My story

My name is Sergey.

I was born and raised in an ordinary Siberian village. All my life I have watched people take away territory and wood from a forest. The sections of the forest where my family and I were picking berries and mushrooms were cleared to become fields. At the same time, large logging enterprise was engaged in timber harvesting in the surrounding forest. Every day, timber trucks rode through my village, exporting 100 thousand cubic meters of wood per year.

Then another time came. A lot of small loggers came to replace large logging enterprise, which over a decade and a half, together with a powerful hurricane, brought down the remains of the “business forest” to the root. Not a hectare of untouched forest was left.

As a child, I walked through the forest, as if in a park, in the damp shade of tall pines and slender aspens. Now a walk along the same route is a constant climb over heaps of rubbish and a solid deadwood under the scorching sun or in thickets of young growth. It was almost impossible to find mushrooms and berries.

Hot and rainy weather in May and June was replaced by cold and dry winds. We survived about 20 years of constant drought. Full-flowing, rich in fish rivers decreased, but began to spill heavily after rains. I saw how quickly the destruction of the forest can turn the area into a desert. I also realized that the desert can be turned into a forest. I understood how the forest forms the weather and creates rain.

Many decades will pass until our forest is restored and re-forms the weather that I remember from the childhood. Now I would really like to do something to bring this moment closer. But watching how the forest licks its wounds, how young aspen trees fill the space among fallen trees, how dense pine shoots fill the burnt fires and abandoned fields burned with fire and sun, I understand that the best we can do for our forest now is Do not interfere with this.

I recently saw the news that the Australian government intends to plant at least 1 billion trees on the continent to contribute to the improvement of the atmosphere and climate on earth. This decision is associated with the Paris Climate Agreement designed to reduce emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere and improve the quality of air on the planet.

Of course, planting trees where they used to grow is a good idea. But people cut down forests for their needs, such as farming and forestry. Obviously, taking land from agriculture to plant forests is not the best way to solve problems. This will create new problems. Forestry should, independently, without government and environmental projects, restore deforested forests. This is their environmental and economic responsibility.

However, there are places on our planet where the point of no return has already been passed because of our efforts. Nature is already rebuilding into a less friendly or even aggressive form of the harsh desert. People, who caused change can escape from such places, fleeing starvation. But many species of animals and plants do not have such opportunity and are doomed to extinction. We can talk about it and do nothing. But we can make an effort to stop desertification or turn the desert into a green forest.

The goal of my project is to transform a desert area into a milder climate for further use. In the first 5-10 years, it will be possible to introduce beekeeping. Agroforestry will become possible in the adjacent areas in a few more years.

Markov Sergey - founder Ecological Afforestation Project

I am open to talk about the technology of planting trees, retaining rainwater and all the intricacies of this work. I am ready to move to a permanent place of residence to work in the chosen place.

My decision to professionally engage in the restoration of the disturbed ecological balance of our planet is dictated by life experience and spiritual desire.

#forest #nature