Russian Forestry and Wood Supply Operations Analysis
FAR EASTERN FEDERAL DISTRICT
KHABAROVSK KRAI
Khabarovsk Krai:
a Velvet Territory
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The Khabarovsk Krai is one of the largest administrative entities in the Russian Federation, comprising
almost 5% of the country's territory. With a total area of 788,600 sq. km, the region stretches along
the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan, measuring 1800 km from north to south. In addition to its
continental part, the Krai includes several islands, the largest of which are the Shantar Islands.
Large-scale forest enterprises
of the Khabarovsk Krai
Shelekhovsky KLPKH, ZAO
REPUBLIC OF
SAKHA-YAKUTIYA
MAGADAN
OBLAST
MAGADAN
Aldan
LENA
YAKUTSK
KAMCHATKA
KRAI
SEA OF OKHOTSK
Arkaim, SP, OO0
Tommot
Suluk, 000
Veryungri
Business-Marketing, GK
Dal'lesstroj, OAO
Rimbunan Hijau MDF, OOO
Ros-DV, OOO
RFP Groupp, UK, OOO
(incl. Dal'lesprom, OAO
and Flora, GK)
Khabarovsk Veneer, OOO
Nikolayevskion-Amur
Isle of Sakhalin
SAKHALIN OBLAST
AMUR
Yagodniy
Tynda AMUR OBLAST Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Paronaysk
Chegdomyn
An ursk
Vanino
TaheO
aniy
Suluk
BLAGOVESCHENSK
KHABAROVSK
BIROBICZHAN
JEWISH AQ
Vyazemskiy
Jiagedagi CHINA
Bikin
Fujin
A-370
PRIMORSKIY
KRAI
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK
SEA
OF JAPAN
JAPAN
128 #6 (2015) RUSSIAN +
FORESTRY
Since May 2000, the region's administrative center, the city of Khabarovsk,
has also been the center of the Far Eastern Federal District. The region
includes six cities under regional administration, one city under district
administration, 17 municipal districts and 223 municipal entities. The
distance by rail from the region's center to Moscow is 8533 km, while the
distance by air is 6075 km.
According to the latest data by Rosstat, the Khabarovsk Krai is home to 1.34
million people, with 80% of the population living in urban areas.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
The climate of the region is variable, influenced both by its geographic
location (the northernmost point is just 430 km below the Arctic Circle)
and its proximity of the sea.
The winters are long and severe, with little snow. The average January
temperature ranges from -22 °C in the south to -40 °C in the north; the
range narrows to -18 °C to -24 °C in coastal areas. The summers are hot
and humid: the average temperature in July is +20 °C in the south and
+15 °C in the north.
The annual rainfall is 400-600 mm in the north and 600-800 mm in the
plains and on the eastern slopes of mountain ridges. In the south, up to
90% of precipitation occurs from April to October, concentrated mostly in
July and August.
TRANSPORT
Khabarovsk is the largest transport hub in the Russian Far East and as
such plays a significant role in the recently intensified economic ties with
Asia-Pacific countries.
Two mainline railways, the Trans-Siberian and the Baikal-Amur, run across the
region, forming the foundation of the transcontinental land bridge between
Europe and Asia. Railway transport in the Khabarovsk Krai accounts for
around 40% of all rail freight in the Far Eastern Federal District.
Water transport is an important factor in sustaining the region. The largest
international sea ports are Vanino, Sovetskaya Gavan and De-Kastri.
The public road network is underdeveloped. While the average density of
hard surface roads in Russia averages39 km per 1000 sq. km, in Khabarovsk
Krai the figure drops to 7.4 km per 1000 sq. km. Some of the roads are
not available for year-round use; some districts have no permanent motor
transport connections with the center of the Krai, while certain key motor
roads are only available in winter.
Currently, three major highways are being built to improve the situation. The
Khabarovsk-Lidoga-Vanino highway, with access to Komsomolsk-on-Amur,
will connect Khabarovsk with the Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan sea ports.
The 329-km highway is expected to be completed in 2016. The road from
Selikhino will connect the Krai's capital and Komsomolsk-on-Amur with cities
and towns in the lower course of the Amur River, and the De-Kastri and
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur sea ports. Another highway currently under construction
will connect Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Berezovy, Amgun, Mogdy and Chegdomyn.
Sixteen airfields operate throughout the region; twelve are public-use airports
and four host corporate flights. Khabarovsk Airport is now being developed
into a Far East air transport hub interconnecting all modes of transport.
ECONOMY
The leading industries of the Khabarovsk Krai are: mining; heavy engineering
(including shipbuilding, aircraft engineering, machine tool and casting
machine manufacturing); electric and electronic equipment manufacturing;
chemical and metals industries; forest, pulp and paper industries; and food
and consumer goods industries.
To a large extent, the variety of industries in the region's economy is
explained by its remoteness from the country's center, resulting in the
need to be self-sufficient.
RESOURCES
In the Khabarovsk Krai, precious metals such as gold and platinum are mined.
The Krai's mining industry accounts for 13.8% of gold production in the Far
Eastern region and for 7.1% of Russia's total production. In terms of gold
production, the Krai ranks seventh in the Russian Federation; in platinum
production, it ranks second.
An important part of the Krai's economy structure relies on renewable
resources such as forests and fish. According to the region's government,
over 70% of the fish catch is represented by deep sea fishing, conducted
mainly in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.
FOREST RESOURCES
The nature of forest vegetation in the Khabarovsk Krai is greatly influenced
by the terrain, and forests vary in composition. In the north, dwarf woodland
prevails, while the southern part of the region features a complex composition
of tree and shrub species.
The Khabarovsk Krai accounts for 18% of wooded areas and 25% of the
timber resources in the Far Eastern Federal District. The area of the state
forest fund is 73.7 million ha (93.5% of the Krai's territory), in which 57.9
million ha are forest land (78.6% of forest fund area), and of these, 51.2
million ha are productive forest land (69.5%). The forest coverage rate
in the Krai's territory is 66.5%, which is almost 1.5 times more than the
average across Russia. The total timber resources are over 5.1 billion m3;
of these, mature and overmature stands account for more than 3.1 billion
m³, including 2.8 billion m³ of conifers.
More than 300 species of trees and shrubs are found in the Khabarovsk Krai,
however the principal species are Dahurian larch and Ajan spruce. More than
half of all Far Eastern spruce forests are concentrated in the Krai.
Overall, mature and overmature forests account for 42.6%. Their share is
the largest in spruce, oak and stone birch forests (70.9%, 62.3% and 57.6%,
respectively). These figures are close to the standard allowable level in
larch forests and is under the standard allowable level in common birch
and fir forests.
RUSSIAN #6 (2015) 129
FORESTRYView entire presentation