A Karelian birch plantation will be created in Karelia
As the Head of Karelia Artur Parfenchikov explained at the annual government work report for 2023 to the members of the Legislative Assembly, for this last year the Government of Karelia, the PAO “Segezha Group” and the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences entered into a tripartite agreement on cooperation in creation of the first forest plantation of the Karelian birch in the republic.
- The Karelian birch is one of the symbols of our region. Its wood differs from an ordinary birch in its hardness, strength and beautiful marble pattern in cross-section. However, the total number of natural population of the Karelian birch in the republic is about 2 thousand trees, - noted Artur Parfenchikov.
To increase the number of the Karelian birches in the region, last September, the Government of Karelia, the PAO “Segezha Group” and the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences entered into a tripartite cooperation agreement.
According to it, within 3 years, it is planned to create a forest plantation of the Karelian birch in the republic, using planting material grown by the specialists of the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the financial support of the PAO “Segezha Group”.
To date, a road map for the project implementation has been developed. In May, after the snow cover melts in the lease territory of the PAO “Segezha Group”, a forest plot will be selected to create the plantation. This year it is planned to plant the first 2.5 thousand specimens of the Karelian birch.
– This is an extremely valuable investment in the future of Karelia. And it should not be one, or ten, or fifteen hectares. In the coming years, we should reach hundreds of hectares of birch forest, – the Head of Karelia emphasized.
Artur Parfenchikov also noted that the region requires both artificial and natural reforestation. In this regard, the republic is moving within the framework of the tasks set, among other things, by the federal center.
– As a result, the republic has recently become one of the three regions with the largest number of restored coniferous forests. This work will continue, – said the Head of Karelia.
