Plans are underway to build roads through the forests of Zakarpattia Oblast to the high-altitude mountain pasture of Hosta. Activists have learned that design and cost estimate documentation is being prepared for the construction of roads in the Pashkivets Forest District of the Svalyava Forest Administration. Environmentalists are convinced that the project’s goal is by no means to serve the needs of the forest, but rather the needs of the “Wind Parks” wind power plants.
This was reported by the NGO “Code 21” on its “Ecological Transcarpathia” page.
According to a response from the Carpathian Forest Office of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine," the documentation is still in the drafting stage. In other words, no tenders for construction have been held yet, and no logging permits have been issued.
The community is concerned that the situation at Hostra will be similar to that at the Rivna polonyna. There, a road was cut through the forest solely for business purposes – to service wind power plants.
“Foresters are building these roads with their own funds, earned from state forests. Ignoring the value of forests, endangered species, and committing a criminal offense – for instance, in the 'Shypot' forestry of the Uzhhorod forest district, primeval forests were cleared for the road. And, judging by the maps, the same fate awaits the primeval forests in the Pashkivetske forestry,” writes "Zakarpattia Ecological".
Source: "Zakarpattia Ecological"
An illusory chance for honest inspections
The construction of these roads is not planned in the forest management materials. In such a case, commission inspections must be conducted before logging, as required by procedure. However, activists are not confident about their transparency.
They state that this legal requirement is ineffectively fulfilled in the Svaliava forestry. In particular, they note that public access to inspections was only achieved after public outcry. To "balance" things, foresters allegedly also invited representatives of loyal public organizations to participate.
"Zakarpattia Ecological" also provides a number of comments regarding the quality of forest area inspections:
- lack of impartiality and expertise among foresters and representatives of protected area facilities;
- strange choice of inspection timing, which usually occurs in winter when plants are not in the vegetation season;
- fragmented checks of plots. According to activists, forests slated for felling are not fully checked, although logging tickets are issued for the entire area.
Loss of international certification
According to activists, because of the destructive assistance to wind parks, the Svaliava and Uzhhorod forest districts have already lost their FSC certificates. This has closed their timber's access to global markets.
“Now the Svaliava foresters are making efforts to regain certification, but at the same time, they continue to violate forestry and environmental legislation in favor of the same unscrupulous business. The planned road to Mount Hostra is clear evidence of this,” the community notes.
The construction of wind farms in the high-altitude areas of the Carpathians has sparked justified outrage among experts, activists, and the general public. In particular, the ecosystem on the Runa mountain pasture has already been damaged by the construction of foundations for wind turbines.
EcoPolitic reported that the Ministry of Development recently acknowledged that this construction, carried out without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), was a violation of legal norms. However, prior to this, the Ministry of Economy, Environmental Protection and Agriculture had already issued an EIA conclusion for the construction of wind power plants in the Turie-Remety community area.
