Forest and water reserve lands continue to "get in the way" of developers and farmers who want to use them for entirely different purposes. At the same time, the most damaging crime remains the illegal extraction of minerals, which turns forests and farmsteads into a wasteland. And forestry officials continue to organize illegal logging, as if forgetting that they are supposed to protect these forests.
EcoPolitic has prepared for its readers a digest of environmental violations for the period of March 21–27, as reported by the State Bureau of Investigations and the Office of the Prosecutor General, along with its regional branches.
Illegal subsurface resource use
Illegal amber mining in the Rivne region caused environmental damage amounting to 354 million UAH. A local businessman who financed and organized the mining operations has been charged with this high-profile crime. Instead of conducting geological exploration, for which it had a permit, the company under his control stole 5 tons of amber from the subsoil. Earlier, law enforcement officers detained seven individuals involved in the criminal scheme, including a forestry employee.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation
In one of the villages of Ivano-Frankivsk region, law enforcement officers uncovered an illegal quarry operation. Two local residents were extracting sand and gravel mixture from three agricultural plots. They had no permits whatsoever, though they fully utilized heavy equipment – excavators, trucks, and rock crushing machinery. The activities of the underground quarry caused nearly 50 million UAH in environmental damages.
Source: Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor's Office
In Zaporizhzhia region, a former official of a subsidiary of a state company, without any legal grounds, allocated 24.6 ha of state land to a private company for the extraction of mineral resources. For eight years, the private firm extracted construction materials from the site. The former official has been suspected of criminal activity. The damages from his crimes totaled over 2 million UAH.
Construction on valuable land
In Kyiv, the prosecutor’s office proved in court the illegality of the planned development of the Sviatoshyn ponds. The land was managed by the Institute of Fisheries of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), which decided, instead of engaging in scientific activities, to transfer these lands for residential construction. The respective land designation was entered into the cadastre, and construction work had already begun, with the ponds being filled in and the landscape ruined.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
A case involving the illegal construction of a tourist and hotel complex linked to a traitorous member of parliament has been referred to court. EcoPolitic previously reported that a tourist and hotel complex had “appeared” on a 2.4-hectare site valued at 150 million hryvnias within the Uzhhorod Forest District, which forest rangers had failed to notice. The head of the "Carpathian Forest Office" branch, who also serves as a deputy of the Transcarpathian Regional Council, is now on trial. The director of this complex, who previously served as an assistant to a parliamentarian from the Opposition Platform—For Life party, is also facing charges. Incidentally, this member of parliament is currently suspected of treason and financing the Russian National Guard.
Source: Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office
A smaller house was built for himself on forest fund lands by another official of the “Carpathian Forest Office” branch – the forester of the Tykhovetske forestry. The value of the land unlawfully seized by the official amounts to UAH 11.3 million. The man has received a notice of suspicion.
Source: Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office
Struggle for territories
Part of the “Prioirilskiy” nature reserve in Dnipropetrovsk region ended up leased for agricultural use. These valuable areas, covering 300 hectares and of national importance, are included in the Emerald Network; nevertheless, the tenant used them for mowing, which could jeopardize the safety of native steppes and rare flora. Therefore, prosecutors appealed to the court to return these lands to state ownership.
Source: Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office
Also, in Dnipropetrovsk region, prosecutors managed to return 35 hectares of water resources to the community. The tenant used a pond for fish farming without the required permits or monetary appraisal, and repeatedly failed to pay for the use of the reservoir.
Source: Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office
One community in Chernivtsi region illegally registered ownership rights to 97 hectares of land belonging to the river Prut water system. Prosecutors succeeded through the courts in revoking this illegal registration of a valuable site.
As a result of an incorrect decision by the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (StateGeoCadastre) in Zhytomyr region, 3 hectares of forest fund land were transferred to communal ownership, and later leased out as land for agricultural use. The court ruled in favour of the prosecutors and returned the land to state ownership.
In the Kharkiv region, 16 hectares of land along the Bereka River have been transferred to private ownership following orders from the regional State Geocadastre. In reality, however, this land should belong to the water fund, so the prosecutor’s office is challenging the land surveyors’ decision in court.
Again, due to decisions by the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (StateGeoCadastre), this time in Khmelnytskyi region, protected territories ended up in communal ownership and were classified as agricultural land. This concerns almost 40 ha of the hydrological nature reserve of national importance “Monachynskyi.” The court agreed with the prosecutors' arguments and ordered the re-registration of the plots as state property.
Tree felling
The destruction of an orchard, resulting in losses of 4.8 million UAH, is the crime attributed to the former acting forestry officer from Rivne region. She organized the cutting of nearly 150 trees and the sale of the timber. The woman has currently been suspended from her post, and her property has been arrested.
Source: Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office
Due to the criminal actions of the former head of the Berehove Forest District in Zakarpattia, valuable oak trees worth nearly 1.8 million UAH were felled. The official arranged a criminal scheme and issued illegal instructions to subordinates. The former manager has been served a notice of suspicion. At the same time, the forest ranger will stand trial as an accomplice.
Source: Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office
Using the aftermath of a fire caused by enemy shelling as cover, forestry officials in Kherson felled over 2,200 trees. The crime scene was the Velykooleksandrivske Forestry. To avoid an environmental assessment, they divided the land into plots of up to 1 ha each. EcoPolitica previously reported the details of this crime.
To find out about the most high-profile environmental crimes of the past week, follow this link.
