History of Forest Climate Projects in Russia

Since 2020, the number of domestic publications on forest climate projects (FCPs) has increased many tens of times. Most attention is paid to the technological and organisational foundations of forest climate activities as a new form of combating climate change. The first forest climate projects started in Russia in the early 1990s, although not all of the planned projects ended up receiving funding and resulted in new forest stands grown or indigenous woodlands preserved from logging. Successful examples of forest climate projects were RUSAFOR-SAP (1993–2002), Bikin (2010–2012), and Altai project (2010–2012) as a joint implementation project (JIP), then within the framework of a voluntary carbon market. Afforestation projects on former agricultural lands and preservation projects in valuable forest areas have also found success. The feasibility of implementing reforestation climate projects on forest lands raises questions. The emerging interest among large Russian businesses has significantly increased the relevance of developing FCPs.