Experts of the Ukrainian Nature Protection Group (UNPG) claim that the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine", with the assistance of the Transcarpathian Regional Environmental Agency, plans to cut down fifty hectares of 180-year-old oak forests. They prepared and sent an appeal to the Ministry of Environment demanding not to approve the foresters' felling plans, which will include the destruction of old-growth floodplain forests.
The environmentalists announced this on the organization's Facebook page.
They spoke about the plans of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" to cut down a unique forest near the Borzhava River. In this area, after heavy rains in the mountains, the river floods the floodplain, so there is a real natural regime of floodplain forests. According to experts, there are dozens of old-growth trees and meadows of Red Data Book species blooming there.
The UPG experts accused the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" of taking advantage of imperfect legislation to carry out clear-cutting. The foresters decided to circumvent the legal requirements that prohibit clear-cutting in coastal protection forests by means of reforestation.
"The conditions for their appointment are not clearly defined by legislation, so foresters willing to make a profit can appoint them almost everywhere," they claim.
Activists also accuse the officials of the Department of Ecology of the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration of facilitating illegal logging:
"They refused to create protected zones, believing the foresters that there are no red book species there. Although it is impossible not to notice the summer white flower, Heifel's saffron and bear's onion during the flowering period, because these species are easily recognizable."
Therefore, UPG specialists sent an appeal to the Ministry of Environment with a demand not to approve the felling plans of foresters, which will include the destruction of ancient floodplain oaks. Along with this, they also sent a request for the expansion of the Atak Tract natural monument to the most valuable ancient forests.
Environmentalists are waiting for the approval of this petition and its transfer to Zakarpattia OVA to obtain approvals from foresters.
"The fate of one of the most valuable floodplain forests not only of Transcarpathia, but also of the whole of Ukraine is in their hands," the UPG stated.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, illegal logging is not news for Transcarpathia. Yes, the other day we told you that in Transcarpathia 4 officials will appear before the court of the forest industry, which caused a total of 11 million hryvnias of damage to the environment through illegal logging.
A week before that, we also immediately reported about 2 cases of illegal logging for 5.2 million hryvnias in relation to Transcarpathian officials, whom the SBI referred to the court.
