Russian Forests

FERN’s works with the Taiga Rescue Network (TRN) to give a voice to those wanting to see positive development in the Russian Boreal region.

FERN’s analysis: The Taiga (or Boreal) Forest - is a belt of coniferous dominated forest encircling the Northern hemisphere and making up one third of the world's total forest area, much of it still largely undisturbed. It represents the single largest terrestrial ecosystem on the planet, covering the far Northern regions of North America, Russia and Europe.  The forest of the North is home to hundreds of indigenous peoples with separate and distinct cultures. Although it still contains huge areas of pristine habitat, and one of the lowest human populations in the world, the region is currently facing massive change and degradation. The major force behind these developments is the wasteful and ever growing consumption of wood products - above all paper. For information about how to reduce your paper consumption see www.shrink.org.

What FERN is doing: FERN hosts the TRN’s Russia programme. TRN has, since 1992, supported, linked and publicised local struggles fighting for the boreal forests and its peoples. The network consists of more than 200 organisations and remains the only international network of non-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples and individuals working to defend the world's boreal forests.

To learn more about this campaign: see the TRN website www.taigarescue.org  and Transition in the Taiga: The Russian Forest Code 2006 and its implementation process.