Belarus and Ukraine have high forest covers that provide a fundamental contribution to the wellbeing of rural populations and the national economy. To protect these forests for future generations, a new FAO project, launched today with a virtual inception workshop, will help increase the resilience of forest ecosystems against unfavourable biotic and abiotic factors, droughts, and combat dieback of pine forests.

Both Belarus and Ukraine have great potential for forestry development, yet, there are new limiting factors related to the global environmental processes, resulting in a highly increased proportion of dying forest stands and damage to trees by pests and diseases.

Due to the limited institutional capacities in forest health, the governments of the two neighbouring countries requested technical assistance from FAO in implementing an emergency action plan for combating dieback of pine forests and developing a long-term coordinated solution to reduce and control the periodic incidence of bark beetle infestations.