WWF Russia and group of companies Titan have signed an agreement on voluntary protection of undisturbed taiga with an area 1,834 ha adjacent to Dvinsko-Pinezhsky nature reserve.

The taiga area of high conservation value which was not included into the landscape nature reserve created on October 1, 2019, could have been put into the forest procurement production plan of the holding in full accordance with Russian forest law and requirements of voluntary certification. Instead, GC Titan has placed this area of high conservation value under voluntary protection, in order to compensate for losses from logging on the total area of about 150 ha inside the new nature reserve.

As informed earlier, the company is carrying out its own investigation of the incident.

Besides, at the end of December 2019, GC Titan with the participation of FSC® Russia signed with WWF Russia a Roadmap on preservation of high conservation value forests till 2028.

The Roadmap includes a plan of actions on conservation of biological and landscape diversity, including extension of existing nature conservation areas and creation of new areas in 24 forest compartments in the Arkhangelsk region, that are under operational management of GC Titan, Arkhangelsk PPM* and Sawmill 25. In addition, in 2020 GC Titan begins putting into practice an intensive stable model of forestry management on its rental lease territory on the area of more than 2.5 ha.

*License code of JSC "Arkhangelsk pulp and paper mill" - FSC®-COO2853