Forests in Zakarpattia continue to be felled as part of infrastructure development for the wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture. In the Zhdeniivska community, tree felling has already resumed to make way for a power line, and there are plans to build yet another road to Mount Gostra in the near future.
The media outlet ‘Suspilne’ reported on the systematic destruction of valuable woodland and the documented violations.
Previously, a road had already been built to Runa through the Uzhhorod Forest District. At that time, part of the primeval forests of the ‘Shipot’ Forestry, which had held this status since 2019, were felled. EcoPolitics reported that the issuance of that logging permit had been ruled unlawful in court, but that will not bring the trees back.
Now, however, despite promises to suspend felling for the power line, work has resumed in the Pashkivets Forest District. It is worth noting that the pause was caused by the discovery of rare species, in particular salamanders. However, without carrying out an additional commission survey, as was announced in June, the state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ is once again felling the forest.
"Instead of routing it [the power line] along a much shorter and less harmful route — alongside the stream and near the village — they routed it uphill. In our view, this was done so that the line could subsequently be extended to other potential renewable energy sites, namely the Vododilny Ridge,” Mykhailo Bohomaz, acting head of the ‘Forests’ division at the public association ‘World Wildlife Fund Ukraine’, told journalists.
Rare, but overlooked
For months, independent experts and scientists have been working in this area to record the locations where Red List species grow or live. A total of 108 such locations were identified in a logging area just 2 km long. However, according to activists, these species simply do not feature in the foresters’ records.
"This area is valuable because rare plant and animal species have been recorded here, yet the forestry department is completely ignoring them. And the Department of Ecology has twice refused our request to establish protected areas here for species whose conservation is required by law and relevant decisions,” said Andriy Tupikov, an expert from the analytical department of the non-governmental organisation ‘Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group’.
Source: "Suspilne Uzhhorod"
The next stage of the extermination
According to campaigners, the Svalyava Forest District is planning to build another road to Mount Gostra. The forest area where the construction is planned has not yet been touched. The official reason given is to facilitate forestry operations. This involves fire prevention measures and the removal of felled timber.
Journalists from ‘Suspilne’ were unable to obtain any information from the Carpathian Forestry Office. None of the authorised representatives were available to comment on site — both the director and the chief forester are away on business trips.
EcoPolitic reported on the destruction of dozens of habitats of rare species in the Zhdeniivska community.
The Ministry of Economy had previously stated that it could not halt the completion of the wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture. This is despite the fact that campaigners have identified numerous breaches of the environmental impact assessment report, and previously the Ministry of Development, citing the findings of the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning, acknowledged that the construction of the foundation structures separately from the rest of the project constitutes a breach of the law.
