3. FOREST MANAGEMENT AND USE: FACTORS AFFECTING FLORA, FAUNA AND LANDSCAPE DIVERSITY IN THE BASIN The area of lands under the state-owned forests of the three riparian countries is 13.64 million hectares, including 5.56 million hectares in Belarus, 2.80 million hectares in the Russian Federation and 5.28 million hectares in Ukraine. State forestry authorities of the three countries are in charge of the preservation and use of this land, where forestry economy is developed with the active utilization of forest resources. Main components of forestry economic activities affecting biological and landscape diversity are: - forest restoration and growing, including agricultural afforestation (agrosilviculture); - forest improvement felling; - sanitary felling (selective, final, forest de-littering) and other types of felling (forest clearing for communication lines, etc); - forest protection (including prevention of and fighting forest fires, as well as combating unsanctioned felling and other breaches of forest legislation); - forest preservation (including prevention and detection of forest diseases, fighting forest pests and prevention of their propagation); - hydro-technical amelioration of forests. Forest use presupposes the following types of utilizing natural resources: - main forest use, including final harvest; - intermediate forest use in the course of improvement felling, sanitary and other types of forest cutting; - use of secondary forest resources (harvesting edible, forage, medicinal, technical ornamental, and other useable materials in forests); - forest use for recreational, research, educational and similar purposes.