“Estonia is quite unique among the European Union countries, with its beautiful and grand forests. We have a reason to be proud of it and we want to preserve it,” Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus said. “We also would like our friends to feel good as well in the homelike forests that represent so many different values to us. I have asked the foreign ambassadors to help plant forest, with the wish to introduce to them the story of Estonia’s forests and to celebrate the international year of forests together.” According to the Minister of the Environment, forest plantings that take place all over Estonia this week a good way to celebrate the on-going forest week. “Everyone who is willing to think 50 and 75 years ahead, everyone to whom it is important that our next generation would still have a forest with trees that are 50 or 75 years old, can make their contribution this week and to plant these trees,” Keit Pentus added. Next to Finland, Sweden, Slovenia and Latvia, Estonia is among the five most forested countries of Europe. When in the1930s approximately 14,000 km2 of forest grew in Estonia, currently about 22,000 km2 of Estonian territory is covered in forests, which is approximately half of Estonian land area. Approximately 25% of Estonian forests are placed under protection in Estonia. At that, the share of forests under strict protection – almost 10% of all forests – is one of the highest in Europe. Representatives of the embassies of Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Great Britain, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary and Poland will participate in forest planting together with the Minister of the Environment. Planting will begin at 13.00, in Aegviidu. |
