HCVF and Biodiversity Conservation in Russian FSC Certification Standards

1. HCVF andBiodiversity Conservation in Russian FSCCertification Standards Workshop, April 1-2 2009, Syktyvkar Mikhail Karpachevskiy Biodiversity Conservation Center Chair of the FSC Russian National Initiative

2. Levels of biodiversity protection according to FSC

3. PRINCIPLE 9: MAINTENANCE OF HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE FORESTS Management activities in high conservation value forests shall maintain or enhance the attributes that define such forests. Decisions regarding high conservation value forests shall always be considered in the context of a precautionary approach Preservation of relatively large areas identified in the process of forest management planning Forest manager organizes the process that shall consider interests and opinions of various stakeholders regarding mapping and protection of such areas Objects shall be identified by specialists PRINCIPLE 6: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Forest management shall conserve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources, soils, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes and, by so doing, maintain the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest Preservation of small natural objects identified when planning forestry operations and/or allocating harvest areas List of objects and their identification criteria are being prepared by experts Harvesting method and season of harvest consider features of a particular forest ecosystem Objects can be identified by specialists or company staff Requirements of FSC forest management standards regarding biodiversity conservation

4. Valuable natural objects: Identification scales High conservation value forests Rare plant communities orforest types Key biotopes (OZU) Forest block/kvartal Forest stand/vydel Level of biodiversity conservation Landscape (area level) Site (stand or harvest area level) 0ha 1 ha 100ha 10 000ha Area of object

5. Categories of HCVF in Russia • Maps and scientific background is significantly lacking, especially detailed enough for forest management planning • Mapping and management guidelines for HCVC are still underdeveloped • Field data are especially scarce • In reality HCVF is difficult to split into categories • Government does not help • Category 1 and 3 mainly need special inventories and require protection in the form of OZU (key biotopes) and/or protected areas. • Category 2 is mainly inventoried, although protection through moratoria (temporary) or PA (difficult to achieve). • Of 6 HCVF categories only Category 4 is more or less covered governmental forest inventories and regulations. • For categories 5 and 6 special inventories at local level are needed

6. Russian National FSC Standard, 2008 • Gives interpretation of HCVF categories, methods for identification of particular HCVF and available sources of information • Provides references where maps on national-level HCVF (categories 1-3) can be readily available • Provides references where maps on regional-level HCVF (categories 1-3) can be readily available for some regions

7. HCV 1. Biodiversity values: 200 global WWF’s ecoregions

8. HCV 1. Biodiversity values: CI’s Caucasus biodiversity hotspot

9. HCV 1. Biodiversity values: protected areas

10. HCV 1. Biodiversity: existing and candidate PAs

11. Other HCV 1 that are covered by international agreements or programs: Important Bird Areas, Important Plant Areas in Europe, Ramsar wetlands UNEP-WCMC centers of the diversity of vascular plants

12. HCV 2. Landscapes: intact forest landscapes Intact forest Intact non-forest ecosystems

13. HCV 3. Rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems • all over European Russia maple and ash forests, as well as forests with significant admixture of oak • all over European Russia any forests with larch in the main canopy and/or undergrowth • all over European Russia and the Urals dark coniferous (spruce, fir, spruce–fir) forests with nemoral herbaceous plants • all over Siberia intact black taiga – fir–aspen forests with tall herbaceous plants and a complex of relic nemoral plants • in Western Siberia forest with admixture of elm • in all regions old growth black alder forests and mixed riparian forest dominated by poplar • For Primorskiy Kray and Amur region some lists are available • For Siberia the Green Book of Siberiais a starting point

14. HCV 4: Forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g. watershed protection, erosion control) • HCVF category 4 more or less identified and protected by Russian laws

15. HCV 5 and 6. Livelihoods and cultural values • Maps/precise information on HCVF categories 5-6 can be received/made only at local level, in cooperation with local communities • The culture of consultations with stakeholders, including local communities is very poor in Russia

16. How to cut HCVF, especially if you use mainly clearcuts?

17. SCAguidelines for Sweden

18. Biological diversity conservation at a site level includes: • Protection of forest environment • Protection of biological, water and soil resources • Imitation of natural forest dynamics during harvesting, taking into account landscape and natural borders • Conservation of key biotopes • small rare communities (rare forest types) • threatened and endangered species habitats, other habitats important for biodiversity protection (key biotopes) • ecological corridors • ecologically sensitive or critical areas

19. Elements to be preserved at a site level (clearcut) – Canada Boreal FSC standard

20. Biodiversity protection, Principle 6 • 6.3.9. The following windthrow resistant key stand elements (residual trees and their groups) shall be completely or partly left during timber harvesting: • old trees of non-target species • large trees with holes • trees with large bird nests • veteran trees whose age noticeably exceeds the average age of the main canopy • tree species considered to be rare in this area

21. Biodiversity protection, Principle 6 • 6.3.10. For survival of species dependant on deadwood, during harvesting (including salvage logging) at least the following key stand elements that do not threaten forest health and future forest regeneration shall be retained: • windthrow resistant dying trees and snags located at the distance from roads, landings and such trees left within clumps and groups • hanging and dying trees and snags greater than 3040  cm in a diameter that create a safety hazard at forestry operations shall be cut down and left as deadwood • high stumps of natural origin • large down deadwood, especially greater than 3040 cm in a diameter • large slash residues

22. Biodiversity protection, Principle 6 • 6.3.11. At clearcuts regeneration of target tree species shall be provided by leaving seed trees, their groups and patches with young growth or by adjacent forest walls, while preserving other tree species occurring in the natural forest • 6.3.12. Not less than 20 seed trees or one group of seed trees per hectare shall be left for natural forest regeneration at clearcuts • 6.3.13. When using clearcuts (as well as after the final cut of shelterwood (multistage) harvesting) greater than 10 ha, the patchiness of a forest landscape shall be preserved by leaving forest strips and clumps (including complex seed clumps and strips) that include rare non-typical forest patches, elements of pristine (old growth) forest as well as the key stand elements consistent with 6.3.96.3.12

23. European Russia hardwoods. Lack of clarity what to do

24. Selective cuts in multi-dominant rich forest, the Russian Far East