Cases of illegal burning of straw and its remains in fields are being monitored by satellites, the press service of the Uzbekcosmos Space Research and Technology Agency reported. Satellite images will be promptly handed to law enforcement agencies.
Reportedly, every year, thousands of cases of illegal burning of straw and weeds are detected on land plots cleared of cereal crops in Uzbekistan.
Stubble burning leads to a decrease in the fertility of thousands of hectares of high-yield lands, disruption of the soil structure, loss of useful macro- and microelements in the soil, a sharp drop in the quality scores of sown areas, the agency emphasized.
In addition, combustion products poison the air. When burning grain stalks, 500 grams of nitrogen oxide, 379 grams of hydrocarbons, 3 kg of ash, 20 kg of carbon monoxide and carbon monoxide are emitted into the atmosphere per 1 hectare of land. "This is dangerous, because in addition to air pollution, it can cause tuberculosis and cancer in the human body," the report says.
Burning stubble, dry leaves, tree branches and other plant debris in fields and populated areas is an administrative offense. According to Part 3 of Article 88 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a fine is imposed for it - for citizens from 3 to 5, and for officials - from 5 to 10 basic calculation units. In addition, the offender will have to compensate for damage to grain crop areas from fire.
Witnesses of cases of burning plant debris can call the hotline of the Ministry of Ecology at 1207.
Recall that in the first half of 2024, about 2,000 cases of field arson were detected using space monitoring. In May, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Uzbekcosmos agency signed a memorandum of cooperation for satellite monitoring of environmental violations, from tree felling and land grabbing to illegal dumping and stubble burning.
