BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 23. A pilot project on industrial afforestation is planned to be launched in the first stage in Azerbaijan, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Rashad Ismayilov said in an interview with Trend News Agency and ARB24 TV channel.
According to him, within the framework of the project, a new model of forestry will be formed using Paulownia and other fast-growing tree species.
"Currently, there are no industrial forests in Azerbaijan. However, there have been applications in this direction from society and local entrepreneurs. Looking at world experience, industrial forest planting is widely practiced - especially in China, as well as in Germany and Spain, and recently in Uzbekistan.
At a meeting with our Uzbek partners, the initiative to plant Paulownia and fast-growing poplar trees was put forward, and this issue was explored. We believe that using these types of trees for industrial forestry purposes and implementing afforestation through entrepreneurs will be a breakthrough for Azerbaijan. This will allow for the rapid restoration of forests, and our population will also be able to benefit from this.
The main point is that Paulownia trees aren't unique to Azerbaijan, so we are sensitive to the issue. A pilot project is being launched on an area of 100 hectares, and further steps will be taken depending on the results. At the same time, a partnership is being established with the Ministry of Economy regarding the effectiveness of the project, and foreign experts are also being involved. This type of tree planting is also being actively carried out in European countries," the minister added.
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