RMK to hold a research seminar in Tartu 27.01

According to Tiit Timberg, a Member of RMK’s Management Board, the research seminar will sum up three extensive research projects conducted with RMK’s support from 2008 to 2011. “Thanks to this kind of research, we are able to forecast the impact of forest management on natural processes and on the forest ecosystem. Findings from the research are bound to impact on our daily work. We are going to gain new knowledge about how trees grow and why they die, dangers posed for plants by the harvesting of logging waste and stumps, and the impact of forest drainage on water quality in bodies of water,” Timberg invoked the findings of research to be presented during the first section of the seminar.

Staff and students from research institutions as well as officials from environmental protection agencies and forest owners interested in an overview of new trends in environmental conservation and forest management are invited to attend the seminar.

Under RMK’s development plan, a total of EUR 766,940 worth of research will be funded from 2011 to 2014. According to Timberg, working with Estonia’s universities and PhD students is a long-term direction for RMK. “Our researchers’ contribution to bringing new knowledge to bear on the conservation of natural assets in Estonia’s forests is very important for the manager of the State forests. We would like to manage the State forest sustainably, which in essence means striking a balance in environmental, economic and social terms. To this end, specific and research-based new environmental knowledge is critical,” Tiit Timberg pointed out.

The commissioning of research is coordinated by RMK’s research council, composed of researchers and experts with specialist knowledge. From 2008 to 2011, RMK has allocated 4 million kroons for the pursuit of research.

Registrations for the research seminar, to be held in the Peterson Room at the Dorpat Conference Centre in Tartu, will be open online on RMK’s homepage through 30 January. During the first half of the day, 10 am to 1 pm, findings will be presented from research conducted and completed to date with funding from RMK. During the second half of the day, 2 to 5 pm, PhD students in earth sciences and ecology will present findings from their research projects. Attendance at the seminar is free.

RMK is a profit-making state agency established under the Forestry Act, aimed at sustainable and efficient management of the state forest. RMK grows forest renewal material, organises forest works, deals with the sale of forest and timber and organises the care of game.   In addition to that, RMK creates hiking and forest recreation opportunities at its recreation areas, five national parks of Estonia and almost 40 other reserves, and shapes people's knowledge of nature. RMK manages 38% of Estonian forests.

To read more about the seminar, go to: www.rmk.ee/meist/teadustegevus 

Additional information:
Kristjan Tõnisson
Head Specialist of Environmental Management, RMK
Telephone: 5691 8728
E-mail: kristjan.tonisson@rmk.ee