The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus urges the country's residents to prevent agricultural fires and the burning of dry vegetation.

Statistics show that the absolute majority of fires caused by burning dry grass are due to human negligence, and only 5-10% of ecosystem ignitions occur due to meteorological conditions.

People who claim that burning last year's grass is necessary are mistaken themselves and mislead others. Every act of arson is a crime against the fragile world of nature.

Since a significant portion of dry grass fires in spring and autumn are committed with good intentions, it is worth mentioning the apparent benefits of such fires and comparing them with the harm caused by grass fires.

The main argument of supporters of burning last year's grass is that it enriches it with ash, as a result of which grass appears faster and grows better in burnt areas.

Experts assure that the ash remaining after burning grass does not affect the improvement of soil quality, as nitrogen compounds are lost (the main part of nitrogen bound in vegetation is released into the atmosphere, becoming inaccessible to the vast majority of plants).

The mineral elements contained in the ash pass into a soluble form and easily wash away with surface and groundwater. Only a small part of them is absorbed by plants.

After a grass fire, only grasses that reproduce by rhizomes, such as couch grass, regrow. Honey-bearing flowers and cultivated grasses, which are readily eaten by domestic animals as hay, reproduce by seeds, and seeds burn during grass fires. Wherever fires have passed, there will no longer be the former variety of grasses; weeds will take over the cleared territory.

When grass is set on fire, all beneficial soil microflora is destroyed, including that which helps plants resist diseases. Many invertebrates, insects, frogs, lizards, small mammals, and birds sitting on their nests die in grass fires.

Furthermore, the combustion process is accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Fertiliser and pesticide residues are burned, forming volatile toxic organic and inorganic compounds. Burning grass along roadsides causes air pollution with heavy metals.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection draws attention to the following:

The Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offences of 6 January 2021 No. 91-Z:

for the unlawful burning of dry vegetation, standing crops, as well as stubble and post-harvest residues in fields, or failure to take measures to extinguish fires, guilty persons shall be brought to administrative responsibility in the form of a fine ranging from ten to thirty base units (Article 16.40);

for lighting fires in prohibited areas, except for violations of fire safety requirements for which liability is provided for by other articles of the Special Part of the said Code, entails the imposition of a fine of up to twelve base units (Article 16.41);

Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of 11 April 2022 No. 219 "On Tariffs for Determining the Amount of Damage Caused to the Environment and the Procedure for its Calculation"unlawful burning of dry vegetation, standing crops (except for lawns, flower beds, forest litter, living ground cover), as well as stubble and post-harvest residues constitutes damage to the environment and entails civil liability. The amount of compensation for damage caused to the environment is determined according to the tariffs established by paragraph 6 of Annex 8 to the said resolution.