Workshop participants

In February Pskov project staff and partner organizations discussed objectives and activities for Phase II of the Pskov Model Forest. The three-day workshop in Leningrad Oblast was attended by WWF Russia forest program coordinator Andrei Ptichnikov, consultant of the World Bank Sustainable Forestry Pilot Project Sergei Pitovranov, Stora Enso environmental manager Olga Rogozina, deputy director of Lisino Forestry College Vladimir Kholodkov, forest officers from WWF projects in Arkhangelsk and the Far East.

The workshop discussion resulted in the Draft Plan for Phase II of the Pskov Model Forest (2004-2007). PMF scientific director Boris Romanyuk who led the discussion, says that the document summarizes ideas and proposals made by the project specialists, partners and donors. According to the Draft Plan, major objectives for Phase II are to finalize work on key technologies of intensive forestry and to establish a system for dissemination of sustainable forest management methods in Northwest Russia. Project activities are going to center upon technologies of economically viable intensive forest management, including improved forest inventory methods, economic planning based on thinning operations as a key factor of improved forest quality and other technological issues.

The Draft Plan gives considerable attention to the dissemination of the project outcomes. The dissemination network is going to include the World Bank Sustainable Forestry Pilot Project, WWF forest project in Arkhangelsk, Lisino Forestry College in Leningrad Oblast and the Department of Natural Resources of Pskov Oblast. For example, Lisino College is going to focus on establishing a system of training in intensive forestry technologies, while forest administration of Pskov Oblast will be involved in the process of disseminating regional forest management norms that ensure transition to intensive and sustainable forestry on the territory of this region.

The workshop was an important step in facilitating the project planning process. Exchange of opinions among the participants would help to coordinate the model forest activities with other projects within the Russian-Swedish Forest Sector Cooperation Programme, the World Bank Project and WWF Russia forest projects.

	Sergei Bourmistrov is handing over project work to Tamara Rusina

There is a change in the project leadership: since April 1, 2004, the leader of the Pskov Model Forest is Tamara Rusina. In accordance with WWF Russia staff policy, the former leader Sergei Bourmistrov has been appointed the leader of the Program on National Parks and Zapovedniks.
Tamara Rusina has extensive work experience in forestry related fields. After graduating from the Biology Department of Moscow University, 10 years she worked in the radioecology laboratory of her alma mater, after which she moved to the State Forest Committee. Her last job was with WWF Russia where she worked as forest program coordinator in the Russian Far East.

Tamara Rusina holds a doctorate degree in biology.

On February 20^th, the WWF Pskov Model Forest Project invited local journalists to a press conference held under the motto “The new Forest Code is a threat to Russian forests!” Similar press conferences organized in Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Petersburg, Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk and Ufa, were part of the campaign against a draft of the new Forest Code proposed by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources. The goal of this campaign initiated by WWF Russia is to convince the government that it is necessary to work out the details of the new document more thoroughly taking into account the input of forest specialists, environmentalists, NGOs and the public.

Among the participants of the press conference in Pskov were B.Romanyuk, scientific director of Pskov Model Forest; N.Zateshilov, director of the Regional Development Agency; V.Chevidayev, chairperson of the Pskov Association of Timber Entrepreneurs. They pointed out that the new Forest Code is underdeveloped and does not stipulate clear rules of the privatization of forests and public control over privatization. The new draft threatens the existing system of protected areas (zapovedniks) and does not create conditions for rational long-term forest land-use.

At the beginning of March, the Pskov Model Forest Project presented its outcomes and recommendations at the international conference “Forest Sector of Northwest Russia on the Way to Responsible Business and Sustainable Forest Management” held in Arkhangelsk. The conference was organized by the Administration of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Association of Pomorye Producers, the World Bank and WWF Russia. Over one hundred participants representing forest companies, western buyers of timber, NGOs, research and educational institutions, took part in the conference, which addressed the current situation and perspectives of sustainable forest management in the Northwestern Region of Russia.

Scientific director of the project Boris Romanyuk made a presentation on the intensive forest management model that had been developed during the project’s first phase and is now being applied on the territory of Pskov Oblast in cooperation with the regional department of natural resources. Romanyuk emphasized the idea that the present situation in the forest sector calls for immediate actions. For example, out of 3mln cubic meters of allowable annual cut in Pskov Oblast only 1.5mln cubic meters of timber is actually harvested, of which 0.5mln is unauthorized logging. “The intensive model of sustainable forest management developed by the Pskov Project specialists aims to resolve today’s problems by creating incentives for responsible long-term forest business, providing for increased production and establishing a favorable investment environment,” concluded Romanyuk.

The conference identified the following priority areas in the development of the forest sector in Northwest Russia: the development of regional forest policy, national and regional certification standards, guidelines and norms regulating forest land-use and management based on conservation of biological diversity.

	Clear-cut forest compartment with retained biotopes

The Pskov regional department of natural resources and the Pskov Model Forest are planning to sign an agreement on cooperation in the development and application of region-specific norms of forest land-use and management in Pskov Oblast. This decision was taken at a meeting in Pskov on March 19th. The three-year-long cooperation program aims to provide support to the regional administration in development and testing of improved, market-oriented forest regulations based on sustainable forest management. The participants of the program are the regional forest administration, local entrepreneurs and the Pskov Model Forest specialists.

Private sector representatives confirmed their awareness of the need for change in the forest management system and their willingness to be involved in this process. Companies interested in active participation in the new regional program are long-term leaseholders, such as STF-Strug, STF-Gdov, Sarbona and Pskovlestoprom. They are ready to pioneer in application and testing of new norms for final felling, forest regeneration and thinning operations.

Pskov Oblast with its total area of 53,000sq kilometers has diverse landscape, soil and vegetation compositions. In order to develop accurate area-specific norms, it is necessary to survey forests in different parts of the region. On the basis of field data the territory of Pskov Oblast is going to be divided into homogeneous districts and optimal sets of forest management norms are going to be developed for key districts. According to scientific director of the project Boris Romanyuk, this work is to be done during the initial stage of the program. The Pskov project is currently preparing for conducting field survey in Gdov, Plussa and some parts of Strugo-Krasnenskiy Districts of Pskov Oblast.

	Bert-Åke Näslund, NBF officer

At the end of March, head of international contractual services in the Swedish National Board of Forestry Bert-Åke Näslund met with the Pskov Model Forest Project leaders in Petersburg. The National Board of Forestry is one of the actors in the Russian-Swedish Forest Sector Cooperation Programme (2004-2007) implemented in the framework of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). During his meeting with Pskov project specialists Bert-Åke Näslund discussed a series of issues related to PMF Phase II Plan and interaction of Pskov project with other projects within the Cooperation Program.

As a result of discussions with their Swedish colleague, Russian partners are going to finalize the Pskov project working plan and budget and present these documents for initial approval by the end of April. It is common hope that the contract for Pskov Project Phase II should be signed before long, tentatively already in May.

After Petersburg, Bert-Åke Näslund moved to Moscow where he continued discussions and consultations with the Russian authorities regarding the Russian-Swedish Forest Sector Cooperation Programme. His working scheduled included meetings in the Ministry of Natural Resources and WWF Russia.

Mid March, scientific director of the Pskov Model Forest Boris Romanyuk took part in a workshop “Intensive Model of Sustainable Forest Management”. The workshop was organized for specialists from Stora Enso subsidiary companies in Russia.

O. Dementiev. The Ax On a Spree In the Forest.
“Novosti Pskova” (“Pskov News”, Pskov city daily newspaper). 27 February 2004.
N. Medvedyev. No Master In the Forest.
“Parliamentary Newspaper”. 16 March 2004.
S. Prokopieva. Forests ‘In Law’.
“Pskovskaya Gubernia”. 3 March 2004.

Photos by Alexandr Evgrafov(photo 2), Elena Yablochkina (photo 3), Andrey Bublichenko (photo 4), Sergey Kischenko (photo 5), Pyotr Petrov (photo 6)