The operational programme specifies activities related to forestry, starting from storage of seeds, tending of forest and forest protection, and ending with research and development activities in the field of forestry. The total cost of the operational programme until 2020 will be over 267 million euro, most of which will be funded from the reserves of the Environmental Investment Centre and the European Union. "Majority of the costs of the operational programme of the development plan will be channelled to growing and use of forest and protection of natural values. Thereby it is important to deal with training of forest owners to ensure their sufficiently good knowledge of the needs and possibilities of forest growing," the Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus said. The development plan provides that wood as a renewable raw material and energy source should be preferred more than until now. "In Estonia, significant wood reserves have developed in mature and over-standing broadleaved forests, which can also be used for energy production. However, currently removal of such lower-quality wood from forest is hindered, among other things, by restrictions set to transport. Therefore, possibilities are sought for making transport more cost-efficient, environmentally friendly and traffic safe," Pentus explained. According to the words of the Minister of the Environment, research and development activities in the field of forestry would also need investments, as well as involvement of the public, in order to use one of the main renewable natural resources of Estonia as efficiently and sustainably as possible. |
