Reforestation of razed areas on Tara mountain begins

TARA - Serbia's Public Company National Park Tara and Japanese company Toshiba have launched a reforestation project at the National Park Tara in western Serbia to restore forest areas destroyed in a massive wildfire in 2012.

The action begun in the Zaovine area this weekend, and a total of 7,500 new seedlings of Picea omorika (Pancic's spruce), other spruce tree species, and pine trees should be planted in October and early November.

The money for the purchase and planting of seedlings was provided and donated by Toshiba as part of the eco project dubbed "Toshiba is planting seeds of growth" (Toshiba ume da posadi sume) and the Public Company National Park Tara will take care of the reforestation.

The eco action is part of Toshiba's global environmental initiative to help reduce the effects of global warming and preserve the planet's biodiversity and is supported by the Embassy of Japan in Belgrade and the Republic of Serbia.

The action should encourage a massive reforestation to enable us to bequeath all the treasures of Tara to future generations, the National Park Tara assistant director said.

Toshiba Europe GmbH Assistant Vice President Takeshi Imai expressed the hope that by setting its own example, the company would encourage others to get involved and contribute to the restoration and preservation of Tara - a gem of Serbia and the entire planet.

He added that the Japanese corporation would plant 1.5 million trees across the globe by 2025 and that way mark its 150th anniversary.

Most of the Tara mountain is protected as area of national importance and is on the tentative list of nominations for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Besides Pancic's spruce and...