This paper focuses on evaluation of Russian forests as a carbon sink, which are notable because of its influence on climate change. This paper reviews the literature on evaluation of Russian forest as a carbon sink and reviews current Joint Implementation projects related to forestry. According to the latest research, it is estimated that forests in Russia absorb about 270 million tons of carbon per year, but this value has a large margin of error, so further research is necessary to get a more precise value. There are massive carbon dioxide emissions caused by forest disturbance. Forest fires cause particularly great emissions of carbon dioxide in Russia (127 million tons per year). Most of forest fires are attributed to human causes, and prevention of such fires is a major issue. Only one Joint Implementation program hosted by Russia is under way, but there is the potential for various projects on afforestation and forest fire prevention. However, the chances of the project failing for structural reasons or for reasons related to natural processes make it necessary for the participants to indemnify themselves in some way. Japan could contribute to develop research to assess role of Russian forest in the carbon budget, and also to organize carbon related project contribute both to forest conservation and to rural communities.
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