16 may 2013
Arkady Dvorkovich chairs a meeting of the Council for Forest Development under the Russian Government
The meeting participants discussed issues of tariff quotas for round timber as well as issues of developing forest use and reforestation.
In addition, they discussed the readiness of the Russian regions for the 2013 fire season. The Head of the Federal Forestry Agency Vladimir Lebedev reported that his agency had developed and adopted a Plan for Interregional Use of Firefighting Brigades, Firefighting Vehicles and Equipment for 2013. The plan includes the possibility to relocate the aforementioned forces between neighbouring regions within a federal district and between federal districts.
Dvorkovich also issued instructions to develop regulations for the legal participation of forest land holders in fighting wildfires.
Following the results of the meeting, Dvorkovich told journalists that the majority of regions are prepared for the fire season and more comprehensively than last year. He said this was due to accumulated experience and to new fire fighting vehicles and other efforts. He said that shortcomings in preparations for the fire season have been indentified in approximately 30 regions including such large regions as the Republic of Tyva, the Republic of Yakutia and the Trans-Baikal Territory.