_ id=74. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Respubliki Kareliya. 2010. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Republic of Karelia 2010. Draft.]. Available at: http://gov.karelia.ru/gov/Power/Commit- tee/Forest/Docum/plan10.zip. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Respubliki Komi. 2008. [Forest plan of the Republic of Komi]. Available at: http://komles.rkomi.ru/page/5880. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Murmanskoy oblasti. 2008. [Forest plan of the Murmansk re- gion]. Available at: http://www.gov-murman.ru/power/comit/forestry. Ac- cessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Leningradskoy oblasti. 2008, corrections 2010. [Forest plan of the Leningrad region. Compiled in 2008, corrected in 2010.] Available at: http://www.lenobl.ru/economics/ecology/nature/dop_info_les_plan. Accessed 26.5.2009 and 10.5.2011. Murmansk region Pskov region Novgorod region Leningrad region Republic of Karelia Arkhangelsk region 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 million m³ Other Spruce Pine Aspen Birch Republic of Komi Vologda region Forest Resources 25Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell24 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 25Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell24 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Lesnoy plan Novgorodskoy oblasti. 2010. [Forest plan of the Novgorod region]. Available at: http://leskom.nov.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view= article&id=249:2011-10-17-10-58-36&catid=38:2009-07-29-08-47- 02&Itemid=55. Accessed 14.11.2011. Lesnoy plan Vologodskoy oblasti. 2007. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Vologda region. Draft.]. Available at: http://www.forestvologda.ru/page/wood_plan. Accessed 10.5.2011. Lesnoy plan Pskovskoy oblasti. 2007. Proekt. [Forest plan of the Pskov region. Draft.] Forests in Russia 2010. Federal Forestry Agency. VNIILM. 48 p. Lesnoy fond Rossii (po dannym gosudarstvennogo ucheta lesnogo fonda po sostoy- aniyu na 1 yanvarya 2003 g.). 2003. [Forest fund of Russia (according to the state forest account in 1.1.2003)]. Spravochnik. VNIILM. Moskva. 640 p. Lesnoy kodeks Rossiyskoy Federatsii ot 04.12.2006 № 200-FZ. [Forest Code of the Russian Federation 04.12.2006 № 200-FZ] 25Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell24 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 4 25Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell24 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Certification 4.1 Forest Certification Schemes In Russia, two national forest certification systems, based on voluntary mem- bership, are being developed in parallel. In the past, forest authorities pursued a system where all forests had to be certified, but the programme was abandoned owing to its failure to meet international requirements, as well as a lack of resources. In 2001, the National System of Voluntary Forest Certification in Russia was initiated by the Union of Timber Merchants and Timber Exporters of Rus- sia, with the support of the Ministry of Industry. The Research and Project Design Institute for Mechanization and Power Supplies of Forest Industry (TsNIIME) was involved in the practical aspect of the scheme. Work on the Russian National Forest Certification System (FCR) started in 2003, carried out by an initiative group under the Federal Forestry Agency of Russia, the Moscow State Forest University and some research organisations. The Russian National Council of Forestry Certification is lead by the Direc- tor of the International Forest Institute, which is subordinate to the Russian Academy of Science. Both national certification schemes have applied for accreditation to the Pro- gramme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). Since only one organisation can represent Russia in the PEFC Council, a joint coordi- nation centre of the two schemes was established in 2006. PEFC International approved the FCR in 2009, and three PEFC-FCR certificates were awarded. The Finnish company Metsäliitto got the first Russian PEFC-certificate for its logging company. At the beginning of 2011, membership of Russia in the PEFC was terminated owing to unpaid fees. As a consequence, a new national member was selected in autumn 2011 and the Russian National Council of Forestry Certification replaced the coordination centre. The slow progress in the creation of the national certification system has partly been due to the uncertainty regarding the generally approved requirements and standards for voluntary systems, and whether Russian exporters of wood and wooden products will benefit more from certification standards based on the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), or from the PEFC system. The FSC certification scheme system is supported by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Forest Certification 27Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell26 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 27Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell26 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell International and Greenpeace, in cooperation with local non-governmental organisations (NGO) from several regions. After more than seven years of work the Russian National FSC Standard was approved in 2008. Regional standards are being prepared in six regions of Russia. Altogether, 117 forest management certificates, covering 30 million hectares, have been awarded in Russia (situation as of 31 October, 2011). Russian companies have received 168 FSC chain of custody certificates. 4.2 Verification of Wood Origin The objective of the verification of wood origin is to track the origin of wood reliably throughout the different stages of wood harvesting, transportation and processing. The biggest Russian companies have internal systems for the veri- fication of wood origin, which prevent the use of illegal wood at the company level. In some regions, the Federal Forestry Agency ‘Rosleskhoz’ is monitoring illegal logging, and a monitoring system for the whole of Russia is under con- struction by the authorities. However, an extensive system for the verification of wood origin is still lacking in Russia. Russia has been in close collaboration with both the EU and the World Bank to fight against illegal logging and its associated trade. Cooperation with the EU is mostly linked with the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan that contains a proposal for a voluntary licensing scheme for imported wood, by which the chain of custody can be verified by the EU. In addition to international cooperation schemes, some national initiatives are also being realised in Russia. The changes in Russian forest legislation and administration have weakened law enforcement and forest inspection, what makes the work challenging. The issue has become even more topical owing to the tightened regulations of the EU and USA for the wood trade. Rosleskhoz has fought actively against illegal logging since 2004, when a remote monitoring system for forest use, based on aerial and satellite images, was launched. The system covers 120 million hectares of forest, i.e. one fifth of the area of Russia’s production forests. The area covers 30 subjects of the Rus- sian Federation, where forest use is intensive and wood is exported abroad. The system can detect logging without the required documentation and procedures. In 2010, Rosleskhoz detected 27,000 cases of illegal logging, where the har- vested amount of wood was 1.3 million m³. For wider monitoring the state is developing a tracking system, where wood is measured and monitored through the entire chain, from forest to end-user. Detailed information about harvested and transported wood, as well as documentation proving a right to carry out 27Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell26 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Forest Certification 27Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell26 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell harvesting is entered into the system for monitoring purposes. In addition, measured wood is marked and its origin controlled by uniform transportation documents til the final inspection by the end-user of the wood. The system was tested in three regions during 2010 and, in 2011, piloting should expand to 15 regions. The system should work at the Russian Federation level in 2012. Sources of Information Bolshakov, B.M. 2010. Gosudarstvenny uchet zagotovlennoy drevesiny. [Presenta- tion by the deputy director of the Rosleskhoz ‘National account of harvested wood’]. Available at: http://www.tpprf.ru/common/upload/kom23_bolshakov. ppt. Accessed 21.3.2011. Federal Forestry Agency of Russia. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.rosle- shoz.gov.ru. FSC Russia. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.fsc.ru. Accessed 2.12.2011. Giryaev, M. 2010. O gosudarstvennykh merakh po predotvrashcheniyu nezakonnogo oborota drevesiny, aktualnykh voprosakh razvitiya lesnogo zakonodatelstva i organizatsii auktsinov lesnykh uchastkov dlya rekreatsionnykh tselei. [Inter- net-interview of the deputy director of the Rosleskhoz ‘State measures against trade of illegal wood, actual questions in developing forest legislation and or- ganisation of forest auctions for recreational purposes’]. Available at: http:// www.garant.ru/action/interview/209731/. Accessed 21.3.2011. Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Dumoy po prirodnym resursam, prirodopolzovaniyu i ekologii. 2010. [Recommendations of the Parliament hearing 20.05.2010]. Pra- vovye osnovy ispolzovaniya dobrovolnoy lesnoy sertifikatsii dlya obespecheniya legalnosti eksporta i importa lesomaterialov i produktsii ikh pererabotki. [The legal basis of voluntary forest certification as a tool for ensuring legality of ex- port and import of roundwood and forest products] Maslyakov, V.N. 2011. Osnovnye itogi raboty lesnogo khozyaystva Rossiyskoy Feder- atsii v 2010 godu i zadachi na 2011 god. [Presentation by the director of the Rosleskhoz ‘Summary of the activities of forestry in the Russian Federation in 2010 and tasks for 2011’]. Rosleskhoz. Available at: http://www.rosleshoz.gov. ru/media/appearance/57. Accessed 10.5.2011. Materials of the round table meeting organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation: Vzaimodeystviye federalnykh organov ispolnitelnoy vlasti po predotvrash- cheniyu nezakonnykh rubok lesa i nelegalnogo oborota drevesiny, 1.11.2005. [Cooperation between the Federal authorities in preventing illegal loggings and the trade of illegal wood]. Available at: http://www.tpprf.ru/ru/news/about/ar- chive/index.php?id_12=10995. Accessed 21.3.2011. O sovershenstvovanii pravovogo regulirovaniya ekologicheski ustoychivogo le- sopolzovaniya, 2.11.2010. [Modernising legislative regulation of ecologically sustainable forest use]. Available at: http://www.tpprf.ru/ru/news/about/index. php?id_12=31638&from_12=19. Accessed 21.3.2011. Forest Certification 29Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell28 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 29Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell28 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Sovershenstvovanie lesnogo zakonodatelstva Rossii i novye zakonodatelnye in- itsiativy Evrosoyuza po predotvrashcheniyu torgovli nelegalno zagotovlennoy drevesinoy i produktsiey iz neye, 26.3.2010. [Modernising Russian forest legis- lation, the new law initiative of the European Union for preventing the trade of illegally harvested wood and products of it]. Available at: http://www.tpprf.ru/ ru/news/about/archive/index.php?id_12=29227&afrom_12=22.03.2010&ato_ 12=31.03.2010&from_12=1. Accessed 21.3.2011. PEFC International. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.pefc.org. Accessed 21.3.2011. Problemy rossiyskogo lesa. 2010. [Problems of the Russian forests]. ENPI FLEG Russia Bulletin 1. 31 p. Rossiiskiy natsionalny sovet po lesnoy sertifikatsii. 2011. [Website of the Russian Na- tional Council of Forestry Certification]. Available at: http://www.pefc.ru. Ac- cessed 21.3.2011. Topor drovoseka. 2010. [Woodcutter’s axe]. Rossiyskaya gazeta 93 (5172): A15. Wood.ru news. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.wood.ru/ru/lonews.html. Accessed 21.3.2011. WWF Russia. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.wwf.ru/resources/news. 29Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell28 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 5 29Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell28 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Education and Research 5.1 Education in the Field of Forestry Vocational education is provided by forest technical schools (lesotekhnicheskaya shkola) at secondary level and other similar institutions. This education prepares students for tasks typical of specific occupational titles, and pupils graduate as forest workers or logging machine operators, for example. Currently, two forest-technical schools are in operation in Northwest Russia: one in Chalna in the Republic of Karelia; and the other in Obozersk in Arkhangelsk region (Table 5.1). Intermediate occupational institutions (college or tekhnikum) educate techni- cians that major in wood harvesting and wood processing technologies, as well as in other areas of forestry and the management of park woodlands. Addition- ally, intermediate education is provided by polytechnic institutions. One may apply to an intermediate occupational institution after completing elementary school, vocational school or upper secondary school. Those that pass either the vocational or the upper secondary school may complete their intermediate studies in less time than the ones who have only completed elementary school. Intermediate education prepares the students for the occupational tasks of a Table 5.1. Educational establishments in Northwest Russia. Vocational schools Obozersk Forest Technical School, Arkhangelsk region Shuisko-Vidanskaya Forest Technical School, Republic of Karelia Intermediate vocational schools Arkhangelsk Forest Technical College, Arkhangelsk region Cherepovets Forest Mechanical College, Vologda region Lisino Forest College, Leningrad region Petrozavodsk Forest Technical College, Republic of Karelia Ukhta Forest College of Industry and Economics, Republic of Komi Velikie Luki College of Forestry, Pskov region Vytegorsky Forest Technical College, Vologda region Higher education establishments Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Arkhangelsk region Novgorod State University, Novgorod region Petrozavodsk State University, Republic of Karelia St. Petersburg Forest Technical University (FTU), St. Petersburg Syktyvkar Forest Institute, Republic of Komi (branch of FTU in St. Petersburg) Ukhta State Technical University, Republic of Komi Vologda State Dairy Academy, Vologda region Education and Research 31Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell30 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 31Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell30 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell forestry expert, and in Northwest Russia seven institutions provide forestry related intermediate education under the Ministry of Education and regional authorities. Institutions that were earlier under the Federal Forestry Agency are transferred to the ownership of regions in the beginning of 2012. The highest level of education is provided by universities and academies, which educate experts for the needs of both the public and the private sectors. Cur- rently, a typical title for a university graduate is ‘engineer’. However, Russian occupational titles are slowly being changed to correspond with European titles, and the St Petersburg State Forest Technical University was the first forestry field university in Russia to implement Bachelor’s and Master’s degree titles. The largest institution in forest education in Russia is the Moscow State Forest University. Further education is offered by vocational schools, continuing education cen- tres and institutes that have obtained the necessary licence. Usually it is pro- vided for the forestry professionals by the employer. 5.2 Research on the Field of Forestry Organisations engaged in forest research may be divided into three categories: Research institutes subordinate to the Federal Forestry Agency, Ros- leskhoz Research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences Universities In Northwest Russia research institutes subordinate to Rosleskhoz are the Northern Research Institute for Forestry (SevNIILH) in Arkhangelsk and the St Petersburg Forest Research Institute (SPbNIILH). Research in these institutes is often concentrated on solving certain tangible forest sector-related problems, according to profiles assigned by the Rosleskhoz. The Northern Research Institute for Forestry is the leading applied research institution in the European north of Russia, and its objective is to enhance the production and utilisation of northern forests by, for example, investigating forest regeneration and intensified forest utilisation. The St Petersburg Forest Research Institute, on the other hand, specialises in southern taiga forests, and its main fields of research include forest fire suppression, forest land draining and landscape management. In addition, Rosleskhoz has the Research Institute of Silviculture and Forestry Mechanisation (VNIILM) in the Moscow region, the Research Institute of Forest Genetics and Breeding (NIILGiS) in the Voronezh region, and the Far East Forestry Research Institute (DalNIILKh) in the Khabarovsk region. 31Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell30 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Education and Research 31Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell30 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell The Russian Academy of Sciences has, traditionally, been the leading institu- tion for conducting basic research in the natural sciences. Although only one institute in Northwest Russia, the Forest Research Institute of Karelian Research Centre, concentrates purely on forests, forestry related research is also carried out in other institutions, such as the Institute of Biology in the Komi Research Centre, the Northern Institute of Ecological Problems in Industry (IPES) in Apatity, and the Komarov Botanical Institute in St Petersburg. The Forest Research Institute of Karelian Research Centre specialises in studying the structure and dynamics of forest ecosystems, tree physiology and forest soil sciences. For example, economic research related to forestry is practised in the Institute of Economics in the Karelian Research Centre. In recent years, universities’ contribution to research has generally been minor with the exception of producing theses. Traditionally, and more than their counterparts in Western Europe, Russian universities have emphasised tuition rather than of research, and recent economic hardship has strengthened this trend. Remuneration received from tuition is significantly greater compared to that from research, which makes research work financially unattractive for teachers. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian forest research has strug- gled as a result of severe financial restrictions, which has led to a decay in the physical infrastructure, a decrease in the number of scientists, and a decline in quantity and quality of research. During the last ten years, number of researchers in forestry has decreased fivefold. In 2010, the total number of staff in the re- search institutes subordinate to Rosleskhoz was 674. Education and Research 33Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell32 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 33Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell32 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Sources of Information Federal Forestry Agency. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.rosleshoz.gov.ru Forests in Russia 2010. Federal Forestry Agency. VNIILM. 48 p. Moscow State Forest University. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.mgul.ac.ru Northern (Arctic) Federal University. 2011.[Website]. Available at: http://narfu.ru Northern Research Institute for Forestry (SevNIILH). 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.sevniilh-arh.ru Novgorod State University. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.novsu.ru Petrozavodsk State University. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.petrsu.ru. Rossiyskie lesnye vesti. [Online journal ‘Russian forest news’]. Available at: http:// lesvesti.ru Russian Academy of Sciences. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.ras.ru Shuisko-Vidanskaya forest technical school. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://lth. vlesprome.ru St Petersburg Forest Research Institute (SPbNIILH). 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://www.petroniilh.ru St Petersburg State Forest Technical University. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http:// ftacademy.ru Vologda State Dairy Academy. 2011. [Website]. Available at: http://molochnoe.ru 33Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell32 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 6 33Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell32 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Silviculture The objectives of the silvicultural actions (ukhod za lesom) are to improve for- est productivity, manipulate tree species composition and to prevent diseases from spreading. In Russia, silviculture includes intermediate fellings, tending of saplings, forest fertilisation, draining and pre-emptive actions taken towards forest fire prevention. Terminologically, forest regeneration (lesovosstanovleniye) is classified as a separate function, but hereafter, silviculture also refers to forest regeneration. Responsibility for silviculture has been delegated to the Russian regions. In 2010, financing for silviculture was 21 billion roubles in total, of which 72% came from the Federal budget. In forest areas leased for wood harvesting, the leaseholder is responsible for all silvicultural activities. For forest areas out- side the leased area, the executor of work is selected by the regional authority through open competition. Traditionally, the greatest obstacle for conducting silvicultural operations, especially forest regeneration, is insufficient funding. Silvicultural work is separated from the supervising functions in the regional structures of forest administration in accordance with the Forest Code, but it has not turned into a commercially profitable activity as was anticipated by the law-makers. The newly formed state forestry companies have outdated tech- nology that makes work inefficient. The earning capacity of forest leaseholders is low, and the short-term nature of contracts on silvicultural activities prevents development of the branch. Recruiting skilful employees is also problematic owing to low prestige and salaries. 6.1 Forest Regeneration Of the annually regenerated forest land 70–80% is done by employing meth- ods to assist natural regeneration. Natural regeneration may be achieved by retaining undergrowth or the second tree storey, leaving seed-trees on the har- vesting site, or by using strip, increment or selection felling. In case no viable undergrowth occupies the harvesting site, natural regeneration is preceded by soil preparation. Five years after felling or soil preparation, the site is checked by the forest district for successful regeneration. Both possible undergrowth and all viable saplings that are 2 years of age or older, and that have been generated naturally, Silviculture 34 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell are taken into consideration in an inventory. Areas are considered regenerated if they hold a sufficient amount of viable saplings that fulfil the quality require- ments. If the restocking is found to be inadequate, then the area is downgraded to the category ‘area to be regenerated’. In the areas where generating an economically valuable, naturally born seedling stand is not possible, artificial regeneration is performed, either by planting or sowing. The amount of planted and sowed sites varies significantly from region to region, but in most of them it does not exceed 30% of the total harvested area, not even during the most intense years of artificial regeneration. Although the results of artificial regeneration are greatly dependent on the natural con- ditions of the area, as well as the methods chosen, a strong correlation between successful regeneration and the economic state of the region has also been found. Artificially regenerated sites are inspected by the forest districts in field invento- ries, where the land area of the viable seedling stand in comparison to regenera- ted land area, as well as the percentage of living saplings of all planted saplings are defined. Additionally, well-stocked areas are categorised as regenerated, and the reasons for possible failure in regeneration are defined. Two-year-old stands are inspected for their condition and the possible need of supplementary planting. The initial planting density is high, according to the rules for forest regeneration (2007): for non-pricked-out seedlings at least 4,000 seedlings/ha; on dry sites; 6,000 seedlings/ha; and for pricked-out seedlings and container seedlings at least 2,500 seedlings/ha. In 2010, the naturally and artificially regenerated area in Russia was 810,000 hectares, slightly less than in previous years���������������������������������� (Figure 6.1). The share of plant- ing and sowing was 177,000 hectares. In Northwest Russia, one quarter of annual forest regeneration is done artificially. Regional variation, however, is significant and in the Leningrad and Pskov regions, for example, the share of artificial regeneration is greater than that of natural regeneration (Figure 6.2, Table 6.1). Silviculture 35Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 6.1. Forest regeneration in Russia and Northwest Russia (in forests belonging to the forest fund). (Sources: Forests in Russia 2010, Maslyakov 2011, Okhrana okruzhayushchey…2010, Osnovnye pokazately…2005) Figure 6.2. Forest regeneration in the regions of Northwest Russian in 2009 (in forests belonging to the forest fund). (Source: Okhrana okruzhayushchey…2010) 728 677 599 531 594 649 661 635 646 633 232 236 227 203 164 173 196 192 187 177 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1998 2000 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1, 00 0 ha Russia Natural regeneration Sowing and planting 111 110 108 101 119 136 134 129 131 43 47 46 46 38 40 40 43 35 1998 2000 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Northwest Russia 0 40 80 120 160 200 1, 00 0 ha 39 15 33 9 2 5 1 26 5 5 2 11 5 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 Arkhangelsk region Rep. of Komi Leningrad region Murmansk region Novgorod region Pskov region Vologda region 1, 00 0 ha Artificial regeneration Natural regeneration 1 2 Rep. of Karelia Silviculture 36 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Although, since the 1970s, the area of forest regeneration has regularly exceed- ed the area of annual clear fellings, forest regeneration in Russia is problematic. There are almost 30 million hectares of treeless area waiting to be regenerated, the majority of which is burnt by forest fires. Over 60% of the forest regeneration in Russia takes place in leased areas at the cost of leaseholders (Figure 6.3). Companies leasing forest can buy services for forest regeneration from subcontractors, or carry out the work themselves. The forest owner, i.e. the Russian Federation, does not offer any incentives for good quality regeneration, and companies’ interest towards forest regeneration, under relatively short forest lease periods, is not very high. Problems occur, es- pecially in smaller companies with weaker economic state. In forest areas where regeneration is carried out by the regional authorities, financing also seems to be insufficient despite state subventions. Also, methods of regeneration require updating and new approaches to be productive. Table 6.1. Forest regeneration in 2009. Region Forest regeneration in total Natural regeneration Artificial regeneration 1,000 ha Russia 834 646 187 Northwest Russia 165 130 35 Arkhangelsk region 44 39 5 Republic of Karelia 21 15 5 Republic of Komi 35 33 2 Leningrad region 20 9 11 Murmansk region 3 2 1 Novgorod region 10 5 5 Pskov region 2 1 2 Vologda region 30 26 4 (Source: Okhrana okruzhayushchey...2010) Silviculture 37Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 6.3. Forest regeneration in leased forest areas and forests outside leasing. (Source: Maslyakov 2011) 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1, 00 0 ha Regeneration in leased forests Regeneration in forests outside leasing Artificial Artificial Natural Natural 6.2 Production of Tree Seeds and Seedlings In Russia, about 400 tonnes of seeds are collected annually from over 100 tree and shrub species (Figure 6.4). At present, less than 5% of the amount of used tree seeds is improved genetically, but the aim is to increase the share to 30% within the next 10–15 years. Before the 2006 Forest Code, seed collection was the responsibility of the for- est districts. During the reorganisation of the forest administration, material, equipment and premises related to seed production were privatized, although most of it was outdated and worn-out. The Forest Code does not include un- ambiguous determination for responsibilities and the financing of seed collec- tion activities between the Federation and regions. This has led to degradation of the seed collection. To improve and centralize production, and enhance seed quality, the Federal Forestry Agency Rosleskhoz has promised to create a net- work of tree seed breeding centres. 33 centres are planned to be built in total. In 2011, six centres should be established of which two are in Northwest Russia: one in theArkhangelsk, and one in the Leningrad region. At the Federal level, seed collection is coordinated by the Russian Forest Pro- tection Centre, ‘Roslesozashchita’, a state-owned company that organises the collection, handling and storage of the Federal seed reserve, and is also respon- sible for its necessary supervision. Roslesozashchita has 39 regional departments throughout Russian Federation. Silviculture 38 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 6.4. Seed collection by tree species in Russia. (Source: Okhrana okruzhayushchey…2010) Annually in Russia, about 900 million tree or shrub seedlings are produced to meet the demand of forest regeneration. The former state nurseries were transformed to state enterprises working on a commercial basis. In addition, seedlings are produced in private enterprises and some big corporations have their own seedling production facilities. The 33 planned tree seed breeding centres, to be established by Rosleskhoz, will also produce seedlings. According to Rosleskhoz, despite the decreasing trend in seedling production, the volume has been sufficient for annual plantings (Figure 6.5). Figure 6.5. Supply and demand of tree seedlings in Russia. (Source: Maslyakov 2011) 6.3 Seedling Stand Management In 2009, the tending of seedling stands (ukhod za molodnyakami) covered about 350,000 hectares of Russian forest land (Figure 6.6). In Russia, manual clearing with brush knives and axes is still the most common practice to tend seedling stands. 1,031 999 880 687 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 2008 2009 2010 2011 m ill io n se ed lin gs Production Demand 487 701 468 355 514 412 251 0 200 400 600 800 2000 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Other Oak Cedar Pine, spruce, larch 1, 00 0 kg Silviculture 39Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 6.6. Tending of seedling stands in Russia and Northwest Russia (in forests belonging to the forest fund). (Sources: Forests in Russia 2010; Okhrana okruzhayushchey…2010; Osnovnye pokazateli…2005; Svedeniya gosudarstvennogo…2005, 2007, 2008) Seedling stand management is divided into two parts: cleaning (osvetleniye), and the thinning of the sapling stand (prochistka). Cleaning aims at manipulat- ing the tree species composition, as well as improving the growing conditions and quality of the main tree species. Cleaning is conducted, depending on the tree species, site factors and natural conditions, before the stand is 5, 10, or 20 years of age. Thinning of the sapling stand is performed after the cleaning, but before the stand is 10, 20 or 40 years of age. The recommended removal in seedling stand management depends on the tree species composition and site factors, varying between 15 and 70% of the original volume of the stand. The objectives are to improve the stem form of individual trees by regulating the growing conditions and the stand density, as well as to manipulate the tree species composition. 6.4 Intermediate Fellings In Russian forestry intermediate fellings (rubki ukhoda za lesami) are catego- rised as follows: Seedling stand management (ukhoda za molodnyakami): See Section 6.3. Thinning of young stands (prorezhivaniye): The objective is to create optimal conditions for the growth of the best trees in a stand. Underdeveloped trees and deciduous species that interfere with the development of valuable coniferous individuals are removed. Thinning of young stands is carried out in coniferous and mixed forests in the European part of Russia, when the stand is 21–40 years of age. 548 583 555 566 414 417 378 347 110 131 102 121 83 80 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009 1, 00 0 ha Russia Northwest Russia 2008: Information for NW Russia not available 73 Silviculture 40 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Thinning of maturing stands (prokhodnaya rubka): The objective is to choose the individual trees that are to be grown until the final felling, and by doing this create the best possible conditions for their development. In coniferous and deciduous forests thinnings may be performed as late as 20 years, or 10 years prior to final felling, respectively. Renewal thinning (rubka obnovleniya): Renewal thinnings are performed in middle-aged, mature and over-mature forests where final fellings are not allowed. The main emphasis is to create favourable growing conditions for young trees in the stand. Reformation felling (rubka pereformirovaniya): The objective is to radically al- ter the composition of tree species in the stand. Reformation felling is used when transforming deciduous forests with coniferous undergrowth, or other tree storey to coniferous forests. Landscape felling (landshaftnaya rubka): Aim is to form landscapes in forest parks and improve their aesthetic value and stability. In addition, selective sanitary fellings (sanitarnaya rubka) are carried out in dead or damaged forest stands, and in shelterbelts. The intensity of the thinning depends on the designated function of the forest, tree species composition, stand characteristics, site factors and type of thin- ning. The following classification of thinnings is used for removal of the stand volume: very light <10%; light 11–20%; medium 21–30%; relatively heavy 31– 41%; heavy 41–50%. In 2009, intermediate fellings were performed on an area equal to 665,000 hec- tares, of which half was tending seedling stands (Table 6.2). Selective sanitary fellings were carried out in an area of 327,000 hectares. During the past ten years, the annual average removals in Russia from intermediate fellings have remained at 15–20 million m³ (Figure 6.7). The thinning of young and matur- ing stands comprise about 70% of the total intermediate fellings (Figure 6.8). Silviculture 41Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 6.7. Trends in removals from intermediate fellings in Russia in 2001–2009, forests under Rosleskhoz. (Sources: Forests in Russia 2009, 2010; O sostoyanii...2006, 2007; Svedeniya gosudarstvennogo… 2006, 2007) Table 6.2. Area of intermediate fellings in Russia and Northwest Russian regions in 2009. Region Intermediate fellings in total Seedling stand management Thinning of young and maturing stands Other intermediate fellings 1,000 ha Russia 665 347 295 23 Northwest Russia 112 73 30 9 Arkhangelsk region 19 11 8 1 Kaliningrad region 3 2 1 0 Republic of Karelia 12 10 2 0 Republic of Komi 17 12 2 3 Leningrad region 23 9 8 6 Murmansk region 1 1 0 0 Novgorod region 12 10 2 0 Pskov region 3 3 0 0 Vologda region 23 16 7 0 (Source: Okhrana okruzhayushchey...2010) 13 14 16 18 19 18 24 16 13 6 5 5 6 6 6 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 m ill io n m ³ Selective sanitary fellings* Intermediate fellings * Selective sanitary fellings were classified under intermediate fellings till 2008, the latest data unavailable 6 Silviculture 42 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 6.8. Intermediate fellings in Russia in 2009. (Source: Forests in Russia 2010) Traditionally, intermediate fellings were performed by the forest districts, which used the income from thinnings to cover the financing of their activities. At present, forest administration units are not allowed to perform any fellings. During recent years, the interest in thinnings has increased among the logging companies. As Nordic technology is becoming ever more common, the logging machinery better suited for thinnings also gradually improves the efficiency of the thinning process. However, not only technical aspects but also the lack of an adequate domestic market for small-sized wood, as well as high harvesting costs in comparison with final fellings, have hindered performing commercial thinnings. 6.5 Forest Health and Protection Russian forests are exposed to numerous biotic and abiotic disturbances, such as fire, insect invasions, diseases, wind, etc. leading to the weakened state of trees or totally perished stands. In 2009, the area of disturbed forests was al- most six million hectares, i.e. 0.6% of the total forest land area of Russia. The area of perished forests varies greatly between years; during the last ten years it has been 0.3–1.0 million hectares annually (Figure 6.9). In Northwest Russia the area usually varies between 20,000 and 50,000 hectares; the peak years of 2000 is explained by massive forest fires in the Republic of Komi, and 2005 by the dying of spruce stands caused by drought, and other growing conditions in the Arkhangelsk region. The most common reason for the destruction of forests is fire. Other main factors are unfavourable climate conditions, insects and forest diseases (Figure 6.10). Seedling stand management 2.5 mil.m³ Renewal and reformation fellings 1.2 mil.m³ Landscape cutting 0.5 mil.m³ Thinnings 8.6 mil.m³ Silviculture 43Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Figure 6.9. Area of perished forest stands. (Source: Okhrana okruzhayushchey…2010, Pokazateli lesnogo…2011) Russia Northwest Russia 777 988 311 319 273 427 1,295 164 459 45 29 29 23 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1, 00 0 ha Figure 6.10. Reasons for destruction of forest stands in Russia, in average during 2005- 2009. (Source: Okhrana okruzhayushchey…2010) Forest fires have been an increasing problem in Russia for over a decade, but they became the centre of public attention in the summer of 2010, when fires destroyed large areas and numerous settlements, causing great economic and social losses, as well as health problems in major cities. The extent of forest fires was exceptionally large in the European part of Russia, namely in the Central, Volga and Southern Federal Districts. Recent problems in forest fire management can be seen in the magnitude of fires. The specialized state structure for forest protection (lesnaya okhrana), as well as the Forest Fire Protection Agency ‘Avialesookhrana’, were abolished by the 2006 Forest Code, and responsibility for fire monitoring and extinguishing was transferred to the regions, with unsuccessful results. The reorganisation of forest administration has decreased the amount of employees in forestry by half, which has naturally also influenced the ability to manage fires. In 2006, forest administration units, ‘leskhoz’, employed 91,000 persons, whereas in 2010, the number of workers in the newly formed forest administration units, Insects 4% Diseases 5% Weather cond. 25% Fire 64% Other 2% Silviculture 44 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell ‘lesnichestvo’, was 38,000. On a wider scale, the decentralization of the aerial protection system complicated the work, which requires fast decision-making for moving people and equipment over the administrative borders. Forest fire prevention in leased areas was devolved to the leaseholders. They fulfil their obligations differently depending mainly on the size and solvency of the com- pany. The state has initiated several measures to correct the problems in forest fire management. The Federal Forestry Agency was rearranged in 2010, into an independent organisation working directly under the Russian Government, and additional powers were delegated to it. Subventions for fire management from the Federal budget were increased in 2011, and additional funds for the purchase of fire prevention and extinguishing equipment were allocated. The deficiencies in forest fire regulations in the Forest Code have been corrected. The regional authorities are improving their preparedness by organizing forest fire centres, responsible for monitoring and fire-extinguishing. The centralized control centre in the ‘Avialesookhrana’ has been revived. According to the official statistics, the area of fires in forest land has been the same; two million hectares during the last three years (Figure 6.11). The aver- age size of a forest fire is around 10 hectares in the European part of Russia, whereas in the Far East hundreds of hectares are usually burnt (Figure 6.12). The accuracy of the official statistics has been criticized. In 2010, two inde- pendent research organisations from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the V.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest and the Space Research Institute, estimated the extent of forest fires to be almost 6 million hectares. The stand volume burnt in forest fires usually varies between 12 and 30 million m³. In 2010, 93 million m³ were burnt, which corresponds to half of the total wood harvesting in the country. 1.3 0.9 1.4 2.4 0.5 0.8 1.5 1.0 2.1 2.5 2.4 0 1 2 3 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 m ill io n ha Russia European part of Russia Figure 6.11. Area of burnt forest land in 2000–2010 in Russia. (Source: Pokazateli lesnogo…2011, Tsentralnaya baza…2011) Silviculture 45Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Over 60% of the forest fires are caused by the careless use of fire by individuals. Another common reason for fires is the burning of grass in agricultural land. Less than 10% of forest fires are caused by nature. Regulations on fire safety in forests were tightened in 2010. Outbreaks of insects and diseases occur annually in an area of four million hectares (Figure 6.13). Bark beetles, longhorn beetles and moths usually cause the most serious insect damage, and root-rot is one of the most widely spread forest diseases. On average, protective measures are carried out annually, in 400,000 hectares. All responsibility for forest protection has been delegated to the Russian regions. Only the monitoring of forest pathology is the responsi- bility of the federal authorities. Figure 6.12. Average size of burnt forest area during 2000–2010 in the Federal Districts of Russia. (Source: Calculated from data of Tsentralnaya baza…2011) Figure 6.13. Outbreaks of insects and diseases in Russia. (Source: Tsentralnaya baza…2011) 8.5 10.5 8.1 4.4 3.0 5.1 5.1 4.4 3.6 4.1 4.3 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 m ill io n ha Outbreaks of insects and diseases Burnt forest areas Perished stands St.Petersburg        Moscow Nizhny Novgorod Yekaterinburg Novosibirsk Rostov on Don Khabarovsk Northwestern 11 ha Urals 14 ha Volga 7 ha Central 6 ha Southern and North Caucasian 15 ha Siberian 51 ha Far Eastern 370 ha Silviculture 46 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Sources of Information Forests in Russia 2009. Federal Forestry Agency. VNIILM. 48 p. Forests in Russia 2010. Federal Forestry Agency. VNIILM. 48 p. Gosudarstvennaya programma ‘Razvitiye lesnogo khozyaystva’. 2011. [State pro- gramme ‘Development of forestry’]. Rosleskhoz. 206 p. Kratkiy analiz sostoyaniya gosudarstvennogo upravleniya lesnym khozyaystvom i pred- lozheniya po pervoocherenym meram, napravlennym na sovershenstvovanie lesnogo i smezhnogo zakonodatelstva. 2010. [Short analysis on state forest ad- ministration and the proposal of primary measures for modernising forest and other related legislation]. Ustoychivoe lesopolzovanie 3(25): 2-7. Lesnoy fond i lesopolzovanie (obshchie svedeniya). 2007. [Forest fund and forest use (general information)]. Roslesinforg. Maslyakov, V.N. 2011. Osnovnye itogi raboty lesnogo khozyaystva Rossiyskoy Fe- deratsii v 2010 godu i zadachi na 2011 god. [Presentation of the director of the Rosleskhoz ‘Summary of the activities of forestry in the Russian Federation in 2010 and tasks for 2011’]. Rosleskhoz. Available at: http://www.rosleshoz.gov. ru/media/appearance/57. Accessed 10.5.2011. Ministerstvo prirodnykh resursov Rossiiskoy Federatsii. 2004. [Minisry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation]. Working paper (unpublished), project “The Development of Sustainable Forest Management in NW Russia”, Finnish Forest Research Institute. O sostojanii i ispolzovanii lesnykh resursov Rossiiskoy Federatsii v 2005 g.: gosudarst- venny doklad. 2006. [The state and use of the forest resources of the Russian Fe- deration in 2005: governmental report]. Rosleskhoz. VNIILM. Moscow. 214 p. O sostojanii i ispolzovanii lesnykh resursov Rossiiskoy Federatsii v 2006 g.: gosudarst- venny doklad. 2007. [The state and use of the forest resources of the Russian Fed- eration in 2006: governmental report]. Rosleskhoz. VNIILM. Moscow. 199 p. Okhrana okruzhayushchey sredy v Rossii. 2008. Statisticheskiy sbornik. [Environ- mental protection in Russia 2008. Statistical book.]. Rosstat, Moscow. 253 p. Okhrana okruzhayushchey sredy v Rossii. 2010. Statisticheskiy sbornik. [Environ- mental protection in Russia. 2010. Statistical book.]. Rosstat, Moscow. 303 p. Osnovnye pokazateli lesokhozyaystvennoy deyatelnosti za 1988, 1992-2004 gody. 2005. [Activities in forestry in 1998, 1992-2004]. Rosleskhoz. FGUP “Rosles- inforg”. Moscow. Otsenka ploshchadey lesnykh pozharov na territorii Rossii. 2011. [Evaluation of forest fire area in Russia]. Institut kosmicheskikh issledovaniy Rossiuyskoy Akademii nauk. [Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. Avail- able at: http://smis.iki.rssi.ru/fire_reports/sum2010/s2010.htm. Accessed 22.8.2011. Petrov, V. 2010. Goreli, goryat… budut goret? [Burnt, burning…will be burning?]. Lesprominform 6(72): 24-27. Silviculture 47Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Petrov, V.N. 2010. Effektivnost finansovo-ekonomicheskogo mekhanizma lesnogo khozyaystva. [Effectivity of financial mechanism in forestry]. Lesnoye khozyay- stvo 5: 22-24. Petrov, V.N. 2010. Lesovosstanovlenie v usloviyakh arendy: Prinuzhdenie ili stimuli- rovanie chastnogo biznesa. [Forest regeneration under the conditions of lease: Compulsion or stimulation for private business]. Lesnoye khozyaystvo 1: 22-25. Pimenova, T.V. 2010. Osnovnye napravlenya investitsionnoy politiki v lesnom khozyay- stve na sovremennom etape. [Basic tendency of investment policy in forestry]. Lesnoy vestnik 2: 148-150. Podgotovka k pozharnoopasnomu sezonu, otsenka Rosleskhoza. 2011. [Preparation to forest fire season, evaluation of the Rosleskhoz]. Lesprominform 3 (77): 28-29. Pokazateli lesnogo khozyaystva Rossiyskoy Federatsii. 2011. [Characteristic of forestry in the Russian Federation]. Federalnoye agentstvo lesnogo khozyaystva. [Fe- deral Forestry Agency]. 7 p. Pravila lesovosstanovleniya. 2007. [Rules for forest regeneration]. Ministerstvo prirod- nykh resursov Rossiiskoy Federatsii. [Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia] Pravila ukhoda za lesami. 2007. [Rules for forest tending]. Ministerstvo prirodnykh resursov Rossiiskoy Federatsii. [Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia] Pravila zagotovki drevesiny. 2007. [Logging rules]. Ministerstvo prirodnykh resursov Rossiiskoy Federatsii. [Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia] Prokazin,A.E. 2009. O voprosakh razvitiya lesnogo semenovodstva i vyrashchivaniya posadochnogo materiala v Rossii. [Presentation of the deputy director of the Russian Forest Protection Centre ‘Development of tree seed production and growing of saplings in Russia’]. FGU Roslesozashchita. Available at: http:// www.rcfh.ru/sfera/semenovodstvo/prezentacii. Accessed 11.5.2011. Rossiyskiy tsentr zashchity lesa. 2010. [Russian Forest Protection Centre]. Obzor san- itarnogo i lesopatologichekogo sostoyaniya lesov na zemlyakh lesnogo fonda Rossiyskoy Federatsii za 2009 god. [Review of sanitary and forest pathological state of forests in the lands of forest fund of the Russian Federation in 2009]. Pushkino. 179 p. Rusova, I.G. 2010. Balans dokhodov i raskhodov v lesnom khozyaystve. [Income and cost balance in forestry]. Lesnoye khozyaystvo 1: 25-27. Svedeniya gosudarstvennogo statisticheskogo nablyudeniya po lesopolzovaniyu za 2004 g. 2005. [Information on the state statistical surveillance of forest use in 2004]. Roslesinforg. Svedeniya gosudarstvennogo statisticheskogo nablyudeniya po lesopolzovaniyu za 2005 g. 2006. [Information on the state statistical surveillance of forest use in 2005]. Roslesinforg. Svedeniya gosudarstvennogo statisticheskogo nablyudeniya po lesopolzovaniyu za 2006 g. 2007. [Information on the state statistical surveillance of forest use in 2006]. Roslesinforg. Silviculture 48 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell 49Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell48 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Svedeniya gosudarstvennogo statisticheskogo nablyudeniya po lesopolzovaniyu za 2007 g. 2008. [Information on the state statistical surveillance of forest use in 2007]. Roslesinforg. Tsentralnaya baza statisticheskikh dannykh. [Central Statistical Database]. Rosstat 2011. Available at: http://www.gks.ru/dbscripts/Cbsd/. Accessed: 19.4.2011. Välkky, E., Viitanen, J. & Ollonqvist, P. 2011. Impacts of Changes in Forest and Eco- nomic Policy and Business Preconditions in Russia and Finland - Final Report of the Research Project. Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Insti- tute 218. 131 p. 7 49Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell48 Northwest Russian Forest Sector in a Nutshell Nature Conservation 7.1 Organising Nature Conservation Nature conservation in Russia is based on a network of conservation areas, as well as on protective measures outside actual conservation areas, such as shel- terbelts along water bodies, green belts around population centres, or shelter forests against e