Russian Forestry Planning: Forestry Revenue and Expenditures

The expenditure-revenue comparison of forestry in market conditions is becoming a pressing issue. For the government, expenditures are tied to forest management costs, and revenue is generated in the form of payments for forest use. At the same time, the target of budget forestry funding is parcels of forest reserve land that are not leased. Forest management within the borders of leased forest lands is carried out by the tenants at their own expense, while continuing to make lease payments. As studies have shown, expenditures for all budget levels of forestry management in the Russian Federation from 2011 to 2017 consistently exceeded revenue from forest use. One of the key problems in Russian forestry is underfunding. Given these conditions, this industry's existing systems of budgeting and revenue increases must be transformed. This paper offers recommendations on how to change the current situation. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved

Key Challenges of On-Line Education in Multi-Cultural Context

In meeting the ever-growing educational needs of culturally diverse student populations, universities and colleges still seek to maintain high quality standards, both for in situ and on line education. Despite the latter's reportedly high effectiveness potential, online degree courses tend to have low students' persistence and satisfaction rates. In this pape, r we examine the role that students' and instructors' national cultures play in the way individuals learn at a distance. We argue that students' individual culture dimensions may prove influential in achieving overall learning outcomes. The key complexities for students involve understanding the instructor's role in a socio-constructivist approach, adapting online collaborative learning and acquiring academic skills. These can become crucial barriers to effective online learning. No less a challenge is presented by online distance education for instructors. Academic institutions' managements have high expectations in terms of utilizing up-to-date teaching techniques, enhancing competitive edge and maximizing cost-effectiveness. Thus, the teaching staff is expected to play an increasingly essential role in the new environment. We conclude that instructors have to develop strategies to motivate, support and counsel students with the aim of facilitating the students' on-line learning experience. This implies that teaching staff have to acquire new skills and competences vital for multicultural online education. Robert Kennedy College, whose experience is reflected in this paper, shares much of the issues of other institutions aiming to utilize distance online learning, but has the advantage that it was set up from the start as an online institution. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Problems and prospects of digitalization and informatization of forest education in Russia

Digital technologies are rapidly invading all spheres of life of modern society. Education is no exception. On the contrary, education is becoming one of the main subjects and beneficiaries of digitalization in the broad sense of the word, often in the most unexpected areas of knowledge obtaining, mastering and applying. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Practices of forest exploitation in priority investment projects: Benefits and implications

The paper discusses the topical issues of investment activities enhancement in the forest sector of the Russian economy by implementing the mechanism of priority investment projects in the field of forest exploitation - economic model of public-private partnership proposed by the forest owner (the State) for the private sector. The aim of the considered investment projects is the development of a timber-processing infrastructure, which is reliably provided with wood raw materials. It becomes possible to ensure certain preferences for businessmen that encourage them to invest money into the forest sector. Thus, the other objective is to develop recommendations for attracting investments into the forest sector of the Russian economy in the framework of priority investment projects. The paper analyzes a ten-year experience in the practice of applying priority investment projects in forest exploitation using an integrated approach to studying project management issues and method of comparison. The research identifies positive moments and a number of organizational and methodological shortcomings related to the development and implementation of investment projects in the forest sector of the Russian Federation. A number of areas contributing to the development of investment activities in forest exploitation is proposed. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Priorities in forestry planning

The main objective of the federal strategy for forestry development is setting industry (what should be done?) and regional (where should it be done?) priorities. We need a scientific approach, which would facilitate strategic decisions incorporating a complete set of criteria and indicators available in a market economy. The industry priority should be based on the industry's capability of innovation-driven growth and manufacturing competitive products for domestic and export markets. In addition to industry priorities, federal strategic planning in the forest sector implies responsibility for location of industries and production facilities across the country. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Practices of forest exploitation in priority investment projects: Benefits and implications

The paper discusses the topical issues of investment activities enhancement in the forest sector of the Russian economy by implementing the mechanism of priority investment projects in the field of forest exploitation - economic model of public-private partnership proposed by the forest owner (the State) for the private sector. The aim of the considered investment projects is the development of a timber-processing infrastructure, which is reliably provided with wood raw materials. It becomes possible to ensure certain preferences for businessmen that encourage them to invest money into the forest sector. Thus, the other objective is to develop recommendations for attracting investments into the forest sector of the Russian economy in the framework of priority investment projects. The paper analyzes a ten-year experience in the practice of applying priority investment projects in forest exploitation using an integrated approach to studying project management issues and method of comparison. The research identifies positive moments and a number of organizational and methodological shortcomings related to the development and implementation of investment projects in the forest sector of the Russian Federation. A number of areas contributing to the development of investment activities in forest exploitation is proposed. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Economic priorities of the strategic planning of forest sector in the Russian Federation

Branch and regional prioritization of the forest sector is a necessary condition for its development and compatibility growth. It allows toplan and forecast the forest management activities and their allocation across the country. Strategic planning and forecasting should use the following methodology. Firstly, it is necessary to rank the priority branches of the forest sector according to the criterion of their income (for example, wooden housing construction, packing paper, furniture, bioenergy, etc.). At the next iteration, economic regions are to be ranked according to the transportation cost criterion (for example, North-West, West, Center of Russia, Siberia, the Far East etc.). Merging both iterations in a single matrix will show the direction of diminishing effectiveness of the managerial solutions. The most effective solutions will be in the upper left corner of the matrix. The least effective solutions will move to the lower right corner. This matrix should serve a conceptual basis of the methodology for the long-term strategic planning and forecasting of the forest sector in the Russian Federation. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Blockchain - booster of the Russian forest information systems

Digitalization of the Russian forest sector is successfully developing. The first Unified State Automated Information System for timber accounting and transactions (LesEGAIS) has been operating since December 30, 2015 and continues to improve. In 2023, it will be qualitatively transformed into the Federal State Information System of the Forestry Sector FGIS LK. However, these systems continue to be built on centralized databases and rapidly outdated information concepts of the last century. They do not consider the fundamentally new opportunities that the new breakthrough information technology of the distributed ledger (the blockchain) provides to the forest. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Current issues of the regional forestry planning on the example of the Sverdlovsk region (Russian Federation)

The publication addresses the problematic issues of the regional forestry planning. The object of research is the forest sector of the Sverdlovsk region. The subject of research is the mechanism of regional forestry planning. The purpose of the work is to describe the current mechanism of regional forest planning and make individual proposals to improve its functioning. One decade of experience in applying the first forestry plans of the subjects of the Russian Federation have shown their failure. The new forestry plans, developed in the subjects of the Russian Federation using a unified methodology for the period from 2018 to 2029, do not inspire optimism either. The main reasons for the failure of forestry plans are the lack of a scientific concept and the usage of a forest management approach in their development. The conclusions are drawn on a number of organizational and methodological problems associated with the development and implementation of the existing regional forestry planning mechanism, as well as on the need to develop an up-to-date scientifically proven methodological basis for planning in the forest sector at the regional level. © 2020 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Blockchain - killer of illegal wood

Distributed Ledger Technology (DTL) is a leading technologies in the current "digital revolution". The new technology is a real boon for the national forest sector. It may bring the Russian forest sector to the forefront of competitiveness and efficiency. However, the internal shortcomings, dangers, and threats of the new technology should be timely studied and eliminated. The "digit"is as strong as nuclear power. It is able to bestowhumanity or cause a global catastrophe if mishandled andmistreated. This fully applies to the forestry sector. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd