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FSC-Bound: Certification Takes Shape in the Khabarovsk Krai

by Andrey S. Zakharenkov

One of the largest regions in Russia, the Khabarovsk Krai extends over 824,000 km2 (roughly the size of Pakistan) in the central part of the Russian Far East (RFE). This region harbors a wealth of natural resources, especially forests. According to the latest survey conducted in January 1993 forested lands cover 74 million ha, or 90 percent of the total area in the Krai. The timber industry in the region supplies income, infrastructure, and extra jobs in areas remote from industrial centers. The timber industry here has historically been oriented toward the export markets of the Asian-Pacific countries: Japan, China, and South Korea are the major consumers of timber products from the RFE. The industrial giant, Mitsubishi, for instance, imports 40 percent of its timber from here.

In the mid 1990s demand for timber reached a peak in the RFE. Naturally, this boom in prices spurred rampant logging in the region, accompanied by a series of logging violations such as unauthorized cuttings and timber thefts. Addressing these violations is one of the greatest challenges for forest management in the RFE. Sometimes, the forest service itself is guilty of violations such as logging in First Group Forests (including forested areas lining water bodies, green belts around cities, and forested strips along highways and railroads) under the prefix of improving forestry techniques.

Allocating specially protected status to forest areas will not make up for the deficiencies in forest management, as this does not provide an economic alternative for local people. Rather, market mechanisms and stimuli, such as voluntary forestry certification, are needed to achieve an equilibrium between forest use and preservation. Considering the forest industry's heavy reliance on exports here, the implementation of a voluntary certification system trusted by buyers and importers (as opposed to the Federal Forest Service's system of obligatory certification) would promote successful competition on the Asian-Pacific market in the future.

Although this market does not yet demand "environmentally friendly" products, it could hold great promise. Already, there are signs of a change in attitude in some areas of this region. In December 1998 delegates at a conference in Japan discussed the development of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification and the organization of a buyers' group, This buyers' group, projected to be comprised of five companies from the outset, will he established sometime in 1999. Admittedly, these five companies will not have a pervasive influence on the market right away. Yet, they are promising. The buyers' group in the UK, the Group 1995+, has been highly successful and a similar buyers' group in Japan could grow rapidly, especially because Japan's voluminous timber market, which is three times larger than the market in the UK. This large market waiting to be tapped underscores the urgency to introduce and promote voluntary forest certification in the Khabarovsk Krai and throughout the RFE.

Creation of the Regional FSC Working Group

Due to its broad acceptance and recognition throughout the world, as well as its approval by major international environmental NGOs, the FSC system of certification was deemed the most appropriate for the Khabarovsk Krai. We believe that this system can best facilitate the participation of various experts and scientists in developing certification standards specific to the extraordinary forest ecosystems in the Krai. In adherence to FSC guidelines, three commissions representing environmental, social, and economic interests joined together in August 1998 to form the regional working group in the Khabarovsk Krai based on FSC's Principles. (Please refer to Diagram 1.)

In the environmental commission, there is a naturally high ratio of government representatives, because the majority of forest resources are under state jurisdiсtion. In the social commission there is a solid representation of more than ten indigenous nationalities within the Khabarovsk Krai.

The regional Association of Indigenous Peoples oversees 26 areas of traditional nature use (for example, the gathering of non-timber forested products or NTFPs, and hunting) delineated in 15 districts throughout the Krai. The forest resources in these areas may be exploited only in agreement with the Association. Such an arrangement in which indigenous peoples have exclusive access to forest resources in Russia is unique.

Another integral component of the social commission is made up of non-indigenous representatives in the rural parts of the Krai whose livelihoods are also intrinsically linked to NTFP gathering and hunting. In the midst of negotiations to establish forestry certification, the idea to certify NTFPs is very pertinent and may he a reality before forestry certification is in place.

Large timber and export companies, as well as the Association of Small-Scale Forest Users, participate in the economic commission. However, due to the virtually nonexistent market for certified timber in the Asian-Pacific region at the moment, it was initially difficult to establish this commission. The Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Timber and Wood Processing Industries, aware of the economic prospects and efficiency of the certification process, played an instrumental role in the formation of the commission.

Since August, 1998, each commission has held a meeting to discuss criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management, These meetings produced draft standards. The final version of the criteria and indicators is now ready. In August this version will be discussed at a working group session where it will either be adopted (an 80 percent likelihood) or sent back for revision.

Independent Audit and Certification

Only FSC-accredited organizations can audit and certify forests, and grant final permission for the FSC label to be used. Currently, there are only seven such accredited organizations, none of which is Russian. Undoubtedly, the lack of accredited auditors in Russia will raise the final cost of forest certification, as international experts command higher prices and it is necessary to arrange for their travel and accommodations. The extra expense of certification makes it less attractive, especially to small enterprises.

Motivated by the vision to support domestic, FSC-accredited auditing services, we have proposed to build a voluntary certification center with financial and organizational support from WWF. (Please refer to Diagram 2.) This center would coordinate auditing and certification in the Khabarovsk Krai and would:

• Create a database of information on such topics as research plots and legislative materials;
• Demonstrate environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable methods of forest management;
• Demonstrate scientifically-based methods of sustainable forest use;
• Conduct research on ways to improve forest management and subsequently, certification standards.

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