ArmInfo.Belarus is ready to cooperate with Armenia within the framework of the 10 million seedling planting program. On March 12, Vitaly Drozhzha, Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Belarus, told reporters about this, answering a question from ArmInfo.
<In principle, we are ready to supply a similar volume of seedlings. However, there are issues that we need to resolve. I think that in the near future we will achieve some positive results in this direction>, he noted. The Minister praised the fact that Armenia pays very serious attention to afforestation of its territory. <Forests in the Republic of Belarus occupy almost 40% of the total territory. In Armenia, this figure is 11%, and it is encouraging that you set a goal to double this figure by 2050, at least, " Drozhzha said.
<We will do our best to assist you. We have fairly good experience in forestry, starting from growing planting material using European technologies up to forest inventory, administration, cutting, and so on>, he said. According to him, the issues of cooperation in the field of the forest sector will be discussed at a meeting with the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Armenia Erik Grigoryan. Drozhzha reminded that in 2018, the Belarusian side supplied 50 thousand seedlings to Armenia, and the so-called Friendship Forest was founded.
To recall, having ratified the Paris Agreement, Armenia committed to increase the size of forest territories by 285 thousand hectares by 2050, which implies the planting of 800-900 million trees. This means that up to 30 million seedlings should be planted at an annual rate. This process automatically implies the creation of new nurseries of seedlings, the creation of additional jobs, active interaction with communities adjacent to forests, and so on.
Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that in 2020, 10 million trees will be planted in Armenia. Tentatively, these works will cover 3300 hectares, however, it is possible that some of the seedlings will be planted on the territory of communities that need to increase green areas.