The expert discussion platform launched by WWF-Russia together with its partners in 2015 to develop approaches to sustainable forestry in the country is widening its thematic scope and the number of participants.

The Boreal Forest Platform brings together 18 Russian forestry companies, non-governmental and academic organisations and forest regulatory bodies. The main aim of the project is to encourage intensive sustainable forestry in Russia that preserves intact and other valuable forests.

Among the participants who have recently joined the project are the Forestry Department of Vologda Region, the Forestry Directorate of the Ministry of Industry, Natural Resources, Energy and Transport of the Komi Republic, the certification company Forest Certification and International Paper Russia, one of the leading global producers of cardboard, paper and packaging.

“The Boreal Forest Platform has been running for two years and interest in it fr om both government agencies and forestry companies keeps increasing. We highly appreciate the desire of forestry companies and government representatives to participate in a constructive dialogue, which will help us to establish a model for the intensive use of forests wh ere logging is permitted, while protecting intact forest landscapes, which are diminishing every year. The number of participants joining the project is growing steadily, which allows us to expand the thematic range of our activities and achieve better results. As part of the project we have already conducted five major Russian and international seminars to exchange experience and draw up recommendations to support the shift to sustainable intensive forest stewardship. The next seminar of the Boreal Forest Platform will take place in October this year in the Canadian province of Alberta,” noted Alexander Kostenko, an expert in the WWF-Russia Forest Program and deputy director of the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) in Russia.

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Boreal Forest Platform Field Trip to Finland, 2017

Participants in the program are already actively implementing various techniques for more effective logging, and by combining our efforts within the program they are able to achieve more significant results across the country. International Paper Russia has acted as a consultant to the Boreal Forest Platform and is now joining the project as an active participant. International Paper Russia is a partner and participant of the program for the development of intensive forest management in the Leningrad Region on the federal level.

“We highly appreciate the work of the Boreal Forest Platform in developing intensive forestry techniques across the country. Our business depends on the sustainable development of forests, and we continue to promote and implement the principles of sustainable forestry across the world to support the health and yield of forest ecosystems for future generations. With the help of the Boreal Platform we are planning to involve more representatives of industry and non-governmental organisations in joint projects focused on forest education, developing legal norms, and raising investment in forests,” noted Fedor Grabar, Forest Department director at International Paper Russia.

WWF Russia believes that the Boreal Forest Platform has already become a vital forum for the discussion of topical issues relating to the forest sector, enabling us to identify solutions and explore the experience of other countries in order to adapt the best international forestry practice and implement sustainable intensive forestry techniques in our country in the most effective way.

Headline photo: Boreal Forest Platform Field Trip to Lodeynoe Pole, 2017 // (c) Cristine Tugova, WWF-Russia

For additional information please contact

Alexander Kostenko

Boreal Forest Platform Coordinator

Daria Kudryavtseva

Press Officer

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