Damage In Russia Fires Exacerbated by Putin’s Policies, Groups Say

Environmentalists say rampant wildfires during this summer’s heat wave cost Russia more than $300 billion in forest loss, and that government cutbacks in recent years exacerbated the disaster. During a news conference, Russian environmental groups said 24 million to 29 million acres (10 to 12 million hectares) of forest were destroyed by fire, citing Global Fire Monitoring Centre data that far exceeds government estimates. They based the total financial loss on the market value of timber — about $10,400 per acre (or $25,000 per hectare) — and the cost of reforestation. And they blamed government policies initiated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin — including initiatives to eliminate the Federal Forestry Service and cut about 150,000 forestry jobs — for making the fire damage far worse. That gutting of forestry resources left Russia helpless in the face of the record heat wave and unprecedented wildfires, the groups said. “The system of control over forests has collapsed,” said Ivan Blokov, head of Greenpeace Russia. The Russian government reported 29,500 fires during the heat wave, covering a total area of 2.3 million acres (935,000 hectares).