The forests of the East Kazakhstan region are divided into the Eastern region, which includes the dark coniferous taiga and larch forests of the Kazakh Altai and Saur, and the Semipalatinsk region, which includes the ribbon forests of the Irtysh region and the steppe forests of the Kazakh melkosopochnik and Tarbagatai.
The total area of the State Forest Fund of the region is 3.6 million hectares. 75% of the operational wood stock of the whole of Kazakhstan is concentrated in Eastern Kazakhstan. The forest cover of the region is 6.2%. The primary forest-forming species are pine, fir, spruce, cedar and larch.
For forestry in the region there are 13 state forestry institutions, the main tasks of which are the protection of forests from fires and unauthorized logging, but also reforestation and forest protection measures.
