One forester supervises 50 thousand hectares of forest in Bashkiria

The workload on forestry workers has increased in recent years due to a decrease in the number of people employed in the industry. If earlier 8.5-10 thousand people worked in the forestry system through the Ministry of Forestry, now there are 1.5-2 thousand employees. This was stated by the Minister of Forestry of Bashkiria Marat Sharafutdinov in an interview with the EAN edition.

“On average, one employee supervises 11.5 thousand hectares of forests. In Burzyansky and Beloretsky districts, inspectors have to control 50 thousand hectares of forest on rough terrain,” he said.

More than 2.5 thousand lease agreements have been concluded in the republic for all types of forest use; that is, about 26% of forests are leased. Basically, tenants are engaged in timber harvesting.

“However, it is impossible to compare the motivation of a state inspector and a tenant,” the minister said. Among the tenants, many responsible people who care for the forest. For example, in the Karaidel region, local entrepreneurs united and created a union of timber merchants. They have been living and working on this land for a long time; they take good care of the forest. In the Askinsky district, tenants are very responsible for reforestation; the quality of their planting is higher than that of our forestry.

Nevertheless, all the same, entrepreneurs do not go to the forest to protect it but to use it. They do not patrol forests, do not conduct raids. Some are determined to make a profit at any cost,” Marat Sharafutdinov stated.

Author: Rozalia Valeeva