Forests under threat: Ministry of Economy plans to increase logging volumes

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture have tasked the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" with immediately increasing the volume of timber harvesting and sales on the market.

This is one of the decisions adopted at a large meeting of the government and the ministry with representatives of the forestry, woodworking, and furniture industries, relevant associations, and members of parliament, according to a Facebook post by Oleksiy Sobolev, Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine.

What officials have planned for the near future

1. To extend the zero quota on unprocessed timber export until 2026, so as to supply Ukrainian processors with raw materials.
2. To reform the conditions of exchange-based timber trading to ensure manufacturers’ access to raw materials and limit the participation of unscrupulous actors.
3. To adopt a draft law for the implementation of EU legislation on preventing deforestation and forest degradation (EUDR).
4. To review the regulatory framework that falls under the Cabinet's authority to create conditions for the urgent increase of timber harvesting volumes.
5. A clear order was issued to the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” to urgently increase operational efficiency and ramp up the volume of timber harvesting and sales on the market.

Photo: facebook.com/oleksii.sobolev.

Photo: facebook.com/oleksii.sobolev.

In addition, the minister spoke about introducing a complete digital timber traceability chain: from the electronic logging ticket to GPS tracking and photo documentation. According to him, all this will make shadow schemes impossible and guarantee that every tree harvested in Ukraine within logging operations will be felled legally. Recall that similar promises of improvements in the forestry sector were made by former minister Ruslan Strilets several years ago.

An emphasis that is made only in words

“A separate and extremely important emphasis – compliance with environmental standards. This is not about a choice between the economy and the environment, but about two interconnected processes that align with our European integration aspirations,” says Oleksii Soboliev.

However, the NGO “Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group” (UNCG) stated that they still see no concrete actions in this direction. They cited the following reasons for the discrepancy between the declared intentions and the actual situation:

1. Tens of thousands of hectares of primeval and old-growth forests, which Ukraine is obliged to preserve under its European integration commitments, are currently threatened by logging.
2. Recommendations from the National Agency for Corruption Prevention and the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office regarding anti-corruption measures in the forestry sector are being ignored.
3. The State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre and agricultural enterprises "fail to recognize" forests during land management activities and proceed with deforestation.
4. Foresters ignore the presence of plant species listed in the Red Data Book when planning logging operations.
5. Sanitary logging is being used to clear high-altitude and riparian protective forests in the Carpathians.
6. The State Environmental Inspectorate cannot conduct inspections of foresters regarding illegal logging.

“Resolving all these issues falls within the competence of the ministry headed by him [Oleksii Sobolev – ed.]. However, so far we have not seen any willingness to address them…”, environmentalists stated.

Recently, EcoPolitic reported on illegal logging in the Kivertsi National Nature Park "Tsuman Forest" in Volyn, which environmentalists and law enforcement have been unable to stop for five years.