Segezha Group restored 34,835 ha of forest lands in 2021. Between May and November 2021, the group restored 15,800 ha of forests in Krasnoyarsk Krai, 8,200 ha in Karelia Republic, 5,100 ha in Vologda, 4,300 ha in Arkhangelsk, and 1,300 ha in Kirov regions in Russia. The reforestation projects have been approved by the governing authorities.
“This is a nearly 20% increase over the 2020 figures. We spent over 140 million roubles on reforestation projects in 2021. The group restores 100% of the forest harvested in the previous year,” said Mikhail Shamolin, president of Segezha Group.
The forest harvesting and restoration cycle lasts from 60 to 120 years depending on the timber species. Shamolin also remarked that the group will plant the first seeds at their tree nursery in Kostroma, Russia in April 2022. They will produce ball-rooted seedlings in-house to satisfy the demand of their reforestation operations in European Russia, investing more than 70m roubles in this project. The planned production volume is “four million” seedlings per year.
Shamolin concluded: “Expanding the reforestation area is among our perspective climate change projects as well. To successfully implement them, we need the corresponding Russian legislation being approved and brought into force, as well as being harmonised with international verification and validation requirements. I believe such projects would make a significant contribution to carbon dioxide absorption and greenhouse gas reduction nationwide.”
