ILLEGAL LOGGING VALUED AT 100 MILLION RUBLES AS REVEALED BY AN INTER-AGENCY WORKING GROUP IN KUBAN
Where and why were they checked?
The survey of the area in the Shahumiyan district forestry, which is a part of the Pshishskiy Forestry, was initiated by WWF-Russia after receiving information about the presence of brigades carrying out illegal logging there.
The volunteers of WWF-Russia appealed to the executive management group of the Pshishskiy Forestry, whose employees promptly responded to the request of environmentalists. On August 25, the Fund's volunteers and forestry staff, as part of the commission for the suppression of illegal logging, went to the site of the alleged logging. The inspection was carried out on the basis of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1098 on "Federal State Forest Control (Supervision)" dated 30.06.2021.
Damage figures
As a result of a joint inspection on the territory of the Shahumyan district forestry, about 80 freshly cut trees such as oak, beech and ash were found on the division 21A, plots No. 30, 39, 42, 43 and 54 (the lease territory of SC Wood Manufacturing Company "Apsheronsk" ). The illegal nature of the logging was confirmed by forestry employees. Calculations showed 48,944,156 rubles of damage and 236.72 cubic meters of illegally cut wood, respectively.
Discovery on the way back
However, as it turned out, this was not all. Returning from the site of illegal logging, the volunteers of WWF-Russia noticed another area with felled trees. Members of the Interagency Group found an even greater scale of illegal logging there.
49 and 57 stumps of freshly cut oak trees were found in divisions 7A and 9A (the lease territory of SC Wood Manufacturing Company "Apsheronsk"). The illegality of the logging was also confirmed by the employees of the Pshishskiy Forestry. According to experts, the damage caused to the forests of Krasnodar region amounted to 50 million rubles for 256 cubic meters of wood.
Results
- Thanks to the joint work of the Fund, the Ministry and Forestry, it was possible to identify illegal logging of almost 100 million rubles.
- Files on these facts were transferred to the Department of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Tuapse district for subsequent verification and adoption of a procedural decision.
- Such raids prove the effectiveness of the work of the Interagency group on the prevention, suppression and detection of illegal logging of forest ranges in the forestry of Krasnodar region, which is a body created on the initiative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Krasnodar region.
It should be mentioned that the work of such groups has had a positive impact on the transparency and level of interaction between public organizations and forestry departments of Krasnodar region. However, in all fairness it should be noted that not all forestry departments were ready for open interaction and joint work.