Impacts, challenges and opportunities for Russian forests, forestry and forest bioeconomy to respond to climate change

A recently launched project studies the impacts, challenges and opportunities for Russian forests, forestry and forest bioeconomy to respond to climate change. RUFORCLIM aims to facilitate the exchange of information, climate policy options and good practices between the EU and Russia with a view to enable a better science-informed practical implications. This is done by summarising existing data and information on the impacts of climate change on Russian forests in terms of their vulnerability, including natural disturbances and related carbon balance, as well as understanding of other drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. The project also offers a platform for further discussions of climate smart forestry strategies and measures to reap the potential of forestry and the forest bioeconomy for climate change mitigation in Russia, in synergy with other economic, social and environmental benefits.

The project carries out three scientific assessments on the following topics:

1. Climate change and Russian forests: impacts, vulnerability and adaptation needs
2. Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) options in Russia and potential climate change mitigation
3. The role of the bioeconomy in long-term decarbonisation pathways in Russia

RUFORCLIM also advances bilateral scientific cooperation in pursuit of the goals of the Paris Agreement by:

1. using a collaborative approach and involvement in the project implementation experts and scientists from both the European Union countries and the Russian Federation
2. identifying and demonstrating mutual interests and benefits in such cooperation
3. sharing best practices and experience, doing joint research and producing joint scientific reports, identifying the prospects for cooperation

More information: Pekka Leskinen, Head of Bioeconomy Programme, EFI (firstname.lastname@efi.int )

^{This article was produced with the financial support of the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU). Its contents are the sole responsibility of EFI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.}

^{The programme Strategic Partnerships for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPIPA) is jointly commissioned by the European Commission as a Foreign Policy Instrument Action and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) in the context of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). SPIPA is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.}