Under threat

Already some regions have been logged out, and in recent years, multinational logging corporations with a history of forest destruction have started to secure long-term logging agreements here.

Indeed, the Malaysian giant Rimbunan Hijau, has just secured two 50 year leases to log forest along the Sea of Japan coast and is planning to export raw logs to markets in China, Japan, and South Korea.

Illegal logging and the consumption of specific timber species by Chinese and Japanese markets are now regarded as the primary threats to the rich temperate forests of the southern regions of Russia's Snow Forests.

This, coupled with an expected increase in demand for Russian timber from Northeast Asia over the next 10 years, poses a serious threat to the survival of these stunning ancient forests.