A pilot project for the reconstruction of forest plantations along the Kazanka River has been launched in Tatarstan
Today, as part of the clean-up day "Water of Russia" of the national project "Ecological Well-being", Minister of Ecology Alexander Shadrikov announced a new pilot project for the reconstruction of forest plantations along the Kazanka River. The project is a logical continuation of the comprehensive scientific and research work on the environmental rehabilitation of the water facility, which has been conducted by the Ministry since 2022.
"As part of the research work on the Kazanka River, in continuation of the eco-rehabilitation program, we, together with the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan and with the support of SIBUR, have begun reforestation of the water protection zone along the Kazanka River. The first site has already been identified, where we will start work."
Work is planned to begin on the territory of the Urnyakskoye Selo settlement of the Arsky municipal district. The area of reforestation works is 4.18 hectares.
The new initiative is aimed at creating protective water protection forest strips along the river banks, which, according to scientific research, is one of the most effective methods of combating diffuse pollution of water bodies — unregulated runoff coming from agricultural fields, livestock farms and industrial sites.
For reference:
The comprehensive project "Improving the ecological condition of rivers and reservoirs of the Republic of Tatarstan" was initiated with the support of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and has been implemented since 2022. It was developed by the Ministry of Ecology of Tatarstan together with specialists from Kazan Federal University, the Institute of Ecology and Subsoil Use of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As part of the first stage of research conducted by the Russian Geographical Society with the involvement of volunteers, key points of negative impact on the Kazanka River basin were identified, monitoring of its condition was strengthened, and special studies were conducted during the flood period.
Since 2023, with the support of the Head of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov, work has started on clearing the riverbed as part of the Free Current project.
In 2023-2024, the specialists of the All-Russian Research Institute "Ecology" (Moscow) prepared a report on the results of research work, which proposed priority measures to combat diffuse runoff.
Now, based on the conducted research, the Ministry of Ecology is moving to a new stage — the reconstruction of forest plantations along the river.
Key features of the project:
* The project is aimed at reducing the diffuse flow of pollutants into water bodies from anthropogenic-altered territories
* Provides for the reconstruction of water-protection forest stands along the banks of the Kazanka River and its tributaries
The federal significance of the project
The pilot project to create water-protection forest strips along the Kazanka River is of great importance not only for Tatarstan, but also for the whole of Russia. The results of the work will become the basis for making decisions on priority measures to improve the condition of rivers throughout the country, since the sources of pollution are the same for most reservoirs.
It is expected that as a result of the project, a set of measures will be developed to restore the river, which can be applied to other water bodies in the Russian Federation.