MINSK, 23 February (BelTA) - Belarus invites the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to implement a joint project on the early detection of pine forest dieback and decline, Belarus' Deputy Forestry Minister Alexander Kulik said during a meeting with FAO Assistant Director General, Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia Vladimir Rakhmanin, BelTA learned from the press service of the Forestry Ministry.
“We propose to implement joint projects with FAO in a number of areas. We suggest developing integrated measures to rehabilitate the damaged pine plantations in the southern regions of the country, implementing a pilot project on early detection, monitoring and restoration of damaged plantations, evaluating the national methods to take stock of the forests under the technical cooperation program,” Alexander Kulik said.
He also noted that for the third year the forests in Belarus have been suffering the consequences of the climate change. In 2015 the country had to deal with very dry weather. In 2016 it was storms. 2017 brought an onslaught of bark beetles. All this has caused significant damage to forests. The Forestry Ministry called on the partner countries to join efforts and on the international organizations to provide support. The ministry places great emphasis on cooperation with FAO.
Alexander Kulik recalled that there are plans to hold an international seminar on protection of pine plantations against insects and diseases with the participation of FAO experts at the Gomel-based forestry in April this year.
Vladimir Rakhmanin, for his part, said that FAO will help the Forestry Ministry to fight off the drying out of pine plantations. According to him, European countries are aware of the importance of the problem. It has primarily affected Belarus and Ukraine, but forests know no borders and it is therefore important to fight off the spread of inspects.
