Full list of Expert Council for Forest Industry membership published

Moscow, January 25. Full line-up of the Expert Council for Forest Industry at State Duma has been recently announced, as assistant of Vyacheslav Pozgalyov, Duma Deputee, told WhatWood.

Mr. Pozgalyov who was once Vologda region governor and now is a member of State Duma (Russian Parilament) was announced its head. Director of Lesnoy Soyuz company Viktor Grachyov and RusForest Management LLC Chief Executive Vladimir Gaydamakin became his deputies. Deputy Head of Forestry committee of Moscow region Pavel Kukushkin was appointed executive secretary.

Business community is represented by Chief Executives of Nova Capital LLC (Aleksandr Rudik), Novovyatsky ski mill (Vladimir Sysolyatin), Metsa Forest Podporozhye (Vyacheslav Kanatov), Kronalesprom (Aleksandr Konovalov), Cherepovets plywood and furniture mill (Evgeny Korotkov), as well as Forest Management Director at Investlesprom Natalya Konovalova.

Several industry associations are also represented in the Council with Andrey Pladov (Forest Industry and Export Union of Karelia), Vladimir Chuyko (Bumprom), Aleksandr Golosov (Lyubimskiy mill CEO and head of Forest Industry Union of Yaroslavl region), Gennady Panichev (Regional cooperation and economic analysis department at Russian Forest Industry and Export Union).

Among officials present at the board are Head of Forest and Light Industry Department at Ministry for Industry and Trade Mikhail Klinov, head of State Forestry Policy and Regulation at Ministry for Nature Yuri Gagarin, and head of Forest Management and Reforestation at Federal Forest Service Aleksandr Mariev.

The Council also includes several scientists, including Vladimir Petrov from St. Petersburg Forest University who is renowned for his studies and consistent position on forest policy in Russia, Nikolay Moiseev from Moscow State Forest University, president of Institution of Further Training in Forestry Anatoly Petrov, Head of Roslesinforg (state-run forest management organization) Aleksandr Tretyakov, and head of research institute GNTs LPK Vladimir Kondratyuk.

Two more people are included into the council, namely Daniil Buevich who is the Head of Industrial Deliveries Department at First Cargo Company (railway giant) and Konstantin Kovalyov, vice president at the Russian Engineers Union.

The Council will be a consultative body which will work on a voluntary basis. “Our key task is not only revision of existing laws, but also scientific analysis of new draft laws that concern the forest industry”, Pozgalyov said.

Members of the Council will also help carrying R&D and minimize the gap between the science and the practice.

The Council also plans to evaluate current investment legislation, taking into account Russia’s accession to WTO.

As Vyacheslav Pozgalyov said earlier, woodworking and pulp and paper mills will possibly go through massive closures after WTO accession. Mr. Pozgalyov suggested transferring forest industry under responsibility of Forest Service.

“Nowadays, industry is split from the raw material base, and this split in management affects the economy. Forestry & logging and forest industry are managed by different bodies that set different goals. It’s not normal, they should work together”, Pozgalyov concluded. This will create a single chain from the logging site to the customer, as it was organized in Vologda region, he said.