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The International Forest Institute (IFI) is a non-governmental organization and was established in September 1991. The main goals of the IFI are applied research and scientific-based conservation and sustainable management of forest ecosystems in Russia and facilitation of international cooperation in forest sector.

The Scientific activities of the IFI are mainly focused on ecology, biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of forest ecosystems. The Institute cooperates closely with leading scientific institutes under the Russian Academy of Science (RAS), under the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and its subordinated institution, the Federal Forestry Agency, as well as with NGOs.

Since the IFI has been established, it has implemented more than thirty national and international projects in the following areas: investigation of boreal forests status and dynamics using remote (distant) e.g. aerospace and GIS technologies, monitoring of forest cover in Russia, rational use of Siberian forest resources, forest fires monitoring and assessment of their consequences, investigation of undisturbed forests succession dynamics, preparation of concept papers and creation of forest protected areas (Kologriv state nature reserve) in Kostroma region.

Main partners in the implementation of the projects were the following institutions: Federal Forestry Agency of MNR RF, RAS, Russian Space Agency, Department of Nature Use and Environmental Protection of Moscow Government, Central Base of Air Forest Protection, NASA, IIASA, CNES, US EPA, US Oregon State University, Japan Scientific Institute of Technologies for the Earth, IRC, TACIS, US Forest Service, John D. & Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation etc.

In recent years the MATRA Program of the Dutch government became very important as two projects were successfully implemented.

Recently the IFI went through obligatory re-registration. New founders are Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow State Forest University and Alterra (the Netherlands). This new foundation is strongly supported by the Netherlands authorities, as exemplified by the personal presence of the Netherlands Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality on the seminar at the occasion of the official signing of the registration documents on the 30th of June 2005. The present proposal is a direct follow-up of the recommendation expressed at that occasion to increase co-operation.

The strategic priorities of the IFI for the coming years are the following:

• Development of integral forest monitoring system using distant methods and GIS-technologies, including aerospace monitoring of forestry, renewing forest resources, forest fires and forest-pathological monitoring, monitoring of timber harvesting and illegal cutting;
  Development of national forest certification scheme and standards;
  Use of forests as a renewable energy resource in conditions of ratified Kyoto Protocol by the Russian Federation;

• Management planning in model forest ecosystems;

• Forest Ecological networks development;

• Biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods of local population in forest regions;

• Conservation of wetlands, peat lands and water protected zones on forestlands.