At the Government session under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov considered the implementation of the instructions of the Head of State to increase the state forest fund. The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev and akims of a number of regions reported on the work carried out, El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
About 970 million seedlings have been planted in Kazakhstan since 2021. At the same time for 5 years the forested area of the republic has been increased by 267 thousand hectares.
"The Head of State has set the task of planting 2 billion trees. This will make it possible to increase the territory of the country's forest fund to 14.5 million hectares. Expansion of forests and parks, preservation of biodiversity for future generations is one of the important priorities in improving the environmental situation. This is a very complex and long-term work, so it is important to pay constant attention to it. We need to make every effort to increase the forest fund, as well as to preserve the existing forest," Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
In total, Kazakhstan needs to plant and grow more than 1 billion more seedlings by the end of 2027. The realisation of this task depends on the quality work of akimats and clear coordination on the part of the Ministry. In this regard, it was instructed to improve the methods of planting activities, using an integrated scientific approach. The importance of effective planning of preparatory works was also emphasised.
In addition, attention is paid to the issue of rooting of planted trees. Prime Minister stressed that it was necessary to suppress and punish the facts of providing false information on the number of seedlings by akimats.
The Ministry of Ecology together with akimats and interested state bodies have been instructed to develop a plan for the provision of planting materials for the next years until 1 December this year. The Ministry of Ecology should work out the order of observance of agrotechnics on cultivation of planting material and quality control of forest planting works.
Special emphasis was placed on measures to protect forests from fires and illegal logging. Large fires of the past years have shown the unpreparedness of forest organisations to counteract them. In this regard, Kazakhstan is doing a lot of work to equip forestry farms, parks and reserves with special firefighting systems, machinery and equipment. Thus, this year, for the first time in the history of the country's forestry sector, 52 billion tenge has been allocated for the purchase of 1,384 units of firefighting equipment and 921 units of trailed and mounted equipment.
In addition, the system of early detection of forest fires covers more than 900,000 hectares of the state forest fund. Its effectiveness has been proved on the example of the Burabai National Park, where the average area of forest fires has been reduced by 50 times. Next year, a similar system will be introduced in the Semey Ormany reserve at a cost of 3.1 billion tenge.
In order to prevent the spread of diseases and pests, the importance of sanitary work on damaged areas, such as burned areas and ‘sick’ forest, was emphasised. Today only 1 per cent of the total damaged area is harvested. However, the country has a high raw material base for processing of such material.
Prime Minister instructed to intensify work to attract potential investors in the sphere of forest industry. In the work to increase the forest fund it is important to ensure strict control and proper coordination, stressed Olzhas Bektenov.
The Ministries for Ecology and Emergency Situations together with regional Akimats have been instructed to continue financing the purchase of necessary equipment and machinery for forestry institutions, especially with the involvement of extrabudgetary funds.
It is also necessary to conduct continuous monitoring of forests, including space monitoring.