Forest fund

In the Republic of Belarus forests are one of the main renewable natural resources and the major national wealth. The woods and forest resources are of great importance for sustainable social and economic development of the country, ensuring its economic, energy, ecological and food security. For a number of the key indicators characterizing forest fund (woodiness of the territory, the area of the woods and stock of growing wood in terms of per capita), Belarus is among the top ten forest states of Europe.

Forestry of Belarus. successfully implementing the principles of sustainable multipurpose forest management, is important for stable functioning of the forest sector of the country and contributes to the development of allied industries of economy, making a significant contribution to the implementation of the signed international treaties at the global level in the field of environmental protection. Its economic, environmental and social role has been steadily increasing. All this gives grounds to say that in modern conditions the forestry sector from traditional commodity industry turns into infrastructural and one of the key sectors of the national economic complex, especially in the rural areas of the country.

As a result of purposeful work on reproduction of the woods and forest growing, positive dynamics of forest fund is reached.

So from 1994 the key quantitative and qualitative indexes of the forests improved:

• forest area increased by 908,6 thousand hectares from 7371,7 to 8280,3 thousand hectares;

• the area under forest of the Republic reached 39.9 per cent (increased by 4.4%);

• the total stock of standing timber increased by 738,6 million cubic meters and amounted to 1831,8 million cubic meters (including in Mature and overmature stands - 300,9 million cubic meters and constituted – 375,4 million cubic meters);

• the stock per 1 ha. of forested land increased by 73 cubic meters and amounted to 221 cubic meters per 1 ha.; the stock of mature and overmature plantings increased by 59 cubic meters and reached 272 cubic meters per 1 ha.;

• average age of plantings increased from 44 to 56 years

Dynamics of indices of forest Fund of the Republic of Belarus:

In Belarus along with increase in total area of forest fund also the sustainable growth of the areas of ripening as well as mature and overmature plantings is observed

All forests in Belarus are the exclusive property of the state.