Belarus, my home country, is a prosperous nation that keeps expanding physically and economically. Although Belarus has developed substantially over the recent years, it still hasn’t stopped mother nature from driving back the country’s advances. The forests of Belarus have been under attack by heavy storms and huge forest fires for many years, but Belarus is not giving up on its forests and is working on projects to build resilience against such disasters.
One of the main natural disasters Belarus has faced throughout the years is forest fires. Whether it be man-made or natural, forest fires have plagued the Republic of Belarus’s state forest for decades. Belarus has one of the hottest summers, which means the very dry forest can combust very easily even without human interference. It takes a lot of materials and man power to combat wildfires, so to prevent such wildfires from spreading, Belarus has acquired many fire prevention materials and equipment. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development also loaned Belarus funds, which helped Belarus purchase special vehicles for forest protection. The Ministry of Forestry also brought hundreds of violators to justice during the dangerous fire seasons. Forest fires happen annually in Belarus, which means the state fire protection still needs to expand its fire protection supplies and stations even more.
Another natural disaster Belarus is facing is storms. Storms are also common in the Republic of Belarus. A recent storm blew away a large portion of a forest. Thousands of trees were ripped from their roots and made a pathway of bare fields. To combat such a disaster, Belarus has cooperated with the World Bank Support for forestry support to help with a decline of trees. Belarus has reforested large parts of forests that were impacted by the storms, and it also created two new tree nursery complexes. Belarus also is increasing the nursery capacity and improving overall support of climate resilient forests. The World Bank has lent large sums of money to Belarus to help with large projects to decrease the amount of damage caused by nature and enhance the forests of Belarus to adapt to the changing weather conditions.
Every year, many disasters strike with devastating blows to the forests of Republic of Belarus. The state forest protection works nonstop to rebuild the forests of Belarus and help prevent even bigger catastrophes from happening. It is impossible to stop disasters from engulfing huge parts of a country, but Belarus is controlling dangerous situations resolutely and preventing them from getting out of control.
Sources:
“Protection of Forests from Fires.” Protection of Forests from Fires, Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Belarus , www.mlh.gov.by/en/our-main-activites/safety-and-security/ot-pozharov/.
“Belarus Builds Forest Resilience to Climate Change with World Bank Support.” World Bank, The World Bank Group, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/03/12/belarus-builds-forest-resilience-to-climate-change-with-world-bank-support.
