Forest rangers continue to orchestrate illegal logging operations, fishermen are catching fish in protected waters, and businesspeople are stealing minerals from the ground worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias.
EcoPolitic has compiled information about environmental violations provided by state authorities – the Office of the Prosecutor General, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the State Environmental Inspectorate – for the period from April 18 to 24.
Illegal use of subsoil resources
Almost UAH 750 million worth of sand was stolen from the Dnipro River. In the Cherkasy region, law enforcement exposed a brazen mineral extraction scheme. The organizer, a native of Korobivka village, along with accomplices and using heavy equipment, extracted sand from six locations. While the investigation continues, preventive measures have been imposed on the suspects. EcoPolitic previously reported on this crime.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
A resident of Zhytomyr region, previously convicted of illegal mineral extraction, once again organized illicit extraction. With the help of acquaintances, he extracted at least 700 cubic meters of sandstone as natural stone. Environmental damages exceeded UAH 16 million. The pre-trial investigation has been completed and the prosecution against the extractors is already in court.
Source: Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office
The prosecutor's office has submitted to court the case against the director of an enterprise that illegally extracted gneiss in Kirovohrad region. While the special permit for subsoil use had been suspended, extraction works still continued. The work was carried out by contractors who were unaware of the illegal nature of the operations. Damages to the state amounted to UAH 117 million.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
Additionally, charges for illegal sand extraction in the Kyiv region were also sent to court. There, the company essentially stole almost 39,000 tons of minerals due to violations of the terms of the special permit, causing damages to the environment estimated at UAH 22.5 million.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
The struggle for valuable land
Plots of the regional park "Samarsky Plavni" in the Dnipropetrovsk region ended up in private hands without proper grounds. Land from the water fund was suddenly reclassified as suitable for agriculture. Agricultural use could endanger the Samara River ecosystem and increase the risk of flooding. Therefore, the prosecutor's office is seeking through the courts to return this land to the community.
The Kyiv City Council has for years failed to address the issue of granting protected status to the "Horbachykha" natural tract. This involves 32 ha of floodplain areas that have miraculously almost preserved their natural state. Due to the inactivity of the Kyiv authorities, the prosecutor's office has filed a lawsuit to finally protect these lands.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
One of the village councils in Dnipropetrovsk region must establish the boundaries of the "Balka Krutenka" protected tract. This 32.5 ha site was created to protect unique feather grass steppes, but without officially set borders, there was a threat to the ecosystem’s safety. The prosecutor’s office had to intervene and file a lawsuit to address this.
For nearly 20 years, a plot within the "Trakhtemyriv" landscape park in Cherkasy region remained in private ownership. Such an ambiguous decision was made by the Kaniv City Council back in 2007. Through court proceedings, the prosecutor’s office managed to annul the state registration of the 9 ha plot and return it to the community.
Source: Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Destruction of trees
A record sum is to be reimbursed by SE "Forests of Ukraine" for illegal logging. Officials of the former SE "Kutske Forest Enterprise" cut down trees within the "Hutsulshchyna" National Park in Ivano-Frankivsk region over nine months. In total, more than 9,000 trees were destroyed over an area exceeding 108 ha. The damages amounted to almost UAH 387 million. "Forests of Ukraine," as the legal successor, must compensate for these damages. The prosecutor’s office has sued the state enterprise. EcoPolitica previously reported on this case in detail.
Under instructions from a former forestry master at the "Vyzhnytsky" National Park in Chernivtsi region, trees were illegally logged. This official from the Berehomet forestry division, a branch of "Berehomet Forest Enterprise" of SE "Forests of Ukraine," was preparing a road for further illegal removal of the destroyed vegetation. It all began with sanitary logging. However, workers from a private company, neither formally employed nor qualified, cut down everything the forestry master instructed. As a result, the environmental damage reached UAH 5 million, and the former official was served with a notice of suspicion. He now faces up to ten years in prison.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation
SE "Forests of Ukraine" destroyed 167 trees on someone else’s land – within the territory of the Borshchiv community in Ternopil region. The damages amounted to almost UAH 2 million, prompting the prosecutor’s office to go to court.
One of the state forestry enterprises in Dnipropetrovsk region must compensate over UAH 1 million. The reason is inadequate forest protection, which led to illegal logging of trees within the territory of the "Dnipro Rapids" landscape park.
In Zhytomyr region, it was possible to prevent a crime that would have caused environmental damages amounting to UAH 1.8 million. There, two former engineers of the "Baranivske Forestry and Hunting Enterprise" branch of SE "Forests of Ukraine," under the pretext of "pest infestation," intended to fell nearly 180 healthy pines. The case has been submitted to court.
Unidentified individuals cut down almost 400 trees in Sumy region. According to the State Environmental Inspectorate, environmental damages amounted to nearly UAH 2.5 million.
Environmental pollution
For five years in Kyiv, municipal waste was dumped outside the designated landfill. The environmental damage reached a staggering UAH 1.3 billion. The chairman of the board of PJSC "Kyivspetstrans" is accused of the environmental crime. More about this large-scale land pollution can be found in the article by EcoPolitic.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
In Kryvyi Rih, two land plots were polluted with solid municipal waste, plant-derived waste, PET bottles, and other garbage. The State Environmental Inspectorate assessed the damages, which nearly reached UAH 5 million.
Poaching
Two men illegally fished in the territory of the "Khotyn" National Park in Chernivtsi region. They hauled their catch with banned nets, ignoring both the restrictions and the protected status of the territory. The environmental damage amounted to almost UAH 1.8 million, so the prosecutor's office has filed a lawsuit for compensation.
You can read about last week's environmental crimes via this link.
