526 facts of illegal logging have been revealed in Bashkiria year to date

UFA, 28 November 2018. /Bashinform News Agency, Azat Gizatullin/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/. The level of forest violations in Bashkortostan is still high. As part of the monitoring and control activities, this year 2300 violations were revealed, which is 11 percent more than in the same period of 2017. 526 facts of illegal logging of forest stands were established, as a result of which damage to the budget amounted to more than 111 million rubles. These facts were cited by the Minister of Forestry of the Republic Marat Sharafutdinov at a meeting of the Volga Federal District devoted to the decriminalization of the forest industry.

According to him, the increase in offenses is, firstly, due to the shortage of the inspectors, who provide forest protection. Secondly, illegal loggers have become much more mobile.

“The joint raids of the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Interior in Bashkiria help prevent crimes in the field of forestry. Also, in order to preserve natural reserves, the information system for timber accounting and transactions with it “LesEGAIS” is actively used. To ensure transparency of forest use, the information system “AVERS: Forest Fund Management” has been introduced. In order to preserve the coniferous young forest, «Fur Tree-2018» operation has been launched in the region since November 19, Marat Sharafutdinov noted.

In Bashkortostan, satellite imagery is increasingly being used to improve the effectiveness of the control over this activity. Oleg Mashkovtsev, Deputy Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of Russia to the Volga Federal District, stressed that work should be continued and developed in this direction. As a result of the meeting, a number of proposals were elaborated to improve the efficiency of the regions in the field of forest relations and to decriminalize the forest industry.