Forest fires in Russia: specifics of the 2019 fire season

Loupian, Е.А.; Balashov, И.В.; Барталев, С.А.; Bourtsev, M.A.; Дмитриев, В. В.; Senko, K.S.; Krasheninnikova, Yu.S.

doi:10.21046/2070-7401-2019-16-5-356-363

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Climatic change stimulates the increase in forest losses by raising the frequency of pest outbreaks [33,34] and forest fires. The biggest forested Russian regions, such as Yakutia and Krasnoyarsk Krai, have suffered significant fires in their northern parts [35][36][37].…”

Section: Dataset Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Spatial Heterogeneity in the Russian Forest Sector: A Multiple Factor Analysis

Gordeev

Pyzhev

Yagolnitser

2021

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study explored the regional differences in the forest industry and management via a Multiple Factor Analysis approach. The dataset used comprises all Russian regions and 34 variables that comprehensively describe the situation in the sector. Based on the Multiple Factor Analysis, the variables contributing most to the spatial heterogeneity in Russian forestry were divided into industrial and forestry factors. The regions leading in the development of the timber industry are mainly located in the Northwestern and Southeastern parts of Russia. They show similarities in high logging volumes, investment attractiveness, and competitiveness in foreign markets. However, a divergence was found between the Northwestern regions and the Siberian and the Far East territories in terms of forest management factors. The Western part of Russia benefits from the density of the population and infrastructure, and proximity to the national financial centers and European markets. By comparison, Asian Russia suffers from labor shortages caused by negative demographic trends and the negative consequences of climate change, resulting in an increase in forest losses and a lack of control, finance, and transport accessibility due to the vast territory. To alleviate regional inequalities, we propose the introduction of private ownership of forests, support for investment projects, and human capital development.

show abstract

Section: Dataset Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Spatial Heterogeneity in the Russian Forest Sector: A Multiple Factor Analysis

Gordeev

Pyzhev

Yagolnitser

2021

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The problem of uncontrolled wildfires that threaten even Strict PAs does not seem a concern of local authorities because most of them burn remote areas where authorities are not obliged to take action [11]. Nonetheless, Russian prosecutors confirmed that some of the enormous wildfires that burned Siberian forests in the last years were started deliberately by arsonists trying to conceal illegal logging activity [12].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clarifying the Smokescreen of Russian Protected Areas

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although in strictly protected areas no forest management and logging activities should be evident, a preliminary study detected that, even in the 200 areas with the highest protection of Russia, more than 2 Mha of trees have been lost between 2001 and 2018. Nonetheless, a relevant percentage of the actual drivers of tree loss in Russian strictly protected areas was surrounded by uncertainties due to several factors. Here, in an attempt to “clarify the smokescreen of Russian protected areas”, by validating previous remotely sensed data with new high-resolution satellite imagery and aerial images of land-use change, we shed more light on what has happened during the last 20 years. We used the same layer of tree loss from 2001 to 2020 but, instead of intersecting it with the MODIS data that could have been a source of underestimation of burned surfaces, we overlapped it to the layer of tree cover loss by dominant driver. We analysed the main drivers of tree loss in almost 200 strictly protected areas of Russia. We found that although fire is responsible for 75% of the loss in all strictly protected areas, forestry activities still account for 16%, and 9% is due to undefined causes. Therefore, uncontrolled wildfires (including those started before or after logging) and forestry activities are the main causes of 91% of the total tree loss. The combination of wildfires (often started intentionally) and forestry activities (illegally or barely legally put in place) caused a loss of an astonishing 3 million hectares. The fact that ≈10% of Russian tree cover was lost in two decades since 2001 only in strictly protected areas requires high attention by policymakers and important conservation actions to avoid losing other fundamental habitats and species during the next years when climate change and population growth can represent an additional trigger of an already dramatic situation. We call for an urgent response by national and local authorities that should start actively fighting wildfires, arsonists, and loggers even in inhabited remote areas and particularly in those included in strictly protected areas.

show abstract

“…However, a significant portion of these forests are in the northern hard-to-reach areas. They are unsuitable for logging, but in recent years have been intensively affected by forest fires [33,34].…”

Section: Imperfect Competition and Spatial Heterogeneity In The Russi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Economic Importance of Forest Companies in Asian Russia: Evidence from Corporate Financial Reporting

Gordeev

Pyzhev

2022

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In contrast with many other sectors of the Russian economy, there is low market concentration in the forest industry and, consequently, a large number of relatively small enterprises scattered throughout the world’s largest country. In many cases, logging or woodworking companies are the only or key employers in sparsely populated areas, making them important sources of the social and economic stability of small towns and rural settlements. In 2022, Russian forest companies faced dramatic barriers to international trade, which led to the suspension of production with the risk of further layoffs. Thus, the issue of social and economic importance of the forest business in Russia has gained additional sounding. This paper aims to estimate the decline in revenues and the number of employees in forestry companies in Asian Russia because of sanctions. Based on corporate accounting reports, we have generated a dataset covering 4675 forest industry companies in Asian Russia. We use quantile regression to estimate the impact of the number of employees on revenue. All companies were divided into quartiles by revenue and into 6 groups by type of economic activity. A significant differentiation of the return on the number of employees depending on the type of activity and the volume of firms’ revenues was found. Estimates of potential losses of companies during labor force reduction were obtained, which would be 1.2%–3.6% of revenue for a company from Q1, 2.2%–6.6% of revenue for Q2 and 2.7%–8.1% of revenue for Q3. The results clearly demonstrate that forest companies might be very interested in retaining a workforce, even if an opportunistic drop in product demand creates a financial shortfall. Policy makers should take this into account when shaping instruments to support the industry.

show abstract

Forest fires in Russia: specifics of the 2019 fire season

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Drivers of Spatial Heterogeneity in the Russian Forest Sector: A Multiple Factor Analysis

Drivers of Spatial Heterogeneity in the Russian Forest Sector: A Multiple Factor Analysis

Clarifying the Smokescreen of Russian Protected Areas

Social and Economic Importance of Forest Companies in Asian Russia: Evidence from Corporate Financial Reporting

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About