Issues of ensuring safety during the fire-hazardous period were considered at the Government session chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov,El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev reported on the situation in the country as a whole, the Minister for Emergency Situations Chingis Arinov reported on the issue of response to natural fires. Akims of a number of regions were also heard.
The total area of the forest fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan is 30 million hectares. To date, the system of early detection of fires covered only 2% of all forest areas. By the end of July, about 160 fires were recorded in the country, which is 4 times less than last year. In order to prevent fires and prompt response 34 airborne aircrafts of the Ministry of Emergency Situations with spillway devices are in constant readiness, in 37 forestries patrols are organized, support is provided to volunteer fire brigades (43 of them have appeared in the regions this year alone), 26 fire posts have been opened. In total, 252 formations are functioning in the settlements today. Last year they were given the status of a legal entity.
Prime Minister drew the attention of the participants of the Government session to the lack of material and technical equipment of forestry farms. The lack of modern equipment for firefighting was one of the main causes of natural disasters last year. Then 15 people died in the fight against fire, over 116 thousand hectares of forests were destroyed. Material damage, excluding environmental damage, exceeded 160 billion tenge. The necessity of supplying the most modern means of extinguishing natural fires, application of digital response systems was noted.
"It is necessary to widely use unmanned aerial vehicles. They allow to carry out a full-fledged aerial survey of forests and steppes. In general, drones have great potential for use in various sectors of the economy. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry should consider issues of localization of drone production in Kazakhstan,” Head of the Government stressed.
In addition, the effectiveness of the use of smart systems was emphasized. Positive experience has been gained in the use, for example, in the territory of the national park “Burabai”. The possibilities of artificial intelligence should be used for timely detection of fires and fires, Prime Minister noted.
According to Kazgidromet, an extreme degree of fire danger is predicted in most of the country until the end of August. At the same time, preventive measures by some regions are carried out improperly. In particular, in Abay, Zhetysu, Karaganda, Kostanay and Pavlodar regions, dredging of water reservoirs for water intake by helicopters has not been carried out. In Akmola, Atyrau, North-Kazakhstan and Ulytau regions there is a weak dynamics in the creation of mineralized strips, without which forest and steppe fires are difficult to stop. Also in a number of regions the issues of provision of fuel reserves have not been fully resolved, cleaning of the territory from deadwood and garbage has not been completed. Head of the Government instructed akims to intensify this work.
Special attention during the meeting was paid to the issue of cross-border fires. Kazakhstan has the longest continuous land border with Russia in the world - 7,591 km. To date, no fires have been registered in the border areas, however, potential risks are not excluded. An instruction has been given to ensure constant readiness of forces and means for prompt response. It is also important to intensify cooperation with the relevant Russian services for timely informing.
Head of the Government has additionally set the following tasks: