An amendment to the Russian silvicultural rules has been approved, which makes it possible to engage in intensive forestry in Karelia.
The change is aimed at increasing thinnings to improve the quality of forests. In Karelia, high quality wood is harvested at 0.7 cubic meters per hectare, compared to 4-6 in neighbouring countries. Until now, Russian legislation has not allowed practicing intensive forestry in Karelia.
In addition to the silvicultural rules, the forest regeneration rules are also being updated. A new version is expected during summer 2020.
The application of the new norms is possible once the corresponding changes have been made to the regional regulations governing forest use (lesohozjaistvenny reglament). The updating of the regulations of the Karelian forest districts is also underway and they are expected to enter into force at the beginning of 2021. After this, forest leasers can update their own forest use plans.
Source: gov.karelia.ru