Companies Fined Over Failed Tree-Planting Obligations in Atyrau

More than 551,000 trees and other plantings are registered in Atyrau Region, but the authorities do not know their condition or how many have survived. The electronic tracking system is not working properly, while more than 90% of subsoil users have failed to meet their tree-planting obligations, Orda.kz reports.

The regional prosecutor’s office found that government agencies lack reliable information about the condition of green spaces.

Because the electronic inventory system is effectively nonfunctional, officials cannot determine how many trees have survived, which require maintenance or how many seedlings have taken root.

Of the 175 subsoil users required to offset their environmental impact by planting trees, more than 90% failed to meet their obligations. In some cases, the trees were left without watering or maintenance and died,the Prosecutor General’s Office said.

Following the inspection, 38 companies were fined more than 12 million tenge for violating the terms of their environmental permits.

At a meeting attended by the regional akim, officials agreed to develop a green-belt plan, establish a single operator responsible for planting, tracking and maintaining trees, and introduce greening measures in stages.

After prosecutors intervened, subsoil users planted more than 1,000 trees. The agency said the measures should improve the region’s greening system and environmental conditions.

Original author: Saule Abdykamit

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