Over 13 thousand hectares of forest will be planted and restored in the Vitebsk region

October 20, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Over 13 thousand hectares of forest will be planted and restored in the Vitebsk region during 2009-2010. These plans are laid down in the regional program "Forest", adopted today at a regular session of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies, reports a BELTA correspondent. The "Forest" program is designed to increase the efficiency and complexity of using forest resources in the Vitebsk region, while observing the principle of continuity and inexhaustibility of forest use, emphasized the acting general director of the Vitebsk State Forestry Association, Nikolai Privalov, presenting the program. Along with forest restoration, the program also provides for the development of hunting. By the end of 2010, hunting farms should operate with a profit, with income exceeding expenses by 4.1%. The program also provides for the creation of two plants for the production of fuel chips with a total capacity of 10 thousand cubic meters per year, as well as several sites and workshops for the production of various wood products - from shovel handles to log houses. Modernization and development of new types of products are planned at the Orsha Construction Materials Plant, OJSC "Vitebskdrev", and several other enterprises specializing in furniture production. The program will be financed from the local budget, as well as from the republican budget and the enterprises' own funds. In general, the economic effect of the program's implementation, solely in terms of accumulating wood resources as a result of forest restoration and forestry measures, will amount to Br5.8 billion. -0-