Council of Europe demands explanations from the government on the deforestation of the protected Markhaliv forest

The Bureau of the Standing Committee of the Berne Convention has criticized the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to provide part of the territory of the Emerald Network for the construction of the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

This was reported by activists of the NGO “Markhalivka. Support” on Facebook. They published a letter that this European body of the Council of Europe sent to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine. The complainant, an environmental activist and member of this public association, Victoria Chechenkova, also received a copy of the letter.

Photo: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557935170719.

Photo: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557935170719.

The Bureau re-examined the complaint about the deforestation of the Markhaliv forest on the territory of the Emerald Network, taking into account the latest reports submitted by the authorities and activists. Its members noted the following:

1. The Office expresses its solidarity with the Ukrainian people and asks why the authorities decided to create a military cemetery on the territory of the Emerald Network.
2. According to the European officials, the size of the land plot allocated for the cemetery cannot justify either the destruction of protected habitats or the lack of a mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA) for this project, and they demand that the clearing of the territory be stopped immediately.
3. The Bureau suggested that the authorities identify alternative land plots outside the Emerald Network for the creation of a military cemetery and involve the complainant, as well as other stakeholders, in the development of the project and conduct an impact assessment on species that could potentially be affected by the cemetery.
4. The European officials also asked how the authorities plan to implement the ruling of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal of January 16, 2025, in court case No. 320/33830/24 on the invalidation and unlawfulness of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 225, which authorized the construction of the cemetery, and asked whether the authorities intend to appeal this decision.
5. In case the authorities decide to continue construction on the selected site, the Office asked for a detailed mitigation plan explaining specific measures.
6. The officials also asked for additional information on hazardous trees and areas affected by the clearing.

The Standing Committee called on the Ukrainian authorities to submit a progress report, including the above information and any other relevant updates, and set a deadline of July 31 this year.

EU officials also ask activists to provide their updated report on the situation.

“We call on the President and the Government to immediately stop the preparatory work, comply with the court decision and respect nature, human rights and European obligations,” the NGO ”Markhalivka. Support”.

As a reminder, on March 18, EcoPolitics reported on the suspicion of environmental activists that the Ministry of Ecology wants to remove the Markhalivka forest from the Emerald Network. The activists also caught the Ministry of Environment lying to Europe about logging in this forest.

Later, the KECC accused the Cabinet of Ministers of falsifying the information to exclude the Markhalivskyi forest from the Emerald Network.

This was preceded by three lawsuits won by environmental activists and the public against the Cabinet of Ministers and the Kyiv Regional Military Administration. Here is the chronology:

• On September 25, 2024, the Kyiv District Administrative Court declared illegal the Government of Ukraine's Resolution #225, which allowed massive felling of the Markhalivskyi forest near Kyiv for a military memorial cemetery.
• On January 16 of this year, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal also confirmed the illegality of the resolution. In early February, we reported that despite the court's ban, logging continued in the Markhalivskyi forest.
• On March 6, EcoPolitic informed that the Kyiv District Administrative Court had declared illegal the order of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration to allocate the territory of the Markhalivskyi Forest for the National Military Memorial Cemetery. This was the third trial that ended in favor of the forest's defenders.

At the end of April, environmental activists warned that the Ministry of Veterans Affairs had drafted a new resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on work in the Markhalivskyi forest, similar to the resolution #225 that was recognized as illegal.