The Loan Agreement for the Forest Fire Response Project in Russia Has Been Signed
Directive of the Government of the Russian Federation instructs the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to ensure jointly with the Federal Forestry Agency the implementation of the Forest Fire Response Project co-financed by the World Bank loan. The Loan Agreement was signed by Sergey Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, and Michal Rutkowski, World Bank Country Director and Resident Representative in Russia.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Sergey Donskoy and the World Bank Country Director for Russia Michal Rutkowski signed a US$40 million Loan Agreement
On September 20, 2012, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$40 million loan to co-finance with the Russian Federation the Forest Fire Response Project. The total Project costs are US$121.26 million, including a US$40 million World Bank loan. The remaining amount of US$81.26 million has been earmarked in the Foreign Borrowing Program of the Russian Federation.
The main goal of the Project is to enhance forest management in the pilot regions and to take measures to improve forest fire prevention and suppression; to create enabling conditions for continuous, sound and non-depleting forest use. The activities under the Project will be implemented in 2013–2018.
“I would like to stress that the first pilot project - Sustainable Forestry - was implemented in 2001-2010. It covered seven regions, including Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk Krays, Arkhangelsk Irkutsk, Leningrad and Chita Oblasts. During nine years of the project implementation the total forest income in the above-mentioned regions has increased in 3.5 times. These outcomes suggest that the measures that had been selected proved to be highly effective for reforming the forest management system. We deem it necessary to continue the project in other regions of the Russian Federation,” said Sergei Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Russian Federation.
The second Pilot Project covers Moscow and Voronezh Oblasts, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk Krays, and the Republic of Komi. In addition, various project components will be implemented in in the following 13 nature reserves and national parks: Meschera National Park, Okskiy Nature Biosphere Reserve, Meshcherskiy National Park; Kerzhensky Nature Reserve, Buzuluskiy Bor National Park, Zhigulevskiy Nature Reserve, Bastak Nature Reserve, Samarkskaya Luka National Park; Sayano-Shushenskiy Nature Reserve, Stolby Nature Reserve, Bureinkiy Nature Reserve, Shushkenskiy Bor National Park, and Komsomolskiy Nature Reserve.
The Project will also support efforts of the pilot regions to improve the regulatory and legal framework for forestry, ensure legality monitoring with respect to forest products, develop ICT in forest management, shift to an adaptive strategy of forest fire management, improve forest use efficiency, rehabilitate burnt forests, build up human resource capacity, and introduce innovative practices of forest management.
A number of Project activities are universal in nature and will be implemented jointly by the Federal Forestry Agency and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Project management will be performed by a Project Implementation Unit competitively selected by the Selection Committee. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Development participated in the Selection Committee.
“By supporting the Government in its forest fire prevention and management efforts, the Bank continues its long-standing and comprehensive engagement with the Russian Federation on sustainable forest management,” said Michal Rutkowski, World Bank Country Director and Resident Representative in Russia.
- 266 reads
