The key figures in this week’s cases are not ordinary citizens, but officials, businesspeople, and even local authorities whose negligence is jeopardizing the preservation of protected lands and natural forests.
EcoPolitics has compiled an overview of the key environmental crimes that came to light between March 7 and 13. All information comes from open sources of the State Bureau of Investigations, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and regional prosecutor’s offices.
Illegal subsurface resource use
Mineral extraction instead of land reclamation. The director of a company in the Donetsk region is under investigation for the illegal extraction of a coal-containing mixture, which he then sold to businesses for heating. The suspect’s firm was originally hired to reclaim agricultural land, but on his orders, the fertile soil was removed and mining began. The state suffered losses of over 28 million UAH, with an additional 500,000 UAH in environmental damage from the disposal of waste.
Struggle for protected lands
Lands from the nature reserve fund often end up in communal and private ownership. Here are several examples.
National Park "Piryatynsky". The court is now reviewing a case involving the illegal transfer of 100 ha of protected land into private hands. The state's losses amount to UAH 6.8 million. Prosecutors consider two former heads of the Main Department of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in Poltava region, a former head of the Kharkivtsi village council, and the acting head of the department of the Pyriatyn city council to be involved in this land fraud.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
The "Viitovetskyi" Nature Reserve in Vinnytsia Oblast. Here, prosecutors managed to prevent the illegal transfer of 4 hectares of protected land into private hands. Previously, the Lypovets City Council had allowed two citizens to develop land-use plans to transfer the plots into private ownership for the purpose of personal farming. The State Geocadastre assigned cadastral numbers to the plots, creating a threat of privatization.
The plots are located on the shore of Lake Svitiaz and contain valuable peatlands. A series of illegal decisions by local authorities in the Kovel District and the State Geocadastre office in Volyn Oblast resulted in 4 hectares of water fund land being transferred to private ownership as agricultural land. Courts of two instances upheld the prosecutors’ position and returned the land to the state.
Forest protection
In Volyn, 35 ha of self-seeded forest land will finally receive the appropriate designated status. The court required the Manevychi settlement council to do so.
In Cherkasy region, prosecutors filed a lawsuit against a territorial community, seeking to oblige it to recognize 212 plots with a total area of 922 ha as afforested lands.
Аnd in Zakarpattia, attempts are being made to secure protection for over 223 ha of primeval forests. Prosecutors deem unlawful the activities of SE “Forests of Ukraine”, which still has not demarcated the boundaries of sites within the nature reserve fund – including natural forests and primeval forests of the Nyzhniobystrovske, Vyshkivske, and Berezivske forest districts.
Tree felling
Trees were destroyed in the “Medobory” reserve in Ternopil region. The head of one of the reserve’s departments and an inspector responsible for forest protection, along with four accomplices, felled forest worth 5 million UAH. Naturally, they acted without any permits and in areas where felling is strictly prohibited. The entire group of illegal loggers, together with the organizers, have been served notices of suspicion.
Negligence that cost 27 million UAH. The forester of the Berehomet forestry district received a notice of suspicion due to improper performance of official duties. He was responsible for overseeing the forests but instead failed to prevent the felling of valuable tree species – fir and spruce.
Source: Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor’s Office
The forest was felled in the reserve under the cover of foresters. The pre-trial investigation has been completed regarding illegal logging in the “Karmeliukove Podillia” national park in Vinnytsia region. Later, the timber was removed and sold illegally. Nine people are involved in the case, including two employees of Dokhnia forestry of SE “Forests of Ukraine.” The offenders face up to seven years in prison.
Source: Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Failed to respond to the felling. The case against the forester of the Tsuman forestry branch of “Kivertsi Forestry Enterprise” of SE “Forests of Ukraine” was referred to court. Due to the official’s negligence, valuable tree species were illegally felled, including within protected areas. Damages to the state exceeded 5 million UAH.
Clear-cut sanitary logging without an environmental impact assessment. The chief forester and forester of SE “Koriukivske Forestry Enterprise” in Chernihiv region illicitly subdivided the forest into small plots, each under 1 ha, to circumvent the environmental impact assessment procedure. In this way, they felled more than 4,300 trees, inflicting losses to the state of nearly 9.5 million UAH. The case has already been sent to court.
Рobust healthy trees were felled, officially declared diseased on paper. In Zhytomyr region, four individuals were named as suspects in the scheme – two former forestry engineers from the “Baranivske Forestry and Hunting Enterprise” branch of SE “Forests of Ukraine,” a former forester’s assistant from the Yavnenske forestry, and a forest pathologist from the enterprise “Kyivlisozakhyst.” Officials forged documents by providing false information about alleged pest infestations of trees. Based on these documents, logging permits were issued. As a result of this pseudo-sanitary felling, 178 trees were cut down, causing almost UAH 2 million in environmental damage.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation
Environmental pollution
Waste from chemical forestry production in Zakarpattia polluted almost 2 hectares of land. It concerns sawdust soaked with chemicals, which contaminated the soil with phenol, acids, and lead. An employee of the enterprise, who failed to provide proper control over the storage of the sawdust, was named as a suspect. The environmental damage is estimated at over UAH 15 million.
Source: Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office
Embezzlement involving animal care
Instead of treating and caring for animals, money was misappropriated. In Chernivtsi region, two former employees of a municipal enterprise responsible for stray animals will stand trial. According to investigators, they embezzled over UAH 1 million of budget funds by reporting expenses for animal food and treatment that were actually provided as charitable assistance.
Source: Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office
You can read about environmental crimes that EcoPolitics covered last week at this link.
