Taraba Announces Plan for Mass Planting of Mixed Forests

Bratislava, July 16 (TASR) - The Environment Ministry is set to launch mass planting of mixed forests that will be resilient to climate change in Slovakia, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (an SNS nominee) has announced in a video on Facebook. In the video, Taraba pointed to monoculture spruce forests that are surrounded by deciduous healthy trees. Spruce trees, he said, are often infested with lycophytes and are drying out. According to the minister, the Czech Republic, for instance, realised years ago that if it didn't start replacing spruce forests with mixed forests that can resist pests, it would lose healthy forests. "In Slovakia, thanks to progressive eco-activists, we have been watching for many years as forests dry up, and they pretend that they will somehow restore themselves. They won't. With a constellation of these forests, there is no vision for positive change," opined the minister. The minister claimed that all international studies warn that the quality of forests in Slovakia is declining. He noted that they are absorbing carbon dioxide at an ever decreasing rate, and the vitality of the forests is declining rapidly. "If we continue to look on at this, we will soon have a desolate landscape. But we are not going to stand by and watch it happen," the minister remarked. zel/df