Results of the Year of the Russian Forest association: the Climate Agenda Shapes the Future of the Forest Industry
The Russian Forest association sums up the results of its work in 2021. One of the priority areas of the organization's activities, along with the implementation of the regulatory guillotine mechanism in the forestry complex and the popularization of the principles of responsible forest management, has become activities in the direction of the climate agenda and carbon regulation.
The creation of a national carbon regulation system in Russia includes the development of climate projects - projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing their absorption. The result of their implementation is the introduction of carbon units. The criteria for classifying projects as climatic and the procedure for their verification are developed by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and relevant departments. The Russian Forest association intends to take part in legislative activities in the field of carbon regulation and consolidate the best experience in working with climate projects in cooperation with the scientific and environmental community.
The association is already implementing a number of projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint. «Russian Forest» is involved in the implementation of a circular economy initiated by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia jointly with the UralNII Ecology Federal State Budgetary Institution. The task of the Russian Forest association and other members of the working group is to find and introduce advanced technologies for the processing of wood waste, as well as to determine a unified approach that ensures the accounting and comparability of data on different types of logging and woodworking waste.
Another initiative of the Russian Forest association is a joint one with the Irkutsk Institute of Chemistry named after V.I. AE Favorsky SB RAS pilot project on processing sawdust into organic fertilizer. It is expected that the resulting product can be used for reclamation of disturbed lands, as well as in tree nurseries and agriculture.
As part of FSC Russia, the association takes part in the creation of a roadmap for the transition to intensive forestry, which implies multiple use of the forest fund. This direction is in line with the program for achieving the national development goals of our country - ensuring by 2024 a 100 percent balance of forest harvesting and reproduction.
«The climate agenda is becoming one of the economic factors - this is confirmed by the resolution of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was held in Glasgow in November this year. The forest fund plays an important role in stabilizing the climate, and forest-climatic projects in the coming years will become one of the drivers for the development of the industry in the Russian Federation. It is important that both large companies and medium and even small businesses can implement a climate project. Regulation in this area is still being formed, and we intend to actively participate in the development of this new segment for Russia and the world. The experience of the association and its members already existing in working on projects with a low carbon footprint is an excellent help for the consolidation of future cases», — commented in the Association.
