FAO values Russia's experience and practice in fighting forest fires

At the invitation by Mr. Nikolay Nikolayev, MP, the FAOLOR on May 19. 2020 participated at the public online hearings on forest fires, organized by the State Duma Committee on natural resources, property and land relations. 

The remarks by Oleg Kobiakov follows: 

“Esteemed participants, 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which I represent in Moscow, is closely involved in tackling the issue of forest fires. Forestry and  primary forest products are embedded in its mandate prescribed by the FAO Constitution.

On the average, according to FAO data, the planet annually loses up to 67 million hectares of forests due to fires. This is not just a lost commodity. It is a loss of ecosystem services (oxygen production, carbon capture and storage, water accumulation and purification, and biodiversity of forest flora and fauna). This is also the loss of livelihoods for forest workers and their family. This is the damage to people's health that the situation with COVID-19 has now aggravated. Forest fires are a global problem affecting all countries of the world, developed and developing, forested and with weak vegetation cover.

Russia closely cooperates with FAO in the forest. In particular, Russian experts E. Davidenko (Avialesookhrana), S. Sannikov (Institute of Forest, Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), V. Furaev, A. Sukhinin, P. Tsvetkov, L. Zlobina (Institute of Forest named after Sukhachev, Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) participated in the work on the FAO document “Guidelines for fire management in temperate and boreal forests”, 2002. 

In 2006, FAO member countries, including Russia, developed a global practical guide to forest fire management. This voluminous 74-page document, entitled “Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines: Principles and Strategic actions”, is available in English on the FAO website http://www.fao.org/3/j9255e/j9255e00.htm. The goal of the Guidelines is to help develop a comprehensive approach to forest fire management, including data collection, research and analysis, risk reduction, fire control as such and restoration of affected areas.

FAO recommends that forest fire management be included as an integral part of a coherent, elaborate and balanced environmental management policy that includes not only woodlands but also other land as part of sustainable landscape management.

The FAO highly appreciates the experience and practice of Russia in this area, as well as the coordinated work of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Federal Forestry Service, the Aviation Security Service and local authorities. However, the international documents I have referred to date back almost two decades. During this time, experience has been accumulated, and fundamentally new technologies (drones, cameras, “smart” forest surveillance systems) have appeared. The public activity of citizens in this sphere has significantly increased. Finally, the 2030 Agenda  for sustainable development has been adopted and, in effect, three of its SDG-15 indicators are directly related to the conservation of forest ecosystems.

It is obvious that they need to be updated, and Russia could be the initiator here. We expect that the delegation of the Russian Federation will traditionally make a significant contribution to the work of the next biennial session of the FAO Committee on Forestry, which will be held this summer in Rome, either in person or through modern communication channels.

Thank you for your attention!”