Swiss Company Launches Major Reforestation Initiative Across 14,500 Hectares in Akmola Region
ASTANA – A Swiss company launched a pilot project in the Akmola Region, aiming to reforest an area of 14,500 hectares, said Kazakh Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev at an Oct. 8 government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
A Swiss company launched a pilot project in the Akmola Region, aiming to reforest an area of 14,500 hectares. Photo credit: Management of natural resources. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
During the meeting, Nyssanbayev highlighted key measures to preserve and increase forest areas in Kazakhstan. According to him, large global companies are increasingly showing interest in creating forest plantations in Kazakhstan. The ministry has prepared amendments to the legislation to provide an opportunity to implement such projects on the territory of the state forest fund. This will give a new impetus to planting forests at the expense of investors.
Yerlan Nyssanbayev reported on the measures to preserve and increase forest areas in Kazakhstan. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s press service.
According to the Prime Minister’s press service, nearly 970 million seedlings have been planted across Kazakhstan since 2021, contributing to a 267,000-hectare increase in the country’s forested areas over the past five years.
Nyssanbayev reported that forest restoration efforts in the last four years have covered 651,000 hectares, including 413,000 hectares on the dried bed of the Aral Sea. By the end of 2027, over one billion additional seedlings will need to be planted and nurtured to meet the country’s reforestation goals.
The task set by the country’s leadership is to plant two billion trees.
“This will increase the territory of the country’s forest fund to 14.5 million hectares. Expanding the area of forests and parks, preserving biological diversity for future generations are one of the important priorities in improving the environmental situation. This is a very complex and long-term work, so it is important to pay constant attention to it. Every effort must be made both to increase the forest fund and to preserve the existing forest,” said Bektenov.
The government also addressed measures to protect forests from fires and illegal logging. The large-scale fires in recent years have exposed the inadequate preparedness of forestry organizations to effectively combat such disasters.
