There is widespread concern that the global environment could be affected by  anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs; McCarthy et al., 2001). In response, experts have suggested that forests could reduce the contribution of energy-related and other emissions to GHG concentrations in the atmosphere via carbon sequestration, which removes CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis from forest growth and stores it in terrestrial carbon stocks such as trees, soils, and harvested wood products (Metz et al., 2001). The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 formally recognized the potential role that forests can play in helping to reduce the impacts of climate change. Since then, many countries have responded by intensifying their efforts to quantify their current carbon storage in forests, and some countries (including Russia) have engaged in implementation projects aimed at testing the potential for sequestering additional carbon in forests. Activities such as shifting agricultural land back to forests, reducing deforestation, enhancing forest management, or reducing forest fires are management options that could increase the stock of carbon in the world’s forests.

A team of Russian and American scientists, nongovernmental organizations, and U.S. government organizations have worked together on an extensive study to assess and employ advanced data and methods to quantify the historic, current, and potential size of the Russian carbon sink. The results of that effort are published in a longer technical report (Zamolodchikov et al., 2005). This report synthesizes and summarizes the findings of the detailed companion technical report for the international climate policy community. Some material and policy analysis included in this synthesis document, however, are not reported in the technical report, which focuses on technical aspects of carbon accounting and sequestration analysis. Both reports are published in Russian and English.

In developing this synthesis report, the authors worked to answer the following questions:

1. What is the status of Russian forestry data for assessing carbon stocks and flows and for conducting analyses of carbon sequestration potential?
2. What is the magnitude of carbon stocks on lands in Russia today, and are these stocks a net sink or source of emissions?
3. What is the economic potential to sequester additional carbon on the Russian forest landscape as a climate mitigation option?

To answer Questions (2) and (3) above, one must first attempt to assess the status of the data sources available in Russia for quantifying carbon stocks and flows. In so doing, this synthesis report summarizes the results of the technical report, assesses the status of data sources for Russia, compares the methods and data to methods used in other countries, and discusses how the data can be used in international processes (Question 1). The report then uses the data to present estimates of carbon stocks and emissions in current periods (Question 2), to use state-of-the-art economic modeling to project future trends, and to assess climate mitigation potential (Question 3).