A key example of tangible results born out of the multi-stakeholder platform, the establishment of consistent dialogue with local communities and forest management entities built a network that improved community relationships as well as local livelihoods. Mondi now works to prepare and incorporate management maps that indicate proposed operational sites, protected areas, and areas of social importance for circulation to local stakeholders. They solicit feedback from these plans and submit them to forest managers for input. Following a recent forest certification group meeting, Oksana Pomysova, head of the rural settlement of Spasorub, expressed her sense of encouragement by the meeting’s outcomes, which included “the Luzales management [corporation], experts and local residents involved.” Pomysova explained, “Each of the parties got a chance to speak out. The experts’ comments and estimates helped the local residents to understand that Luzales has to take their interests into account, while the company is to pay a closer attention to the requirements of the local community.”
Likewise, Mondi now has a social partnership agreement with local villages that have been impacted by logging operations. Through this arrangement, community members can apply for funding from Mondi to improve their livelihoods. To date, Mondi has awarded assemblages for developing local entrepreneurship, supporting social infrastructure, and developing education.
The most recent dialogue in Komi was convened last year to grapple with social inclusion challenges within forest management. Stakeholders discussed a breadth of issues, from insufficient awareness amongst local communities regarding forest operations; poor access by small local entrepreneurs to forest resources; the limited supply of firewood and sawn timber; conflicts with traditional non-timber uses of forests; and the impact of heavy timber trucks on public roads.
The Forest Dialogue’s initial dialogue in 2008 served as a catalyst for a sustained, multi-stakeholder engagement platform. Both Mondi and Silver Taiga have seen the importance of convening local stakeholders, who bring important perspectives to forest management discussions. The Forest Dialogue looks forward to seeing continued collaboration amongst stakeholders in a way that fosters further results for local livelihoods. For more information about the first Komi dialogue, please visit
The Forests Dialogue or
Silver Taiga.