The spread of hogweed in many regions of the country has become a serious problem, and it is aggravating from year to year - an aggressive weed is already
got to the Arctic
… Fighting it requires a lot of patience and enormous resources, so local authorities are looking for new promising ways to solve the problem. But perhaps one of the most original ideas was born in the Leningrad Region.
The cow parsnip on the banks of reservoirs cannot be destroyed by chemical means
Two birds with one stone
The situation with the hogweed in the region is not easy. A stubborn struggle with him has been going on here for 10 years. Now every year within the framework of the regional program against the aggressor
about 8 thousand hectares of land are freed, tens of millions of rubles are allocated from the regional budget for this. In the coming year, funding has increased 2.5 times compared to last year's level and reached 65 million rubles.
2021 declared the year of the fight against hogweed in the Leningrad region
… However, victory is still far away.
The problem is aggravated by the fact that far from everywhere it is allowed to use herbicides, which still remain the most effective "weapon" against Sosnovsky's hogweed. For example, it is impossible to carry out chemical treatment of areas adjacent to water bodies, only a mechanical method is allowed here - mowing weed thickets.
And last year, in the Telmanovsky rural settlement (this is the Tosnensky district of the Leningrad region), for the first time to fight the hogweed along the banks of the Izhora river
sent hard-core non-payers of alimony
… The idea is interesting: it helps to get rid of the weed, and to punish debtors approximately.
The action "Didn't pay alimony - mow the hogweed" was recognized as a successful experiment, and the other day the Governor of the Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko
made a proposal
to include the fight against hogweed in the official list of public works, which involve, in particular, debtors-alimony.
Pros and cons
Mowing this poisonous weed is not an easy job. To avoid burns, you need special equipment - a protective suit and a mask that completely covers the face. It is not surprising that it is not easy to find those willing to voluntarily enter such a "battle". But from public works, assigned in the form of punishment, it will not be possible to evade.
But
not everyone supports such a measure
- Some consider her to be an unreasonably cruel punishment for child support debts. What do you think about this?
Read also how to fight with hogweed in different regions:
Fight against hogweed: fines and subsidies Who wins? What is hogweed and how to deal with it
