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Ecology Ministry warn of illegal cut of trees

21 April 2014 09:57 (UTC+04:00)
Ecology Ministry warn of illegal cut of trees

By Jamila Babayeva

Trees are amongst the biggest and longest-living things on Earth, some dating back longer than the oldest buildings. They help us resist the problem of global climate change. However, people do not think twice before cutting a tree, an irreplaceable component of the ecosystem.

Cutting a tree not only destroys the ecosystem, but also leads to negative consequences for the environment and people.

Forests are called the lungs of the Earth and need to be protected, and this issue is of crucial importance to Azerbaijan that 11.4 percent of its territory is occupied by forests, two times less than the accepted global average.

Reforestation is one of the main priorities for the country's Ecology and Natural Recourses Ministry, as Azerbaijan is considered a country with less forest cover.

The ministry recently supported a multi-annual project in Azerbaijan, titled "Plant a Tree. Give a Gift to Life", which aims to benefit the ecosystem and promotes a massive afforestation and reforestation in the designated areas of the country to preserve and replenish fresh water resources in Azerbaijan.

Based on a project launched by Coca-Cola Company and Azerbaijan's ADA University, 100,000 trees will be planted by 2020.

Baku has recently faced frequent illegal cutting of trees. Local media and the public have expressed their outrage against the trend which is reported by the Central Botanical Garden (CBG) of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

The CBG reported earlier that works were carried out for the transplantation of some trees. The land area from which the trees were transplanted was not more than half a hectare. Reconstruction work is planned in that area and planting trees with no well-developed roots have been planned.

The CBG reported that the decision to transplant trees was made because underground utilities located under the site were hindering the development of the root system of trees. That is why the administration of the CBG decided to transplant the trees. An old site will be used for researches only.

Ministry's Section Head of the Environment Department Ragub Mirzayev, in turn, told Trend Agency that based on the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, works on transplantations and cutting down trees should be coordinated with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.

"However, this rule is violated in most cases," Mirzayev said. He said cutting the trees mostly occurs at night, and despite appeals to the police, identifying the perpetrators of such acts has become difficult.

Mirzayev said the ministry fined the violators of the ecological legislation only in Baku, which amounted to more than four million manat in 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, but only 25,500 manat of the fines were paid.

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