Ecology minister addresses responsibility for early wildfires in Kazakhstan

©️ Tengrinews.kz / Turar Kazangapov

Tengrinews.kz - Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Yerlan Nyssanbayev has addressed the issue of accountability following the first major wildfires of the year in Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar and Abai regions.

Tengrinews.kz - Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Yerlan Nyssanbayev has addressed the issue of accountability following the first major wildfires of the year in Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar and Abai regions.

According to the minister, part of the problem stemmed from changes in leadership at the organization responsible for monitoring forest areas.

“One significant factor that affected the timeliness of alerts, according to the coordination protocol, was that a new management team had recently taken over the organization,” Nyssanbayev explained.

He added that a joint investigation with the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been completed, and actions are now being prepared against those responsible.

“In particular, measures will be taken against those who failed to report the fire in Morozovsky district [Abai region] on time,” he said.

The minister stated that the initial fire alert should have come from the head of the Morozovsky branch, but the information was not relayed through the proper channels.

Nyssanbayev reported that wildfires in Semey affected 900 hectares, including 400 hectares of forest and 200 hectares of crown fire.

“This was the first wildfire of the year. Apparently, people became careless. The situation has been fully investigated, and we will take appropriate action,” he emphasized.

Commenting on the fire in Bayanaul (Pavlodar region), the minister noted that it was caused by natural difficulties.

“It was simply a remote location. It was a surface fire that burned grass and damaged shrubbery,” he said.

2023 tragedy still looms

Wildfires remain a sensitive topic in the Abai Region. In June 2023, a devastating blaze broke out in the Semey Ormany reserve. What began as a 3-hectare fire rapidly spread to 60,000 hectares. Fourteen forestry workers lost their lives. An investigation later revealed that surveillance cameras in the reserve were not operational at the time of the outbreak.

Earlier, Yerlan Nyssanbayev called on citizens to stay alert as the country enters a high-risk wildfire season.

ministry of ecology and natural resources fire environment safety