As a result of the forestry reform and the creation of the unified state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’, a large number of premises have become vacant; however, the authorities are in no hurry to transfer them to national parks. Nature reserves are forced to rent other buildings using public funds, whilst state-owned buildings fall into disrepair. Environmental campaigners have discovered that, instead of transferring them to the same state institutions, ‘Forests of Ukraine’ is selling the buildings on ‘Prozorro.Sales’.
The Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) reported on this situation.
No results found
The organisation states that, over the two years this absurd situation has persisted, dozens of meetings have been held, and ministers and their deputies have come and gone. Everyone promised to resolve the issue, yet the matter has not moved an inch.
"The Cabinet of Ministers is calling for every hryvnia in the budget to be optimised, but at the same time the state itself is paying rent for premises for parks, whilst other state-owned properties are simply falling into disrepair. Organising the basic transfer of assets within the state system to optimise expenditure is proving to be an insurmountable task," the UNCG emphasises.
Who is the owner, and what is the problem?
According to the organisation, the State Property Fund is the formal owner of the buildings, not ‘Forests of Ukraine’.
Strangely enough, the former head of the state forestry enterprise, Yuriy Bolokhovets, allegedly linked the transfer of premises to national parks to the abolition of the Protected Natural Areas (PNA) regime. At the same time, the new acting Director-General, Igor Zubovich, had promised to resolve this issue favourably. However, activists learnt from the organisation’s official response that, due to the corporatisation of ‘Forests of Ukraine’, the transfer of buildings has been suspended until a full inventory has been completed.
However, these disclaimers do not prevent these premises from being sold at auction. For example, UNCG discovered an advertisement for the sale of unused premises belonging to a state-owned enterprise.
"In the context of the war, national parks have become the focus of heightened interest and extraordinary public attention – both as centres for nature conservation and as spaces for citizens’ recuperation and recreation. Against this backdrop, we are frankly surprised as to why such a straightforward matter has dragged on for as long as two years," the environmental community emphasises.
As a reminder, the State Bureau of Investigations launched a large-scale special operation against crime in the forestry sector, codenamed ‘Green Shield’. In its digest, EcoPolitiс reported on a number of cases involving illegal logging and money laundering by state-owned enterprises.
