| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST
By Maria Tysiachniouk and Jonathan Reisman
Since Gorvachev's reforms in the late 1980s, Russian legislation and the policy-making process have been in a state of constant change. At the same time, both international and local NGO networks have become significant political and social actors. Furthermore, the heightening of globalisation has brought changes to government-civil society interactions and the ways in which timber is produced, transported and consumed. Environmental policy researchers traditionally focus on state-civil society-market relations within one country, but Russia - like other countries - is now a participant in global markets and the global civil society. These worldwide forces and flows influence governments and reshape the traditional ways of creating rules as well the response of local and international organisations.
By analysing the partnership between WWF and the forest company Terney Les, which is involved in forest trade with Japan, we aim to find out how international and local environmental organisations promote forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and try to prevent illegal logging in the Russian Far East. This partnership was created in order to bring FSC forest certification to the region as an alternative to highly inefficient and destructive logging. Our analysis will focus on the controversy arising from the interests of the indigenous Udegey people on the land rented for logging by Terney Les.
Environmentally sound
markets
WWF is trying to adapt the Russian forest industry to environmentally sound
markets. In Asia, there is a high demand for uncertified, and thus cheaper,
wood. WWF in the Far East hires experts to analyse market opportunities in Northeast
Asia in order to find buyers interested in certified wood. We will assess these
efforts and consider the difficulties and barriers to fostering FSC certification
in the region, given the dearth of environmental sensitivity in these markets.
The specific context of this region influences WWF's objectives, strategy and activities. According to WWF, governmental forest protection agencies underreport the level of illegal logging along the Russian-Chinese border. WWF claims that the control system is inadequate and poorly funded due to the socio-economic conditions of present-day Russia. In this context, supplementing law enforcement is a WWF priority in the region. We will analyse WWF's partnership with law enforcement structures operating under the regional branch of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources in preventing illegal logging in the region.
Globalisation has brought many growing dangers to the forest resources in the Russian Far East. Public-private partnerships, however, can help to civilise even the most environmentally insensitive markets. The presence of international environmental organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and many other NGO networks in the Russian forestry sector is essential. Without this international intervention and the informal networks created by these organisations, Russia could easily become a worldwide exporter of under-priced and unsustainably produced roundwood.
Further information:
Dr Maria Tysiachniouk
Center for Independent Social Research
PO Box 55
St. Petersburg 191002
Russian Federation
E-mail: tysiachn@hotmail.com