Forest climate projects are eco-initiatives that increase the potential of forests to absorb carbon dioxide. Their main goal is to reduce the level of greenhouse gas pollution and prevent a climate catastrophe. Over the past decades, Russia’s “green wealth” has suffered greatly due to over-logging, forest fires and unsuccessful reforestation, so it’s time to take care of it.
Certified forests climate projects of the Russian Federation
According to the World Bank, more than 250 forest climate projects (FCP) have been approved and implemented in the world. Russia, too, has not stood aside, however, so far there are only four such initiatives (plus one more at the development stage), although the potential of the country’s territories is huge: the area of abandoned agricultural land suitable for planting trees is about 76 million hectares. Aleksey Klimanov, head of the “Green Economy” program of the World Wildlife Fund WWF, noted that when Russia succeeds in attracting international investment, there will be more projects.
Within the framework of the FCP, it is not enough just to plant seedlings and take care of them. First, you need to select tree species based on their ability to absorb CO2, calculate how many carbon credits will be received, and pass international certification. The total cost of restoring 1 hectare of forest is about 20 million rubles, so not all companies are ready to take part in this important matter.
The implementation of forest climate projects is one of the main conditions for the country to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. To do this, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, Russia needs to compensate for at least 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Part of the atmospheric pollution will be taken over by forests, known for their ability to actively absorb CO2.
Let’s consider some of the most successful regional cases.
Restoration of field shelterbelts in Altai
The problem of the destruction of the fertile layer is especially serious in the steppe Altai. The region has a climatic impact not only on Siberia, but also on the European part of Russia, on neighboring countries, therefore, special attention is riveted to it.
Forest belts protect the lands of Altai from wind erosion (blowing out of the fertile soil layer). After a series of unauthorized cuttings and grass fell, they were in a distressed situation, due to which the southern border of desertification advanced by more than 50 kilometers. To protect farmland, it was decided to increase the area of shelterbelts from 69,000 to 190,000 hectares. To this end, the organizers of the reforestation project — WWF Russia and the Yves Rocher Foundation — planted 4.6 million trees between 2010 and 2015. The climate goal of this initiative is to absorb 4.7 million tons of CO2 per year.
Protection of cedar-deciduous forests in the Far East
Cedar-deciduous forests are the natural habitat of the Amur tiger, listed in the Red Book, as well as many other animals. In addition, this is the only source of income for residents of taiga settlements, including the “Tiger” community of indigenous peoples. To preserve the forest, a remote monitoring system has been developed that allows timely response to illegal cutting of trees. The project was successfully implemented in 2013 and received a gold level of international audit, as its goals, in addition to combating global warming, were to preserve biodiversity and improve people’s living conditions.
“Terneyles” — voluntary forest conservation
In 2014, the timber processing company “Terneyles” voluntarily decommissioned 450,000 hectares of valuable forest species. This decision was reinforced by the signing of a memorandum with WWF. Evgeny Chuvasov, Head of Sustainable Forest Management Department at WWF Russia Amur branch, noted that the project is based on treating the forest as a natural wealth, a habitat for wild animals and the largest carbon storage.
Rusal’s Green million project
In 2019, employees of the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum plant of the Rusal company landed in Krasnoyarsk Territory and Irkutsk region has 1 million coniferous trees: spruce, pine, larch. This initiative will help the company reduce its carbon footprint. Nikolai Krotov, Deputy Head of the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation, noted that coniferous trees take root better than others in the Siberian Federal District.
The implementation of the project Green million continues. The company provides air protection of the growing forest, and also plans to increase the scale of reforestation work in the Krasnoyarsk Territory by 2.5-3 times by 2024.
Rosneft’s Environmental Forestation Project
The oil company Rosneft intends to become a leader in the development of environmental forestation projects in Russia. Together with the St. Petersburg State Forest Technical University named after S.M. Kirov, she began to develop a set of measures that will ensure the annual absorption of 10 million tons of CO2 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
New norms for forest-climatic projects
By the end of 2022, new standards for the planning, implementation and evaluation of the FCP will be approved, and it will be clarified which initiatives relate to forest climate projects. Stanislav Fedorov, Head of the Department of State Inventory and Forest Accounting of Roslesinforg, explained that there are international methodologies, but they have to be adapted to the specifics of the Russian climate. Our country consists of several climatic zones, so universal recommendations are not enough — we need gradation by region.
Less greenhouse gases, more income
Evgeny Shvarts, head of the Center for Responsible Nature Resources Management at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that forest climate projects will help Russia achieve carbon neutrality, receive international ESG funding, and also stay on European markets in the new conditions. In addition, the damage caused by forest fires to the nature of the country will be compensated.
Experts from the Higher School of Economics (HSE University) noted that the young forests that are planned to be planted as part of the FCP will be able to absorb even more greenhouse gases than the existing plantations (7-8 tons of CO2 equivalent annually versus 1 ton of CO2). This will allow our country to become one of the world’s main generators of carbon credits and earn more than $50 billion a year.
Carbon credits are an incentive for businesses that have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions below their allocated quotas (set caps). Exceeding quotas threatens with fines, downgrading of the company’s rating and loss of interest in its securities. Organizations whose emissions have exceeded the norm can purchase carbon credits from more successful enterprises. Their trade within the country or region has already been established, in the future such an opportunity will appear on the international market. The first sale of carbon credits in Russia took place in May 2021 at an international conference at the Altai Technical University. The large chain “Tigrus” restaurant holding purchased carbon tokens from the “Center for Ecological Innovations”, demonstrating to all those present the mechanism for conducting such transactions.
It is also important to remember that Russian forests are not only conditional “carbon credits”. This is the greatest value that ensures the preservation of the fertile soil layer, the diversity of flora and fauna, and the hydrological balance. Taking care of their safety and restoration, we care about future generations.
Author: Vera Zhikhareva
Cover photo: LightFieldStudios / iStock
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