Russia to Begin Growing GMO Forests: What Are the Dangers for Wildlife and Nature?

In May 2025, literally just days ago, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin instructed the government to assess the feasibility of developing genetically modified (GMO) trees with accelerated growth for the creation of forest plantations. That is, to grow forests for future logging, but to do it as quickly as possible.

Direct quote from the official document:

"The Government of the Russian Federation shall submit proposals on the feasibility of conducting, with the participation of interested organizations, scientific research and experimental design work on the development of genetically modified tree species with specified morphological properties and wood growth rates, in order to assess the possibility of creating forest plantations for commercial cultivation and use of such wood."

The deadline for execution is July 1, 2025.

Let's immediately note two very important things.

1. Such a step by the state indicates that the real destruction of ancient forests is recognized at the highest level! Everything we have been talking about for years — the destruction of wildlife, the devastation of the Russian Taiga — corresponds to reality. And now the President of Russia personally is urgently initiating programs for the artificial cultivation of forest plantations.

   
   

   The scale of destruction of wildlife is devastating and global, but so tightly bound to the existing consumer economy that physically no one is able to stop it! The urgent proposal to grow forests confirms the global crisis we are in.

   
   
2. We have long been advocating for forest cultivation instead of destroying true ancient ecosystems! We were deliberately ignored. On abandoned farmlands — and we have millions of hectares of them — trees can and must be grown for industrial use.

Unfortunately, right now, while the President proposes growing GMO trees in an attempt to protect the remaining ancient forests, our officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Economic Development are legalizing the destruction of real MOUNTAIN FORESTS, which are biodiversity "hotspots". This madness must be STOPPED URGENTLY, right now, before they make an irreversible mistake.

I know that my materials are read by sectoral specialists and respected government representatives with serious resources to counter such initiatives! Speak out, support us — we cannot allow mountain refugia to be destroyed. There will be no way back! Don’t let them tear apart Russia’s protected heritage.

Let’s now discuss the President of Russia’s initiative to grow GMO forests.

Forest cultivation is the right direction — even a necessary one! We all understand perfectly well that the economy needs wood, but further destruction of ancient forests is simply unacceptable. The line of reason was crossed long ago.

The fact that the President's directive is to be implemented by July 1, 2025, shows deep understanding of the problem at the country’s leadership level. They understand perfectly well that urgent action is needed!

The problem is, our current field executors are INCAPABLE of organizing environmental measures, let alone sensibly transitioning the economy toward forest cultivation instead of destruction. The directive will be executed chaotically, sloppily, with budget funds siphoned into private pockets! Just like with reforestation — according to the Russian Accounts Chamber, up to 90% of all seedlings die after planting. No one is responsible, and there is no oversight (especially strict oversight) at all.

Thus, we will definitely get defective but highly active work from the authorities, as money will be embezzled mercilessly. And afterward — pretty reports will be drawn up about how the economy is “transitioning” to eco-forestry!

What must be done before starting forest cultivation?

• Completely replace the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources and its subordinate structures! They have already failed previous national initiatives, and nothing will change until competent people are appointed to leadership positions.
• The Accounts Chamber is doing an excellent job — superb leadership. The Investigative Committee of Russia is also performing well, but it needs more authority! I would recommend creating an interagency body uniting the Accounts Chamber and Investigative Committee with special federal powers to oversee implementation of the President’s directive and the ability to prosecute high-ranking officials for failures and misappropriations.

Only after that should implementation of the President’s directive on forest cultivation begin. Otherwise, the initiative is doomed to massive problems.

Now regarding the GMO forests themselves

It’s good that the President tasked research institutions with assessment before launching such a project into practical implementation. The fact is, GMO monoculture plantations can be extremely dangerous, and any careless action will lead to disaster!

Due to their rapid growth, GMO trees require enormous amounts of water and nutrients, which threatens accelerated soil and water depletion. And in our case, these thresholds are already at the edge.

Industrial planting of GMO trees risks intensifying ecosystem degradation and finishing off the last wild nature areas. Laboratory studies show that, for instance, GMO fields planted in lead-contaminated soil accumulated more metals and altered soil microbiota more severely than conventional varieties. This demonstrates that genetic modifications can unpredictably affect the habitat and all surrounding ecosystems!

Another problem is again the defective work of local officials. They will begin planting GMO plantations right next to natural ecosystems, and the pollen and seeds of such trees can travel dozens of kilometers. As a result, foreign genes may penetrate into wild populations of forest trees and cause UNPREDICTABLE HYBRIDIZATION.

Even if the plantation is isolated, the long life cycle of trees (decades, even centuries), combined with the abundance of pollen, creates a risk of crossbreeding with natural forests and spreading material over large areas.

What happens next? An invasive GMO species enters wild nature and begins a brutal expansion, literally destroying the habitat of the last ancient forests. Numerous scientific studies show that such plantations displace native species — not only trees, but plants and animals as well.

I studied research by Brazilian scientists, where GMO forests have been cultivated. They already call them “green deserts” — virtually no flora or fauna survives there; essentially, these are dead plantations of GMO trees that extract all the water and nutrients from the soil. The soil is literally dead afterward!

Now imagine if even more aggressively growing GMO trees are created and then spread throughout ecosystems. It would be bad enough even if isolated — but gradual expansion will be inevitable! And I know perfectly well how local officials will act: they will plant these forests DIRECTLY NEXT TO WILDLIFE.

After growing forests and logging them on a large scale, we’ll be left with dry, dead land with no grass cover or leaf litter — soil erosion, desertification, salinization, and acidification.

Where GMO eucalyptus has been planted in the world, the soil is already acidified, degradation is widespread, and the last nutrients are being extracted.

The race for GMO forests has already begun globally. Major projects are underway in the U.S. and Brazil — plantations are expanding rapidly! Serious consequences are already emerging, and no one can truly assess the long-term effects.

Water is disappearing, soil degradation is setting in, plant and animal species are being displaced, and genuine ancient forests are being invaded by aggressive tree species that destroy all local ecosystems.

Therefore:

• These forests MUST NOT be planted on clear-cuts or wastelands; they may only be cultivated very carefully (which we are clearly not capable of) on agricultural land.

  
  

• A federal STRICT BAN must be introduced on planting such forests near protected areas and intact forests. The distance must be sufficient, including with regard to seed and pollen dispersal!

  
  
• For every such GMO forest placement, environmental assessments must be conducted under the strictest control.

Let’s summarize

Forest cultivation is a right and necessary step. But I believe that the very idea of creating GMO trees and massive plantations of such forests is an extremely dangerous initiative that will inevitably spiral out of control! No one — not a single person, not one scientist — can guarantee safety for the last remaining wild ecosystems. And as soon as the situation gets out of control somewhere, our country won’t face a weed like giant hogweed. No. It will face the spread of huge, fast-growing trees with uncontrolled expansion, leading to complete and rapid destruction of wild nature.

I sincerely hope that Russian scientists can now prepare a competent report for the President warning against such an initiative, and propose an alternative: cultivation of native fast-growing tree species! In every region, these must be species that are native and naturally occurring there. No invasions.

But even in that case, colossal monitoring and expert supervision of groundwater levels and soil quality will be required. Any deviation may be destructive!

© PAVEL PASHKOV