Development of Forest Certification in the Vologda Region and its Role in Ensuring the Wood Felling Legality

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UDС

630*23

DOI:

10.17238/issn0536-1036.2015.2.30

Abstract

The Vologda region is one of the forested regions of Russia, where the high paces of devel-opment of a timber industry complex are maintained. Forest industry in its contribution to the economy of the region occupies a leading position, behind only ferrous metallurgy and chemical industry. Timber and paper products from the Vologda region are exported to more than 50 countries of the world. The main consumers of timber - European Union coun-tries: Finland, Estonia, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic. Despite the success in the forest sector of the economy, the problem of illegal cutting remains unresolved. At present it is impossible to identify areas with lack of illegal wood felling. Cases of illegal logging are not excluded on the territory of the existing network of protected territories. Illegal cutting causes material damage to the economy of the region and create the preconditions for threats to environmen-tal security in the country as a whole. Significant volumes of illegal logging are caused by the lack of effective forest protection and proper accounting of forest management, abundant forests with unclear status, deteriorating socio-economic situation of the rural population. Unfortunately, the current Russian legislation, are not able to ensure an effective fight against illegal logging and timber turn-round. One of the directions, contributed to reduction of illegal logging, is the introduction of forest certification according to Forest Stewardship Council system. An important driving factor of the active adoption of certification in Russia was the introduction in the USA the amendments to the Lacy Law, as well as the adoption of the relevant regulations by the European Union. In the Vologda region gradually increas-es the area of certified forests, the amount of enterprises, certifying their supply chains. At the present time in the region is certified 2.4 million ha of forests, representing about 7 % of the area of certified forests in Russia according to the Forest Stewardship Council system. Certificates of supply chain of timber have 18 enterprises. Forestry enterprises, participating in the process of certification, confirmed the legality of the origin of timber and paper prod-ucts. This allows companies to freely conduct their export activities and reduces the risk of advent of illegal origin timber on the domestic and foreign market.

Authors

S.A. Korchagov, Doctor of Agriculture, Professor, I.N. Lupanova, Postgraduate Student

Affiliation

Vologda State Dairy Farming Academy named by N.V. Vereshchagin, Pankratova, 9/7, Molochnoe vil., Vologda, 160555, Russia; е-mail: kors45@yandex.ru

Keywords

voluntary forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council, timber in-dustry complex, export of timber, illegal wood logging.

References

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