Key trends in forest industry: reforestation

We've compiled ten key trends that have impacted the forestry industry over the past decade and will continue to shape it in the coming years. The fourth trend on our list is reforestation.

Since 2022, new rules for reforestation have come into force: the terminology has changed, new responsibilities have been added, and the deadlines for fulfilling mandatory requirements have shifted. Also in 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation signed a decree regulating forestry on abandoned agricultural lands (currently the area of unused agricultural land suitable for growing forests is more than 75 million hectares).

With changes in legislation and economic behavior of industry participants, technology has also changed. For example, Roslesozashchita plans to introduce genetic passports for Russian forests, which will allow for more efficient reforestation work. New equipment is being developed and implemented that can grow seedlings and saplings in a shorter period of time. One of the most popular technologies is planting material with a closed root system (CRS). Its advantages are lower seed consumption, obtaining standard planting material in one growing season and the ability to plant throughout this entire period.

Members of the Russian Forest association make their contribution to forest restoration. A tree nursery in Angarsk (Irkutsk region) grows coniferous seedlings with ZKS. The infrastructure is designed for 5 million seedlings per year using two rotations and the possibility of increasing to 15 million.

National organizations and non-profit initiatives play an important role in forest restoration. The All-Russian campaign “Save the Forest” has been held since 2019, within its framework 70 million trees are planted annually. This year the event took place in all regions of the country, and on December 1, the 70 millionth anniversary tree was planted in Crimea. For several years, the all-Russian action “Forest Conservation” of the Federal Forestry Agency has also been taking place, the goal of which is to ensure a balance of forest disposal and reproduction in the ratio of 100% by 2024. This figure was achieved already in 2021: then the ratio was 109.6%. The target for reforestation and afforestation in 2023 is 1.4 million hectares.

According to Rosselkhozbank estimates, the implementation of initiatives aimed at restoring and preserving forests will become the main driving force behind the transformation of the industry in the coming decades. For sustainable development, reforestation activities will require about 50 billion rubles. investments per year.

This year, according to Rosleskhoz, the area of reforestation work will be 1,425 thousand hectares.