DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT PSKOV MODEL FOREST

St. Petersburg documentary film studio “Lennauchfilm” began shooting a film about the Pskov Model Forest. The film was contracted by the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography.

This documentary is intended for broad audience. According to the scriptwriter Tatiana Vershinina, “information about the new approach to sustainable forestry should not be only available to specialists, so our main objective is to deliver materials in a user-friendly form”.

Although Tatiana Vershinina had followed developments in the Pskov Model Forest for quite awhile, conversion of forestry-specific information into a 30-minute video film is quite challenging. The shooting team visited the model forest area in Strugo-Krasnensky District and operations of STF-Strug Company, met with project specialists, the company’s management and the local community. Their plans also include shooting in Sweden, where sustainable forest management has long and successful history.

“Indeed, making a film about topical forestry issues is not at all easy,” agrees Boris Romanyuk, scientific director of the Pskov Model Forest, “so we are planning to work in close cooperation with the shooting team to make the most of this project and combine the user-friendly format with technologically significant results obtained by the Pskov Model Forest”.

The documentary film about the Pskov Model Forest is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.

Shooting of the film	Pine seedlings	Project expert Victor Reshetov
Shooting of the film	Nature trail	Project’s scientific director Boris Romanyuk

Swedish experts evaluated the economical calculation tools and the tools for remote sensing techniques and expressed their favorable opinion regarding these deliverables. They also shared information about the current national forest monitoring systems and methods used in Sweden to interpret satellite images.

According to Boris Romanyuk, the project’s scientific director, professional communication with the Swedish colleagues was very efficient in broadening the outlook of Russian experts. “We had productive discussions and an opportunity to compare Russian and Swedish economic parameters required for developing forest management plans based on product specification, thus this communication was a great learning experience,” said B.Romanyuk. “As is known, the pricing structure on different assortments in Sweden differs from what we currently have in Russia; besides, forest management is oriented to wood processing rather than selling round wood”, explained he.

In the near future Pskov project specialists are planning to do a case study and conduct economic analysis of forest management operations over 100 years using Swedish parameters and prices. These calculations will be made based on the economic planning model developed within the Pskov Model Forest.

	Young environmentalists initiate an action aimed to protect forest undergrowth

Nadezhda Solodova, coordinator of Pskov WWF Friends Clubs, notes that “numerous regions in the Russian Federation have already compiled Red Books of region-specific rare and endangered species, while the City of Pskov fell behind in this work; Pskov WWF Friends Clubs, as the first step, suggest compiling the electronic version of the Pskov-City Red Book of rare plants”. Young nature lovers are going to start this work with an attempt to locate on the territory of Pskov 24 plant species that are considered to be rare.

	Young environmentalists initiate an action aimed to protect forest undergrowth

The Foresters’ Day is a bonding event for the local community. Local residents with their families come to the festival venue to enjoy the holiday program This year the program included a thematic show and professional competitions of chainsaw operators and forwarder drivers. The forest administration awarded diplomas of excellence to the best forest specialists. In the evening holiday fireworks illuminated the area.

Historically, Strugo-Krasnensky District in Pskov Oblast has always been oriented to forestry. Over 60 % of the District’s territory is covered in forests; the allowable annual cut is over 500 thousand cubic meters. According to estimations, about 70 % of population in the District is associated with the forest sector.

	Issues of cross-border cooperation were discussed by Evgeny Lukyanov, Deputy Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation in the North-Western Federal District; Mikhail Kuznetsov, Governor of Pskov Oblast; and Alexander Veshnyakov, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Latvia (left to right)

The international conference “Cross-border cooperation: Russian Federation, European Union and Norway” is the annual event for cross-border cooperation actors and stakeholders from Russia, EU and Nordic countries. The Pskov Region borders on three states, Belarus, Estonia and Latvia (the latter two are the EU member states), so cross-border cooperation and tourism represnt priority directions of regional development. No wonder, Pskov was chosen to become this year’s conference venue.

The conference was opened by Evgeny Lukyanov, Deputy Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation in the North-Western Federal District, Mikhail Kuznetsov, Governor of Pskov Oblast, and Alexander Veshnyakov, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Latvia. Representatives of the Russian parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Regional Development, as well as the European Commission, Nordic governmental officials and international organizations involved in cross-border cooperation took part in the conference.

During the conference Valery Nikin, deputy head of the Administration of Strugo-Krasnensky District in Pskov Oblast, and project specialists shared their experience in regional cooperation and made proposals on further development of the model forest area located on the territory of the district. In his presentation Mr. Nikin emphasized the significant role of the Pskov Model Forest in promoting sustainable forest management, ecotourism and environmental awareness on the territory of Pskov Oblast.

	Project’s biodiversity expert Elena Mosyagina

The field data, including the commercial structure of forest stands, will be analyzed by Pskov specialists in order to evaluate the economic potential of Dvinsko-Pinezhsky massif. This work is carried out within the frame of the dissemination component of the Pskov Model Forest Project.

For information: Dvinsko-Pinezhsky massif in Arkhangelsk Oblast is the last large-size area of intact forests that survived in Europe. WWF Russia developed a conservation strategy for this valuable forest site through the establishment of a specially protected territory.

In June the project published an updated version of the brochure “Commercial Thinning for Intensive Forest Management” (1,500 copies).