Participants of a round table organized by FLEG II in Krasnoyarsk suggested a number of comprehensive measures to improve the Russian forestry sector.

Forest management improvement is especially relevant for Russian forest regions that have a substantial budget deficit and therefore need comprehensive efficiency-raising measures.

The roundtable was part of the Krasnoyarsk Forest Industry Forum that took place at the Expodrev-2016 exhibition, which gathered industry representatives from all over Russia. The event brought together government officials of Krasnoyarsk Krai, law enforcement authorities, administrations of the districts of Krasnoyarsk Krai, NGOs, timber production business and forest certification experts.

FLEG II consultants and experts presented their recommendations and suggestions at the round table. As a result of the meeting, the participants agreed on a resolution. They decided:

• to acknowledge that FLEG II produced relevant and applicable results, which are useful to all stakeholders of forest management, including those representing the government of Krasnoyarsk Krai.
• To support FLEG’s conclusions about the need to liberalize the regulatory framework of forest management and the transition to the new codification of the forest legislation, based on standards, technical regulations and regional standards of forest management and use.
• Emphasize the urgency of solving the problem of the access to forest resources by local communities living in remote forest areas, in particular, to ensure they are supplied with firewood. Learn more
• To improve the legislation in the field of protective forests by developing special technical regulations and standards for their protection, reproduction and use. Learn more
• Approve the proposed approach of improving the planning and management efficiency in combatting wildfires on the basis of forest fire zoning and determining the annual burning norms and recommend further work on the implementation of this approach in forest management. Learn more
• To note the need to improve the regulatory framework and the development of models of forest restoration for various purposes, taking into account their economic and social importance, as well as the causes of the deforestation. Learn more

Participants paid special attention to improving the regulation of forests protection. They talked about the need to accelerate the process of development and approval of subordinate legislation required for the entry into force of the Federal Law "On amendments to the Forest Code of the Russian Federation in terms of improving the regulation of forest protection from pests" (passed by the State Duma on December 16, 2015). It requires the preparation of about 5 new documents and changes in 10-15 others that will ensure the disclosure and regulatory strengthening of the ideas embodied in the federal law. Among them are the new rules of sanitary safety in forests, the procedure for forest pathology surveys and others.