Elimination of the bark beetle epidemic

Climate change has led to the mass drying up of pine and the large-scale spread of the bark beetle on the territory of Belarus. Despite the measures taken in the forest fund in 2017, the area of forest diseases increased by 11.1 thousand hectares compared to 2016 and amounted to 172.5 thousand hectares. To combat the pest, the forestry carry out sanitary cuttings of damaged trees to prevent the spread of infection. In the Krasnopolsky district, the area of clear cutting in the centers of bark beetle has increased by 5 times! If in 2017 there were 9.25 hectares, then only at the beginning of 2019 the area increased to 149.6 hectares.

• ● Mitigation of the negative impact of climate change by eliminating the consequences of the bark beetle epidemic in the Krasnopolie District of the Mogilev region.

• ● Demonstration and dissemination of monitoring methods and technologies that can reduce the threat of the occurrence of bark beetle and deforestation in the future.

• ● Strengthening partnerships between public environmental institutions, environmental NGOs, local communities and businesses to address environmental problems.

   

Project results:

- Planted more than 1 million trees, which led to the mitigation of the negative effects of climate change and the elimination of the effects of epidemics of bark beetles.

- Restored 160 hectares of land damaged by bark beetle and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the forest cover. 160ha per day absorbs about 38,500kg of carbon dioxide and emits about 32,000kg of oxygen.

- A massive tree planting campaign was supported by 300 volunteers. 100,000 trees were planted by volunteers in one day! Planted forest will help improve the health of the local population, reduce environmental threats to life, and rational use of land resources.

- Created a nursery for growing seedlings and saplings of tree species for sustainable afforestation of land affected by the bark beetle. Purchased 90kg of seeds of mixed forest cultures of invasive species for growing 3million seedlings that are not susceptible to infection of the bark beetle. This will ensure the sustainability of the project and the ability to plant new trees in the affected areas until 2025.

- Various drones, cameras and programs are being tested and identifed the best innovative monitoring methods and technologies that can reduce the threat of the occurrence of bark beetle.

- Pheromone traps were purchased to determine the amount and type of bark beetle.

- Established partnerships with 16 organizations from governmental bodies, NGOs, local communities and businesses from the UN Global Compact Network in Belarus.

Project supports the implementation of following SDGs - Goal 4: Quality education, Goal 5: Gender equality, Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, Goal 13: Climate Action, Goal 15: Life on Land, Goal 17: Partnerships. 

In December 2019, our project received Partnership for Sustainability Award 2019 of the United Nations Global Compact in the nomination "Planet".