30.07.2019, 15:58
Greenpeace Announced the Need to Reduce Forest Fire Control Zones
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS. Control zones of forest fires, where it's possible not to extinguish a fire, should be halved, Alexey Yaroshenko, the head of the Forest Department of the Greenpeace Russian Branch, told the Russian media. Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Dmitry Kobylkin, instructed the Russian forestry, together with regional departments, to revise the boundaries of the zones of control of inaccessible forest fires in order to reduce the threat of their transition to human settlements.
"According to our estimates, the control zones should be reduced by about half of the current figure. Now it's half of the forest land of the country. According to our estimates, it's reasonable to leave a quarter", said Yaroshenko. According to the expert, it's necessary to exclude from the control zones the neighborhoods of populated areas and territories adjacent to railways, roads of federal and regional significance.
"It's necessary to exclude exploitable forests from control zones, that is, those forests in which logging and other types of forest use are allowed. It turns out that forests can be exploited, but not extinguished, because the forest is unavailable", the expert said. He clarified that in the control zones, where it's possible not to extinguish forest fires, the north of Yakutia, the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and distant sites in the tundra taiga, which are very far from roads, may remain.
According to the expert, now the region has no money for extinguishing and there are no clear criteria for when to extinguish. The control zone allows not to extinguish fires, so the regions choose this path. He also added that new fires that arise should be extinguished as long as possible, including in control zones.
The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources estimates that the area of forest fires is 2.7 million hectares, which is 12% more than last year, and the state of emergency was introduced in five regions of the country. According to estimates of the Russian branch of Greenpeace, about 4 million hectares of forest are burning, which is 20% more than in 2018 during this period.
"According to our estimates, the control zones should be reduced by about half of the current figure. Now it's half of the forest land of the country. According to our estimates, it's reasonable to leave a quarter", said Yaroshenko. According to the expert, it's necessary to exclude from the control zones the neighborhoods of populated areas and territories adjacent to railways, roads of federal and regional significance.
"It's necessary to exclude exploitable forests from control zones, that is, those forests in which logging and other types of forest use are allowed. It turns out that forests can be exploited, but not extinguished, because the forest is unavailable", the expert said. He clarified that in the control zones, where it's possible not to extinguish forest fires, the north of Yakutia, the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and distant sites in the tundra taiga, which are very far from roads, may remain.
According to the expert, now the region has no money for extinguishing and there are no clear criteria for when to extinguish. The control zone allows not to extinguish fires, so the regions choose this path. He also added that new fires that arise should be extinguished as long as possible, including in control zones.
The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources estimates that the area of forest fires is 2.7 million hectares, which is 12% more than last year, and the state of emergency was introduced in five regions of the country. According to estimates of the Russian branch of Greenpeace, about 4 million hectares of forest are burning, which is 20% more than in 2018 during this period.
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