HCVF Project Steering Committee Recommends More Active Outspread of Silver Taiga Experience in Russian Regions

Steering Committee of the High Conservation Value Forest project implemented by the Silver Taiga Foundation since 2008 held its annual meeting.

The objectives of the first stages of the project were search and introduction of compromise solutions to preserve and sustainably manage intact forest massifs in the Komi Republic and adjacent regions. Bit by bit, other sections were added to the core activity, they include Ecosystem and Landscape Background for Forestry and FSC Planning, Fishery Resource Management with Local Population: Model River Mezen, Evaluation of the Long-Term Impact of Forestry (Logging) on Water Resources…

As was agreed with the sponsor, Mondi Group, the project progress is controlled by a special independent body – the Steering Committee, with its members representing Russian environmental non-profit organizations and Komi Republic environmental authorities. Environmental NGOs in the Steering Committee are represented by Aleksey Yaroshenko, head of the Forestry program at Greenpeace Russia, Tatiana Yanitskaya, deputy director of FSC Russia. The regional state environmental authorities were represented by Roman Polshvedkin, first deputy minister of industry of the Komi Republic, Sergey Shevelev, head of forestry administration and deputy minister of industry of the Komi Republic, and Andrey Krivoshein, head of forestry sector department of the Komi Republic ministry of industry.

The target of the annual meeting of the Steering Committee is to assess the last-year project progress and agree on the plans for the upcoming year. Since transparency is one of the Silver Taiga’s basic principles, in addition to the Steering Committee members and the Foundation’s staff the meeting was attended by numerous guests – representatives of forestry companies, Forestry Union of the Komi Republic, environmental organizations, forest exploitation plan developers, etc.

Having heard the report on each section of the HCVF project, the Steering Committee members noted the progress in handling the project objectives and provided their recommendations. In particular, they advised to spread Silver Taiga’s experience and practices in other regions of Russia.

The Steering Committee accepted the 2017 project plans and approved another section – Forest Communities and Sustainable Use of Forest Landscapes. Interaction of local communities and Big Forestry Business – to be included into the project. The proposals for this section had preliminarily been agreed with the sponsor of the High Conservation Value Forest project as well.