Kegen district is one of the leading regions in the country for growing pine. To preserve this natural beauty, which adorns the foothills with green plantations, forest workers are carrying out systematic and planned work. Currently, one of the key tasks of foresters is to increase the number of Schrenk spruce, characteristic of the local natural zone, the press service of the akim of Almaty region reports.
According to the director of the state utility enterprise "Kegen Forestry" Amirkhan Sultangaziyev, to date, 1,069,920 coniferous trees have been planted on an area of 154.4 hectares. In addition, 118 thousand seedlings have been planted on an area of 110 hectares, which helps prevent soil degradation. The work of foresters is assessed not only by the number of trees planted, but also by their survival rate in local conditions. Currently, this figure is 75-80%.
The forest seed fund is formed on the basis of seed stations and arboretums. In the period 2021–2025, forestry specialists collected more than 1,400 kilograms of selected seeds. Thus, forest areas are replenished with local planting material, without the need to import seedlings from other regions.
The key facility in this area is the arboretum. On its territory of 3.25 hectares, 2,879,000 seedlings have been grown over several years. They are intended for reforestation near the village of Saty, and are also sent to other districts of Almaty region. In the future, about three million trees grown in the arboretum will be planted in forest areas, which will have a positive impact on the ecological sustainability of the region.
Today, 109 people work in the forestry enterprise with a total area of 89,941 hectares. The enterprise is fully equipped with the necessary equipment: 19 off-road patrol vehicles, 62 horses, 2 fire trucks, 3 trucks, 6 wheeled and 5 tracked tractors, 1 mini-tractor and 1 excavator.
In recent years, more and more young specialists have been coming to the industry. This is facilitated by rising wages and regular updating of the material and technical base. This work is carried out in accordance with the instruction of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to plant two billion trees. In addition, it gives impetus to the development of ecotourism and the preservation of the region's natural wealth.
