The government has approved a new procedure for the budgetary funding of forest restoration and protection measures. The authorities expect that this new mechanism for state support will help prevent environmental damage, preserve biodiversity and enable the restoration of forest ecosystems affected by the war.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the relevant resolution on 3 June.
From compensation to inventory
Under the resolution, budget funds will be allocated to the following areas of work
- Compensation. Partial reimbursement of afforestation costs within affected territories is foreseen. This refers to areas that were under occupation or became sites of hostilities. The compensation rate is up to 50%.
- Accounting. Funding will be provided for maintaining the national forest cadastre, which is expected to display accurate real-time information on the condition of Ukrainian forests.
- Audit. A national forest inventory will be conducted at the state's expense. The government aims to obtain representative data on timber stocks and biodiversity in this way.
- Forest Management. Financing is intended for permanent forest users who do not harvest timber through main-use felling.
The Ministry of Economy believes this resolution is critical given the scale of the problem. Approximately 2.9 million ha of forests have suffered varying degrees of damage due to the war, while 690,000 ha are contaminated with explosive devices.
“Under these circumstances, the state must provide an effective mechanism for financing the restoration and protection of forest ecosystems. The adopted resolution will allow resources to be directed to the most important tasks – from reforestation in affected areas to the creation of a modern system for forest accounting and monitoring,” said Taras Vysotskyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the main forest manager, State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine," spends millions on fines due to inadequate care of forest tracts. EcoPolitic has provided a detailed analysis of this situation in its article.
