Russia is home to one-fifth of the world’s forest and further exploiting this resource could help the country cut down its economic reliance on oil and gas.  Hydrocarbons account for half of Russian exports by volume while wood and its derived materials represent about three percent. Increasing export of forest products could help Russia improve its environmental image as wood is a much greener construction material than concrete, which releases lots of carbon into the atmosphere during its production. Trees can be replaced, though environmental groups are skeptical about Russia’s record on that ...