The road to the controversial wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture was cut through a Zakarpattia forest, destroying a section of primeval forest. However, criminal cases and the loss of FSC certificates by two forestries apparently do not stop the SE "Forests of Ukraine". Four more forest roads are planned. According to environmental defenders, this indulgence of political pressure threatens the loss of certificates of sustainable timber origin for the entire Carpathian Forest Office.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG), which called on "Forests of Ukraine" to stop destroying forests for wind farm infrastructure.
Justifications and plans
While building the road to the wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture, foresters destroyed old-growth forest in Shypot. As EcoPolitic reported, the court ruled that the issuance of the logging permit was illegal. Subsequently, according to UNCG, the Uzhhorod and Svaliava forestries lost their FSC certificates — international certificates of sustainable forest management.
Nevertheless, the state enterprise continues to ignore this risk and plans to clear forests for new roads. Activists say that the documentation for a road to the Hostra mountain pasture is already ready, while one to the Svydovets mountain pasture is being developed. Plans for roads to the Vododilnyi Ridge and the Krasna mountain pasture are also being discussed.
These roads are supposedly needed for the state enterprise's own purposes. However, activists have doubts, since there is no forest in the highlands, and therefore foresters have no economic needs there. At the same time, the width and turning radii of the future roads are better suited to transporting blades and masts for wind turbines.
"We understand perfectly well that the SE "Forests of Ukraine" is building these roads under coercion as a result of political pressure. But we want to warn that a possible consequence of building new roads in the interests of wind farms may be the loss of FSC certificates not only by several forestries, but by the entire Carpathian Forest Office. This will cause significant economic losses to both foresters and woodworkers," the organisation stressed.
UNCG reported that it had appealed to the supervisory board of the SE "Forests of Ukraine", asking it to assess the construction of the above-mentioned forest roads. More than a month has passed, but there is still no response.
As a reminder, foreign partners are being offered to invest in the construction of three more wind farms in the high-mountain part of the Carpathians on the "Carpathian Eight" website. All the projects belong to the same companies.
On the Runa mountain pasture, such construction attracted national attention. Calls to stop it due to the destruction of fragile mountain ecosystems were joined not only by environmental communities and the public, but also by MPs. However, the Ministry of Economy issued an EIA conclusion for the project. Later, the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning (DIAM) acknowledged that building the foundations as separate structures to avoid an EIA was illegal, but the Ministry of Economy keeps responding that it cannot stop the construction.
