The 9th International Forestry Forum held in St. Petersburg, October 9-12, 2007, brought together more than 2,500 participants from federal and local governments, timber industry representatives, and leaders from businesses, banks, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to address important issues on the future development of Russia’s forestry sector. Representatives from 37 countries also participated in the forum, including China as a special guest of the event. The 10th International Forestry Forum is scheduled for October 7-10, 2008.
The following issues were considered important for the development of the Russian forestry sector:
1. Changes in export tariff policy for unprocessed wood
2. Forestry management under the conditions of the new Forest Code
3. Best practices for implementing investment projects
4. Identifying constraints hampering the development of the forest industrial complex
including long-term domestic and foreign investments
Participants also discussed the potential and prospects of the forestry sector in the
development of Russia’s biofuel industry.
Strategic Development
Valeriy Roshchupkin, head of the Federal Forest Agency, chaired the plenary session,
“Strategic Vision and Scenarios for Long-Term Development of the Russian Forestry until 2015”. During the session, participants discussed innovative growth strategies, international
cooperation, and cooperative efforts between the Russian government and the private sector
in managing Russia’s resources under the new forest code. Currently federal and regional
governments are involved in developing Russia’s forestry sector, and despite recent changes
in the Russian government, the staff and structure of the Federal Forest Agency remained
intact, which forum participants considered a positive sign.
However, some critics feel the current power sharing arrangement between federal and
regional authorities is retarding regional development in the forestry sector, and the sector
needs a new development plan to be competitive in world markets. For example, critics
frequently cite the current auction system as one of the major obstacles constraining
regional development. Under the current system, regional governments lease forest plots
through an auction system and receive proceeds from the auctions for local budgets.
However, the federal government determines timber prices during auctions, and critics
charge that these plots are leased out based on the minimal rates, thus decreasing the funds
that local budgets receive from the auctions. Viktor Grachev, Deputy Governor and Head of
the Forestry Department, called for regional authorities rather than the federal government
to determine timber prices during auctions.
However, Yuriy Trutnev, Minister of Natural Resources, disagrees with Viktor Grachev, and
stated that the transfer of federal responsibilities to the regional level disrupted the
development of Russia’s forestry sector. First, according to Minister Trutney, 14 regions,
including Karelia Republic, Arkhangelsk oblast, Kalinigrad oblast, and Kaluzhsk oblast, failed
to provide leases for forestry plots, and as a result the volume of sales of timber decreased
by 21 percent in 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. Second, in 2007 forest fires reduced timber inventories in Russia, and Minister Trutnev criticized the response from officials.
To improve the situation in the regions, Minister Trutnev called for a specific model of forest
monitoring based on technical methods (e.g. distance monitoring of forest use, forest fires,
and forest health monitoring) as well as economic methods based on 11 specific long-term
plan indicators. Anatoliy Petrov, Rector of the All-Russian Institute for Upgrading Specialist
of Forestry Sector, called for greater investments in education and emphasized that
government and business should be partners, although the government should take the
initiative in developing educational programs in the forestry sector.
A working group established in 2004 composed of representatives from federal and regional governments, banks, research organizations and forest associations released a report prioritizing the main constraints of the Russian forestry sector. The major constraints highlighted in the report were: the need for forest governance at the federal level as forest is a publicly-owned resource; the inefficient training system and lack of effective incentives for research and innovation activities in the forestry sector; and the lack of clearly defined incentives, tools and principles for managing infrastructure in an efficient manner.
Forest Certification
Mikhail Kobelkov, Director of the Russian Forest Protection Center, updated the participants
on the Russian National Certification System (NCS). Currently the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC) is cooperating in the development of the systems and standards that will be
used in the NCS.
According to Kobelkov, the total area of certified forests under the FSC system is
estimated at 17 million hectares, with an additional five million hectares expected to be certified in the near future.
Table 1: Production of Basic Wood Products: 1990-2006
| Product Description |
Measure Unit |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
2005 |
2006 |
| Lumber |
Million m3 |
75 |
26.5 |
20 |
22 |
21.3 |
| Veneer |
1,000 m3 |
1,597 |
939 |
1,484 |
2,556 |
2,598 |
| Fiberboard |
1,000 m2 |
5,568 |
2,206 |
2,335 |
3,930 |
4,594 |
| Particleboard |
1,000 m3 |
483 |
224 |
278 |
389 |
373 |
| Window Blocks |
1,000 m2 |
- |
5,665 |
3,474 |
2,816 |
2,742 |
| Door blocks |
1,000 m2 |
- |
7,030 |
4,216 |
5,388 |
6,714 |
| Cellulose |
1,000 mt |
7,525 |
4,197 |
4,960 |
5,922 |
5,928 |
| Paper |
1,000 mt |
5,240 |
2,773 |
3,226 |
4,001 |
4,004 |
| Carton |
1,000 mt |
3,085 |
1,301 |
1,985 |
3,125 |
3,447 |
Source: Federal Forestry Agency
Table 2: Wood Products Exports: 2000-2005
| Product Description |
Measure unit |
2000 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
Export to
production
ratio, % |
| Round wood |
1,000 m3 |
30,917 |
37,504 |
41,553 |
47,960 |
44.8 |
| US$ million |
1,312 |
1,803 |
2,398 |
2,858 |
| Lumber |
1,000 MT |
4,536 |
6,477 |
7,689 |
9,027 |
52.8 |
| US$ million |
739 |
1,189 |
1,518 |
1,902 |
| Veneer |
1,000 m3 |
977 |
1,205 |
1,438 |
1,527 |
59.7 |
| US$ million |
222 |
303 |
424 |
529 |
| Cellulose |
1,000 MT |
1,678 |
1,916 |
1,866 |
1,952 |
82.1 |
| US$ million |
596 |
634 |
1297 |
763 |
| Paper |
1,000 MT |
1,168 |
1,198 |
1,297 |
1,358 |
33.9 |
| US$ million |
465 |
417 |
513 |
624 |
Source: Federal Forestry Agency
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