Vitebsk region foresters have fined three people this season for violating berry harvesting rules

The use of the region's natural resources for food production can become a resource for solving the problem of rural employment. At the same time, citizens often violate the rules for harvesting forest resources, according to which the collection and harvesting of wild berries and mushrooms must be carried out in ways that do not harm berry bushes and mycelium. When harvesting berries, it is forbidden to use various mechanical devices (scoops, combs, and the like), which damage berry bushes and reduce the berry harvest in subsequent years.

July 8, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. Foresters of the Vitebsk region have brought three people to administrative responsibility in the current harvesting season for violating berry harvesting rules. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the department of forest protection and conservation, hunting and hunting tourism of the Vitebsk Regional Production Forestry Association.

The use of the region's natural resources for food production can become a resource for solving the problem of rural employment. At the same time, citizens often violate the rules for harvesting forest resources, according to which the collection and harvesting of wild berries and mushrooms must be carried out in ways that do not harm berry bushes and mycelium. When harvesting berries, it is forbidden to use various mechanical devices (scoops, combs, and the like), which damage berry bushes and reduce the berry harvest in subsequent years.

Forestry association specialists remind about the need to strictly follow harvesting rules and protect nature. In addition, taking into account the current situation, raids are being conducted jointly with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, and the State Inspectorate for the Protection of Fauna and Flora. Already in the current season, foresters have drawn up two administrative offense reports and issued one resolution on imposing an administrative penalty for violating the rules for harvesting mushrooms and other wild plants. Administrative responsibility is provided for this in the form of a warning or a fine of up to 20 basic units (currently, one basic unit is Br35 thousand).

The ban on visiting forests has been lifted in all districts of the region, the fire hazard class for the region as a whole has decreased to a minimum, and specialists from the forestry department are conducting patrols and organizing duty shifts.

According to the regional committee for natural resources and environmental protection, in 2010, 11.8 thousand tons of mushrooms and 41.5 thousand tons of berries were harvested in the region as a whole, which is 2.9% and 2% of the exploited forest reserves, respectively.-0-