Ministry of Forestry: If necessary, Belarus can help Russia with planting stock

Belarus is ready to supply the fire-ravaged regions of Russia with planting stock, said Belarusian Minister of Forestry on September 15th in Minsk.

Belarus is ready to supply the fire-ravaged regions of Russia with planting stock, said Belarusian Minister of Forestry on September 15^th in Minsk.

“We are ready (to deliver seeds, ref. soyuz.by), we have a large stock of fir and pine seeds, so we can help our neighbours, our colleagues by providing them with the seeds,” said Minister of Forestry of Belarus Mikhail Amelyanovich. “We have a sufficient quantity of seedlings and saplings that meet all regional characteristics”. “But so far we haven’t received any requests for seeds or seedlings to help the fire-ravaged regions of Russia,” he added.

The reason, said M.Amelyanovich, may be that it’s not the time yet. He explained that first of all it is necessary to eliminate the consequences of the fires. “The conflagrations have affected more than 1,200 hectares of forests, which is comparable to the area of forests growing in Minsk region,” specified the Minister. “Just imagine that all the forests that grow in Minsk region burned down”. So, first of all, burnt wood must be removed, which can take two or three years. Only then can one proceed to reforestation, prepare the soil and then in spring or autumn set to planting or seeding – creating new forests.

“So, it is too early to think about supplying Russia with planting stock. If anything, we ourselves can take the initiative and arrange the planting stock,” summed up the Minister.

M.Amelyanovich also reported that the consequences of summer forest fires on the territory of Belarus were minimal. He said that was the result of the fact that since Soviet times Belarus had preserved an effective system of early fire detection, fire extinguishing and forest patrols funded from the budget.