site.btaAgriculture Ministry, State Forest Enterprises Prepare Recovery Plan for Fire Damaged Forest Areas

By the end of October, the Agriculture and Food  Ministry and the state forestry enterprises will prepare a plan for the restoration of the forest territories burned in 2024 , the press centre of the Ministry said on Saturday. This was decided during a meeting between Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Miroslav Marinov and the directors of the six state enterprises and the Regional Forestry Directorates in the country. 

Since the beginning of the year there have been more than 500 forest fires and in about 10% of the affected area the tree vegetation has been completely destroyed by fires, said Deputy Minister Marinov.

Afforestation is a priority for the Ministry and state enterprises, Marinov also stated at the meeting. The directors of the enterprises informed that a survey of all 17 000 hectares of burned forest territories is still ongoing. This will allow the preparation of an analysis of the affected areas and outline specific steps for their recovery. The territories will be constantly monitored by forestry experts to prevent the development of insect pests and phytopathogens.

The restoration plan-programme will list all activities such as soil preparation, selection of tree species and provision of the necessary planting material for afforestation, seeds and saplings, schemes for afforestation and cultivation. State enterprises will prioritize the restoration of burned areas near populated areas and eroded terrains.

During the meeting, the supply of firewood to the population before the beginning of the heating season was also discussed. The data of the state enterprises indicate that the sale prices of firewood are lower than last year by up to 17%.

The Executive Forests Agency, through its regional structures in the country,  will carry out inspections of the permanent water courses passing through the forest territories for the presence of piles of wood.

Over BGN 250,000 has been paid out under the de minimis programme to farmers in the country who sustained damages from the fires in the summer, said a few days ago caretaker Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov in the Svilengrad village of Ravna Gora, which was affected by the fires.