"Dumps are a pressing problem": those who litter in forests will be tracked by camera traps and AI

      The fire-hazard season in Tatarstan’s forests will not end before mid-October

      Reforestation carried out on 2.8 thousand hectares in Tatarstan

      This year Tatarstan received 111.8 million rubles from the federal budget for the implementation of the regional project “Forest Conservation” within the framework of the national project “Environmental Well‑being,” scheduled for 2025–2030. “The main tasks for this year are carrying out reforestation, harvesting seeds of forest plants, transferring forest cultures to lands on which forests are located, as well as implementing measures to prevent forest fires,” Ravil Kuzyurov said at a briefing. According to the minister, the forest reproduction plan has been fully completed. In Tatarstan, 2.8 thousand hectares of the forest fund have been restored: forest plantations were planted on 1,489 ha, natural forest regeneration was carried out on 1,309 ha, and another 2 ha were restored by a combined method.

      Tatarstan foresters collected a good crop of spruce seeds

      This season Tatarstan foresters plan to harvest 11.4 thousand kg of forest seeds, of which almost a third has already been collected to date. “The availability of quality seeds is one of the key factors of successful reforestation, because planting material is grown from them,” Ravil Kuzyurov said. To date Tatarstan foresters have collected more than 4.3 thousand kg of seeds: 529 kg of pine, 69 kg of spruce, 38 kg of larch, over 2.7 thousand kg of oak, 719 kg of birch and 190 kg of ash. “Work is still ongoing and will be completed at optimal times in the autumn. Now seeds of birch, ash and acorns of pedunculate oak are being collected,” Kuzyurov added. As the Ministry of Forestry of the RT press service told Tatar‑inform, this year turned out to be especially abundant for conifer seeds. “A good crop of spruce seeds, many cones,” the press service noted.

      The fire-hazard season in the forests will last until October

      The Minister of Forestry of the RT noted that the fire-hazard season in the republic’s forests will last at least until mid-October. “This year the fire-hazard season in Tatarstan’s forests was opened quite early — on March 31. From day one the situation was placed under strict control, and we mobilized all necessary resources to prevent possible ignitions. The early spring created special risks, as dried vegetation, dry weather and high air temperatures helped fires spread rapidly,” he said. Last summer the weather in Tatarstan was unstable: heat was followed by rains. Due to a high class of fire danger in the forests, restrictions on people’s presence and vehicle entry were in effect from May 31 to June 20. “Since the beginning of this year, 583 thermal hotspots and 378 cases of ignition have been registered in lands adjacent to the forest fund in Tatarstan. On the same date last year there were 308 thermal hotspots and 188 cases of ignition,” Ravil Kuzyurov reported.

      Gypsy moth outbreaks in the Zakamsk regions have been suppressed

      This year no outbreaks of the gypsy moth were recorded in Tatarstan, so autumn forest treatments will not be carried out. “Outbreaks of the gypsy moth in Tatarstan were observed over the last three years, but we successfully managed them and forests in the Zakamsk regions were treated. The silvicultural season in 2025 is proceeding normally, no additional gypsy moth foci have been identified,” Ravil Kuzyurov said. He noted that pests live in the forests constantly and it is impossible to completely eradicate them. “The gypsy moth is present to one degree or another, in small numbers. Outbreaks occur because the balance in nature is disturbed, there are climatic deviations. Other pests include the bark beetle and root rot, to which conifer stands are susceptible. There is no cure for bark beetle infestations, only sanitary felling,” the Minister of Forestry of the RT explained.

      Tatarstan residents will plant 1 million pine, spruce and linden seedlings in the autumn

      From October 4 to 11, the All‑Russian campaign “Save the Forest” will take place in Tatarstan, during which 1 million seedlings will be planted in the republic’s cities and districts. “Volunteers, pupils of school forestry clubs, and representatives of organizations and enterprises will join the campaign. It is expected that at least 25,000 people will take part in the tree‑planting areas,” Ravil Kuzyurov said. Republican environmental campaigns for tree planting have been held under the auspices of the Ministry of Forestry of the RT since 2011. Over 15 years, 38 million seedlings have been planted in the republic on an area of about 10 thousand hectares. More than 670 thousand people have participated in the environmental campaigns. “The campaign promotes environmental education and fosters a careful attitude toward nature. The number of participants continues to grow every year. This time we aim to plant at least 1 million seedlings of Scots pine, European spruce, Siberian larch, small‑leaved linden, rowan and other trees on an area of more than 200 ha,” Kuzyurov explained. Specialists from the Ministry of Forestry of the RT have already selected sites for the plantings. Trees will be planted on 67 ha of the forest fund, as well as on 163 ha in the republic’s districts. Near Kazan the campaign will take place at three sites — near the villages of Stolbishche and Matyushino in the Laishevsky district, and next to the Science Town in the Vysokogorsky district.

      Participants in the “Clean Forests of Tatarstan” campaign clean up illegal dumps

      The autumn stage of the “Clean Forests of Tatarstan” campaign will run until November 8: for two months participants will remove garbage from the forests that accumulated over the summer. “The event provides for comprehensive work on improving the territory of the forest fund, including collection and removal of solid municipal waste, clearing of standing deadwood and fallen timber, as well as repair and arrangement of signboards, information boards and recreation areas in the forest,” the Minister of Forestry of Tatarstan said. As a result of the spring stage of the “Clean Forests of Tatarstan” campaign, held from April 14 to June 14, 370 cubic meters of garbage were removed from the forests and about a thousand cubic meters of standing deadwood were collected. Ten thousand people took part in the campaign. “Illegal dumps in the forests are an acute problem; we try to respond daily, especially after the snow cover melts. In recent years we have been purchasing trail cameras and plan to increase their number. As for artificial intelligence, we are currently considering various possibilities and monitoring methods,” Kuzyurov noted. To prevent littering, it is important to carry out continuous preventive work with people. “You cannot say the situation is catastrophic, that the forests are strewn with dumps — that is not the case. When we cannot find the violator, the burden increases — we eliminate dumps with our own resources. No device will save us from the absence of human culture. Until we all understand that you must not do this, that it is unworthy and improper, nothing will change,” Ravil Kuzyurov concluded.

      Photo: © Tatar‑inform