The aim of the Finnish-Russian forest cooperation is to support the balanced development of the Russian forest sector towards the sustainable use and management of forests. From 2009 the Russian party in this cooperation is the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation and in particular the Federal Forest Agency operating under it.
The main tool for cooperation is the Finnish-Russian development Programme on Sustainable Forest Management and Conservation of Biodiversity in Northwest Russia, which is a cross-border programme financed by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The programme is implemented in two parts: forestry projects are co-ordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, whereas the nature conservation projects are co-ordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE.
Fourth stage of the North-West Russian Forestry Programme 2009–2011
The fourth stage of the Finnish-Russian Development Programme on Sustainable Forest Management and Conservation of Biological Diversity in North-West Russia focuses on the introduction of Scandinavian forest management methods in North-West Russia, supporting the reform of the Russian forest administration and promoting public-private partnerships. The programme includes the following projects:
1. Development of forest administration in Karelia
2. Development of Scandinavian forest management in the Vologda Region
3. Expert services in the Komi Republic
4. Innovative forestry in the Nizhny Novgorod Region
5. Training of leaders and experts in regional forest administration
The projects are implemented by a consortium selected by competitive tendering, where the leadpartner is Indufor Oy. Other expert organizations taking part in the implementation are Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla), Metsähallitus, Forestry Development Centre Tapio and TAMK School of Applied Science.
The parties responsible for the projects in Russia are the regional forest administration agencies in Karelia, Vologda, Komi and Nizhny-Novgorod. The Russian Institute of Continuous Education in Forestry in Pushkino, Moscow Region is responsible for the training project.
The focus of the previous stage of the progamme (implemented in 2005-2009) was on supporting the reform process of the Russian forest sector. Further training of forest professionals was also one of the key priorities in the projects. Thefirst two stages of the development programme (1997 - 2000 and 2001 - 2004) included forest planning, development of the model forest concept, forest regeneration, certification and development of bioenergy know-how.
Forest Summits
Forest Summits headed by the Prime Ministers are a very important element of the Finnish-Russian forest cooperation. The last summit was held in St. Petersburg in October 2009. The first summit was held in Moscow in March 2002 and the second in Helsinki in October 2004. The summit offers a forum for discussions on development perspectives of investments in the forest sector, wood trade and other actual topics. In the last summit the initiative of organizing a Finnish-Russian Forest Forum for decision makers was raised by the Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.
Working Groups
Between the summits work is being done in the Working Group on Sustainable Forestry and the Working Group on Forest Industry, that operate under the Finnish-Russian Economic Commission. The Working Group on Sustainable Forestry conducts a two year programme (2009-2010) for increasing knowledge transfer between experts in the field of forest regeneration, forest road construction and forest bioenergy. The Working Group also functions as the steering committee for the North West Russia Forestry Programme.