Yandex’s social project “Help is Nearby” will provide support for WWF’s fire-fighting work
WWF-Russia will use these funds to purchase equipment for the prevention of forest fires in order to protect valuable forests and their inhabitants from fire. Fire-fighting equipment, accessories and workwear will be handed over to the administration of provincial protected areas and voluntary fire-fighting brigades in 3 ecoregions: in the Altai-Sayan Mountains, in the Amur Ecoregion and the North Caucasus. During the year, they will be equipped with backpack sprayers, air blowers, motor pumps, fire hoses, chainsaws, generators, gas masks, special boots, goggles, gloves and other necessary equipment.
Recently, fire statistics in Russia have been growing critically. The area of forests covered by fire has almost doubled over the past 4 years - from 10 to 16 million hectares, and in 2021 reached a historical maximum of almost 19 million hectares. Fires remain one of the most significant threats to Russian forests and their biological diversity. Many animals and plants including rare and endangered ones perish in the fire.
Due to the increase in the frequency of extreme weather conditions, including long periods of heat and drought, the risks of forest fires and the rapid spread of fire to nearby areas are increasing every year. In order to effectively fight and prevent forest fires, WWF-Russia launched a long-term firefighting project in 2022. WWF supports full-time and voluntary fire brigades in several ecoregions of Russia and Central Asia, and also develops and implements system solutions and technologies increasing the efficiency of fire prevention.