The consequences of deforestation for humans. Illegal logging in Russian forests: the scale of the problem and what to do about it? Data for Russia

One of the most important sectors of the Russian economy is the logging industry. Russia is one of the largest producers and exporters of wood - the fifth place in the world, the second place in Europe.

According to UN statistics, half of the territory of our country is covered with forests, and total area forests in Russia (851 million hectares) is one fifth of the forest area of the planet Earth. Two thirds of these forests are suitable for use in the forest industry.

However, despite the huge resource potential, the efficiency of the Russian timber industry is extremely low. According to the representative of the Union of Timber Manufacturers and Exporters of Russia, the Russian timber industry is characterized by a low technical level of production, a technological lag behind world trends, low profitability and unstable financial position of industry enterprises, poorly developed road and industrial infrastructure, and a low level of forestry engineering. Therefore, according to experts, the timber industry in Russia is low-income - the income of a producer from one cubic meter of wood is several times less than the average for international market logging.

A separate serious problem for the Russian timber industry is illegal logging and the subsequent sale of illegally harvested timber (""). According to World Fund wild nature of Russia and World Bank, up to 20% of wood harvested in Russian Federation, is of illegal origin. Then it turns out that the volume of illegal timber products in our country in 2015 amounted to 40-50 million cubic meters. meters of wood, since in total 206 million cubic meters were harvested that year. meters.

- Authorities at all levels should be interested in establishing independent control over the industry(""). Everything should be monitored and recorded in open sources: from work on plots to transactions for the sale of timber, and in the first place, activities should be taken under control large companies. All information should be as ordered, accessible and transparent as possible.

The involvement of a large number of people in illegal logging is a consequence of the negative socio-economic situation in the regions, low incomes of the population and, most importantly, high unemployment. Targeted persecution and punishment of individual violators basically only lead to the fact that people are looking for new ways to circumvent the law and law enforcement agencies. It is necessary to create jobs, develop infrastructure, work to improve the living standards of the population, give the territories the opportunity to develop, stimulate them to make it profitable for them to pay taxes and put things in order. Only such measures, which affect the socio-economic environment as a whole, can radically change the situation with small-scale poaching.

- Russian economy needs to shift focus from resource extraction to manufacturing. For the forest industry, this is an extremely important task. So, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 2014, in the structure of Russian exports of wood and wood products, 69% were sawn timber and raw timber, and wood joinery - only 2% ("").

To sum up, now the flow of timber export from the country has been established, and a significant part of the forest is cut down barbarously, chaotically and illegally. Thus, the country does not just sell natural resources abroad - it also loses a significant part of the income from these sales, the timber is simply stolen. The first priority is to combat illegal logging. However, in strategic plan an equally important task is the transition from the export of raw materials abroad to the processing of wood within the country. It can be done only by the forces of state incentives, since at present there are no conditions on the market under which it would be profitable for entrepreneurs to massively invest in the retraining of enterprises.

Deforestation is part of the natural process of changing green spaces. AT recent decades she has become one of global problems. Despite the fact that Russia has the most coniferous forest resources, the rate of their destruction in the country is also high. All this has negative consequences for the environment.

Realizing that the problem is getting bigger, many states have united in the struggle to preserve the plantations. As part of this, Russia has repeatedly introduced changes to the Forest Code.

Characteristics of forest resources

In Russia, it is customary to call forests only coniferous plantations or oak and birch groves. But the majority of the planet is occupied by tropical. The main characteristics of the forest, which make it possible to assess the reserves of these resources in the world and in a particular country, are:

planting area;
forest cover;
stocks of wood on the vine.

It is believed that the wood reserves in the world are 384 billion m 3 . In Latin America, this figure reaches almost a third of the world level. But this rainforests, which often have low consumer qualities.

The main problem is that deforestation of different properties leads to the same negative consequences. Modern technologies allow a better assessment of the condition of plantings. Google system even created a special map that marks the areas left without forests.

Why is it important to conserve forests?

From the school bench, people learn that forests make it possible to provide the Earth with oxygen. Therefore, they are called the "lungs" of the planet. In addition, their value lies in the following:

prevention of the "greenhouse" effect;
reducing the risk of soil waterlogging;
preservation of soil fertility by creating a microclimate and retaining moisture in the territory;
maintaining the required level of groundwater;
preservation of the soil from drying out, wind drift and other adverse natural factors;
make the climate in the region milder and more comfortable for humans;
provide the necessary conditions for living animals, birds, insects;
provide an opportunity to obtain a large amount of energy and goods for the population.

The ecological results of cutting down are quickly felt. After all, already 5-10 years after the start of irrational use forest resources the local population can point out a range of real problems. This often reduces the attractiveness of the area for living.

Many animals are endangered. These include:

capercaillie;
white-backed woodpecker;
Amur tiger;
far eastern leopard.

AT natural environment Oaks and ash trees are becoming less and less common.

What will happen after deforestation?

After the elimination of any number of trees, the environment for animals, birds and insects changes locally. This also applies to plant life. are changing following characteristics territories:

The illumination changes. And it doesn't always have a positive effect. As a result of the abundance of sunlight, many plants that prefer shade die. The land dries out faster, which reduces its fertility.
The level of temperature fluctuations is increasing.
The amount of nitrogen in the soil increases as a result of the decomposition of the roots. This can have an adverse effect on plants as well as hinder the growth of new trees.

After active deforestation, there is an increase in wind, an increase in the number of storm events and other natural disasters.

Proper felling

The problem of forest conservation is related to the fact that they are cut down illegally. Together with fires, this leads to enormous losses. This is typical not only for Russia. There are regular reports that countries Latin America found another illegally cut area. This exacerbates the environmental problems that already exist in these states. For Russia similar situations are also characteristic.

In order for a natural renewal process to take place, deforestation must be carried out regularly. If timber harvesting is carried out in industrial purposes, then the cleaning of the territory must also be carried out competently. The problem is that individual trees do not meet the parameters of industrial harvesting. They are passed in the process of work, but subsequently they must be eliminated, like the debris left after felling.

There are a number of other reasons that lead to the need to eliminate forest areas:

expansion of the territory for the population and the construction of houses;
release of areas for crops and other agricultural work;
the need to carry out work for the extraction of minerals and the laying of communications and power networks.

Reasons for illegal logging

To receive you need to official permission felling, you must contact the state authorities. They must:

determine the place of cutting;
indicate the volume possible for cutting;
state the amount of the fee to be paid to an individual or organizations.

With a high probability, the area where it will be allowed to work has inconvenient access roads. Either the potential customer will not be satisfied with the wooded area.

Many lumberjacks don't want to do any paperwork. The introduction of a foam fee increases the cost of production significantly, which can make felled trees uncompetitive.

Additional factors for the spread of this phenomenon should be considered:

unemployment in the place where forests grow;
reduction in the number of persons controlling the forest area;
reducing control in the process of acquiring a tree, which allows you to buy illegally cut wood.

Types of deforestation

Depending on what purpose is pursued by logging, it is customary to distinguish several types of it:

Sanitary - such cutting solves environmental problems of eliminating diseased trees that have fallen during natural disasters, etc. The main task is to improve the forest.
The felling of the main use, in which the problem of harvesting the resources necessary for industry is solved. In Russia, it is most common.
Complex, designed, together with other types of work, to solve the problems of landscaping the territory or conducting communications.
Care - needed in order to free up space for the growth of trees of valuable species. It must be carried out in a timely manner so as not to disturb the growing specimens.

In Russia, forestry experts are sounding the alarm about the fact that sanitary felling of trees is practically not carried out. The exception is trees in settlements and cities. As a result, the number of insects that kill trees has increased dramatically in the country. For Russia, this can have serious environmental impact, apart from the fact that bugs can devalue forests for the needs of industry.

How to preserve forest wealth?

To prevent deforestation from becoming a catastrophe for Russia and the world, it is necessary to create a whole range of measures. They belong to the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The most common ways to deal with destructive logging:

Establish areas where legal logging can take place.
Control by state bodies over the work that is carried out in the forest.
Establishment of serious penalties for violation of the order of deforestation.
The imposition of an obligation by an industrial enterprise to carry out reforestation work.
Determination of the list of territories where tree felling is prohibited in order to preserve valuable and unique species.
Carrying out specialized training, which would make it possible to ensure the closure of vacancies for foresters in the future. For Russia, this is one of the urgent problems.
Determine how deforested areas should be marked in documents in order to control their further legal movement.
Creation of a control system on the roads in order to timely identify violations of the felling.

This is not a complete list of measures that can lead to a reduction in negative consequences. It depends on each person how successful the struggle for the conservation of forests will be. After all, improper behavior in nature, the absence of signals about illegal logging can lead to the elimination of significant forest areas. For action to be effective, states cooperate and share experiences. This makes it possible to improve the forest management system.

It's hard to overestimate. No wonder the trees. They generally form a single ecosystem that affects life. various kinds, soil, atmosphere, water regime. Many people do not even realize what a disaster deforestation will lead to if it is not stopped.

Deforestation problem

AT this moment the problem of cutting down trees is relevant for all continents of the earth, but this problem is most acute in countries Western Europe, South America, Asia. Intensive destruction of forests leads to the problem of deforestation. The territory, freed from trees, turns into a poor landscape, becomes unsuitable for life.

To understand how close a disaster is, you should pay attention to a number of facts:

more than half have already been destroyed, and it will take hundreds of years to restore them;
now only 30% of the land is occupied by forests;
regular felling of trees leads to an increase in carbon monoxide in the atmosphere by 6-12%;
every minute disappears the territory of the forest, which is equal in size to several football fields.

Reasons for deforestation

Some of the most common reasons for felling trees include:

wood has high value as a building material and raw material for paper, cardboard, household items;
often destroy forests to expand new agricultural land;
for laying communication lines and roads

In addition, a large number of trees suffer as a result, which constantly occur due to improper handling of fire. They also happen during the dry season.

Illegal deforestation

Quite often, tree felling occurs illegally. In many countries of the world, there are not enough institutions and people who can control the process of deforestation. In turn, entrepreneurs in this area sometimes commit violations, annually increasing the volume of deforestation. It is also believed that timber supplied by poachers who do not have a license to operate comes through to the market. There is an opinion that the introduction of a high duty on timber would significantly reduce the sale of timber abroad, and, accordingly, would reduce the number of felled trees.

Deforestation in Russia

Russia is one of the leading timber producers. Together with Canada, these two countries contribute about 34% of the total amount of exported material in the world market. The most active areas where trees are cut down are the territory of Siberia and the Far East. As for illegal logging, everything is solved by paying fines. However, this does not contribute to the restoration of the forest ecosystem in any way.

The main result of tree cutting is deforestation, which has a lot of consequences:

climate change;
environmental pollution;
ecosystem change;
destruction a large number plants;
animals are forced to leave their usual habitats;
deterioration of the atmosphere;
deterioration in nature;
soil destruction, which will lead to;
emergence of environmental refugees.

Deforestation permit

Companies that cut down trees must obtain a special permit for this activity. To do this, you need to submit an application, a plan of the area where the felling is carried out, a description of the types of trees that will be cut down, as well as a number of papers for coordination with various services. In general, obtaining such a permit is difficult. However, this does not completely rule out the illegality of deforestation. It is recommended to tighten this procedure while it is still possible to save the forests on the planet.

Sample permit for deforestation

What will happen to the planet if all the trees are cut down

The forest expanses of Russia seem almost limitless. But even on such a scale, a person in the process economic activity manages to damage them. Felling for the purpose of harvesting timber in some places is becoming widespread. Such intensive and unreasonable use gradually leads to the fact that the forest fund begins to be depleted. This is noticeable even in the taiga zone.

The rapid destruction of forests leads to the disappearance unique flora and fauna, as well as to the deterioration environmental situation. This is especially true for the composition of the air.

Main causes of deforestation

Among the main reasons for deforestation, first of all, it is worth noting the possibility of its use as a building material. Also, very often, forests are cut down for the purpose of building or using land for agricultural land.

This problem became especially acute at the beginning of the 19th century. With the development of science and technology, most of the felling work began to be done by machines. This made it possible to significantly increase productivity, and, accordingly, the number of cut down trees.

Another reason for the massive logging is the creation of pastures for farm animals. This problem is especially relevant in tropical forests. On average, grazing one cow will require 1 ha of pasture, which is several hundred trees.

Why should forest areas be conserved? What causes deforestation

The forest area is not only trees and shrubs and herbs, it is also hundreds of different living beings. Deforestation is one of the most common environmental problems. With the destruction of trees in the biogeocenosis system, the ecological balance is disturbed.

Uncontrolled destruction of forests leads to the following negative consequences:

Some species of flora and fauna are disappearing.
Species diversity is decreasing.
The amount of carbon dioxide begins to increase in the atmosphere ().
Soil erosion occurs, which leads to the formation of deserts.
In places with a high level of groundwater, waterlogging begins.

Interesting! More than half of all forest areas are tropical forests. At the same time, about 90% of all known animals and plants live in them.

Statistics on deforestation in the world and in Russia

Deforestation is a global problem. It is relevant not only not for Russia, but also for a number of other countries. According to deforestation statistics, about 200 thousand km 2 of forests are cut down worldwide every year. This leads to the death of tens of thousands of animals.

If we consider the data in thousand hectares for individual countries they will look like this:

Russia - 4.139;
Canada - 2.45;
Brazil - 2.15;
USA - 1.73;
Indonesia - 1.6.

The problem of deforestation is least affected by China, Argentina and Malaysia. On average, about 20 hectares of forest plantations are destroyed in one minute on the planet. This problem is especially acute for tropical zone. For example, in India, over 50 years, the area covered with forests has decreased by more than 2 times.

In Brazil large areas forests were cut down for the purpose of development. Because of this, the populations of some animal species have been greatly reduced. Africa accounts for approximately 17% of the world's forest stock. In terms of ha, this is about 767 million. According to the latest data, about 3 million hectares are cut down here annually. Over 70% of Africa's forests have been destroyed in recent centuries.

The logging statistics in Russia are also disappointing. Especially a lot of trees are destroyed in our country conifers. Mass cutting in Siberia and the Urals contributed to the formation of a large number of wetlands. It should be noted that most of the cuttings are illegal.

Forest groups

All forests on the territory of Russia in terms of their conservation and economic importance can be classified into 3 groups:

This group includes plantations with water protection and protective function. For example, these can be forest belts along the banks of water bodies or wooded areas on mountain slopes. This group also includes forests that perform a sanitary-hygienic and health-improving function, national reserves and parks, natural monuments. The forests of the first group account for 17% of the total forest area.
The second group includes plantings in areas with a high population density and a well-developed transport network. This also includes forests with an insufficient forest resource base. The second group accounts for about 7%.
The most numerous group accounts for 75% of its share in the forest fund. This category includes plantings for operational purposes. Due to them, the needs for wood are satisfied.

The division of forests into groups is described in more detail in the Fundamentals of Forest Legislation.

Clearing types

Wood harvesting can be carried out in all forest groups without exception. In this case, all cuttings are divided into 2 types:

main use;
care.

Main fellings

Final fellings are carried out only in plantations that have reached the ripening period. They are divided into the following types:

Solid. With this type of felling, everything is cut down except for the undergrowth. They are carried out in one go. The restriction on their implementation is imposed in forests of environmental and ecological importance, as well as in reserves and parks.
Gradual. With this type of felling, the forest stand is removed in several steps. At the same time, first of all, trees are cut down that interfere with the further development of young growth, damaged and diseased. Usually 6 to 9 years pass between the stages of this felling. In the first step, about 35% of the total forest stand is removed. At the same time, overmature trees make up the bulk.
Selective. Their main purpose is the formation of highly productive plantations. During them, diseased, dead, windbreak and other inferior trees are cut down. All care cuttings are divided into the following types: clarification, cleaning, thinning and passing. Depending on the condition of the forest, thinning may be continuous.

Legal and illegal logging

All deforestation works are strictly regulated by Russian legislation. At the same time, the most important document is Felling ticket". The following documents will be required for its registration:

A statement stating the reason for the cutting.
Plan of the area with the allocation of the area allocated for felling.
Taxation description of cut down plantings.

A felling ticket will also be required when exporting already harvested wood. Its price is proportional to the cost of compensation for use natural resources. Cutting down trees without proper documentation is classified as illegal logging.

Responsibility for it is provided for by Article 260 Part 1. It is applicable only in cases where the amount of damage exceeds 5000 rubles. For minor violations, administrative liability is applicable. It involves imposing a fine of 3,000 to 3,500 rubles on citizens and 20,000 to 30,000 on officials.

The consequences of deforestation

The effects of deforestation are a far-reaching problem. Deforestation affects the entire ecosystem. This is especially true for the problem of purification and saturation of air with oxygen.

Also, according to recent studies, it has been found that mass felling contributes to global warming. This is due to the carbon cycle occurring on the surface of the Earth. At the same time, one should not forget about the water cycle in nature. Trees take an active part in it. By absorbing moisture with their roots, they evaporate it into the atmosphere.

Erosion of soil layers is another problem that accompanies the problem of deforestation. Tree roots prevent erosion and weathering of the upper fertile soil layers. In the absence of a tree stand, winds and precipitation begin to destroy the upper humus layer, thereby turning fertile lands into a lifeless desert.

The problem of deforestation and ways to solve it

Tree planting is one way to solve the problem of deforestation. But she cannot fully compensate for the damage done. The approach to this problem must be comprehensive. To do this, you must adhere to the following directions:

Plan forest management.
Strengthen the protection and control over the use of natural resources.
Develop a system for monitoring and accounting for the forest fund.
Improve forest legislation.

In most cases, planting trees does not cover the damage. So, for example, in South America and Africa, despite all the measures taken, the forest area continues to decline inexorably. Therefore, to reduce the negative consequences of logging, it is necessary to take a whole range of additional measures:

Increase planting area annually.
Establish protected areas with a special forest management regime.
Send significant forces to prevent forest fires.
Deploy recycling wood.

Forest protection policy in different countries may differ significantly. Someone introduces a restriction on the use, and someone simply increases the volume of restoration plantings. But, completely new approach to this problem has developed Norway. She plans completely eliminate cutting.

This country has officially announced that the policy of the so-called "zero deforestation" will be implemented on its territory. Over the years, Norway has actively supported various forest protection programs. For example, in 2015, it allocated 1 billion rubles to Brazil for the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. Investments from Norway and a number of other countries have helped to reduce logging by 75%.

From 2011 to 2015, the Norwegian government allocated 250 million rubles to another tropical country - Guyana. And since this year, Norway has officially declared “zero tolerance” for logging. That is, it will no longer purchase forest products.

Ecologists say that paper can also be produced by recycling the corresponding waste. And as a fuel building materials other resources can be used. The State Pension Fund of Norway responded to this statement by withdrawing from its portfolio all shares of enterprises associated with damage to the forest fund.

According to the Wildlife Fund, every minute forests with an area comparable to the area of 48 football fields disappear from the Earth's surface. It also significantly increases the emission greenhouse gases contributing to global warming.

In many regions of Russia, illegal and uncontrolled felling of trees is carried out systematically. According to the estimates of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) annually Russia loses about $1 billion due to illegal logging. In the Arkhangelsk region alone last year, inspectors recorded 359 cases of illegal logging, resulting in losses of 410,500,000 rubles ($12 million). You can find enough detailed information about the changes in forestry that have taken place in recent years.

Most high level illegal logging is observed in the north-west of Russia and Far East. Increasing timber harvesting restrictions in China have increased demand for Russian timber. So the Far East timber is sent to China, where sawmills and their Western clients destroy valuable hard rocks trees, of which we have less and less. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claims that "80% of valuable timber is cut down illegally in the Far East."

Half of all timber imported from Russia to the EU goes to Finland. Sweden, Germany, Great Britain and Italy are also major timber importers from Russia.

Systematic deforestation causes significant damage wild nature, destroys the ecosystem, displaces animals from their original habitats. Intensive logging, according to WWF, threatens the existence of such animals as capercaillie, white-backed woodpecker, Amur tiger and Amur leopard. Ash, linden, oak and cedar are disappearing. Also, deforestation is one of the main reasons for the increase in the greenhouse effect.

Despite the scale of the problem, lack of human resources, low salaries of foresters, lack of control directly in the forests and gaps in legislation make it difficult to prevent such criminal acts. Companies, under the guise of cutting down diseased trees, harvest healthy valuable wood. Some land tenants transfer the right to cut to other companies that harvest more than the allowed volumes, and the tenants then buy the wood from them along with the surplus. Poachers must be caught by the hand in order to law enforcement were able to hold them accountable. When the trees are taken away from the place where they were cut down, it is no longer possible to present something to the poachers. The sale of timber has become the main source of income for unscrupulous foresters and officials. In addition, many people go to deforestation due to poverty and unemployment in order to feed their families.

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