In 2024, we recorded the highest volume of illegal logging in the last four years – more than 39.6 thousand cubic meters of wood, which is 30.7% more than in 2023.
This is stated in the results of an annual analytical study conducted by the NGO "Forest Initiatives and Society", ForestCom reports.
Experts examined 8399 thousand hectares of forests of forest users of various subordination and forms of ownership. In total, forest users registered about 5,300 cases of illegal logging with a volume of more than 39 thousand cubic meters, which is 0.27% of the total volume of legal logging for the year.
According to the study, the majority of illegal logging (87.3%) occurred in forests managed by the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine. This is natural, as this is where the largest area of the forest fund belongs, and where violations are constantly recorded.
Photo: forestcom.org.ua
According to 2024 data, 4,600 cases of illegal logging with a total volume of 34.3 thousand cubic meters and damages amounting to UAH 817 million were identified in these forests.
Five regions account for nearly 70% of all detected illegal logging:
1) Zhytomyr region (20.9%);
2) Kharkiv region (17.5%);
3) Donetsk region (12.8%);
4) Dnipropetrovsk region (10.6%);
5) Zakarpattia region (7.1%).
According to the study, there is a critical gap in the forest violation monitoring system – a lack of unified statistics on illegal logging across all forests.
The State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine provides annual accounting of illegal logging only in the forests under its management, which comprise approximately 73% of the total forest fund area.
Official nationwide statistics do not include data on forest violations in:
1) municipal forests (about 12–13% of the forest fund area) – around 1.3 million hectares of land managed by municipal enterprises;
2) private forests (less than 0.1% of the total forest area);
3) forests belonging to other ministries and agencies (over 14% of the area), including forests managed by the Ministry of Defense, the nature reserve fund, and other institutions.
According to the researchers, the total amount of damage caused by illegal logging in 2024 amounted to UAH 1.09 billion, but the level of compensation remains catastrophically low – only 1.6% of the accrued amount.
We remind EcoPolitics readers that activists have accused the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine (liquidated) of facilitating massive illegal logging in protected areas.
The activists accuse the Ministry's leadership of commercializing natural resources. According to them, Minister Ruslan Strilets personally urged the reserves to "earn" money by harvesting wood, fish, hay, and reeds. The activists call this a blatant violation of Article 16 of the Law "On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine," which prohibits any logging in nature reserves.
