V Timber Forum of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Photo: YSIA

On May 31, the 5th Forest Industry Forum was held at the Arctic State Agrotechnological University (AGATU, a partner of the Russian Forest Association) in Yakutia. Its key topics were efficient forest management, reforestation and IT solutions for forestry. The Russian Forest Association was represented by its first vice-president Andrey Goncharov at the event in the VKS format.

Representatives of the scientific and business community discussed the development of infrastructure to stimulate logging in the region. Yakutia has a colossal forest fund - about 254 million hectares, but in terms of logging it is inferior to the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk Region. As representatives of the regional Ministry of Forestry noted, this is due to the low quality of wood and underdeveloped road infrastructure.

Sakhamin Afanasyev, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the State Assembly (Il Tumen) of Yakutia on land relations, natural resources and ecology: “In Yakutia, mainly wooden housing construction is facilitated by federal and republican construction programs. Residents buy wood in large volumes, and it is 98% imported, that is, the funds go to other regions. Forest resources, namely industrial wood, should be used for the needs of the population and business entities. Federal regulations allow this. However, there are a number of reasons that do not contribute to timber harvesting: lack of roads and documentation, as well as low investment attractiveness”.

Andrey Goncharov, First Vice President of the Russian Forest Association: “In order to adequately overcome all the difficulties faced by the forest industry and increase its investment attractiveness, the state and business must act in a single logic, jointly fine-tune measures and support mechanisms, as the President of the Russian Federation has repeatedly spoken about. At the same time, of course, special attention should be paid to the issues of ecology, environmental protection and reforestation”.

The forum is traditionally attended by representatives of leading companies - manufacturers of forestry equipment, heads of timber industry enterprises, as well as representatives of relevant authorities, state organizations of the republic and other regions.