15:15, 22 марта 2022, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Yuri KOPYTIN
Kyrgyzstanis have a consumer attitude towards the old-grown forests of Arslanbob. Director of the Forest Service Almaz Musaev told at a press conference.
«About 2 million people live around the unique forest area, 200,000 of them live directly in the forest itself. This is a big problem for us, as the daily grazing, collection of nuts and wild berries have a negative impact on the state of the forests. We carry out awareness-raising work among local residents. They must understand that walnut forests are a value that we must preserve for years and centuries,» he said.
The total area of the State Forest Fund of the Kyrgyz Republic is 2,619,700 hectares, about 1,116,600 hectares of which are covered by forests. This is 5.6 percent of the total territory of the republic. The area of the old-growth forests of Arslanbob is 608,000 hectares. The age of some trees, according to experts, exceeds 1,000 years.