The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the resolution, which provides for the reform of the forest industry, in particular, the unification of 158 state forestry farms into a single enterprise "Forests of Ukraine".
Instead of 24 forestry and hunting departments, 9 regional offices will be created, the Ministry of Environment reports on Facebook.
The head of the Ministry of Environment, Ruslan Strilets, noted that the country's forestry has long been in need of a comprehensive reform.
"Each social group sees it in its own way. But Ukraine, as a candidate for EU membership, should undoubtedly move along the European path of development. We will manage forests according to EU standards and practices. This will allow not only to increase the profitability of the industry, to financially strengthen the state, but also to protect valuable forest territories," he said.
Strliets also added that the current forest management system in Ukraine is fundamentally different from the one that has been operating in European countries for a long time.
The reform will make it possible to introduce effective changes and solve the following problems:
- financial imbalance of the industry;
- lack of reliable information about the state of the country's forest fund;
- low level of forest cover, which persists for decades;
- low labor productivity;
- low level of mechanization of forestry work, etc.
This reform will also help to resolve the conflict of interests in the forestry sector, because the State Forestry Agency will have control functions, while "Forests of Ukraine" will have management functions.
Also, the reform will help reduce the level of corruption, because jobs will be saved and a decent salary for employees will be ensured. People will not have to engage in illegal activities, because they will be able to receive a decent wage for their work.
In addition, "Forests of Ukraine" will help attract European investments for the development of the industry and the purchase of new equipment.
"The creation of a single enterprise will allow to develop and earn profits not only due to the harvesting and processing of wood, but also the development of recreation centers, the production of our own eco-products, etc.," the material said.
The message also emphasized that in Lithuania, the creation of such a single enterprise helped to balance all financial issues. Currently, the salary of foresters does not depend on the geographical location of the forest farm. In addition, the Unified State Forestry Company of Lithuania has its own single budget and is a profitable company.
"The document clearly states that it is prohibited to privatize state-owned forests, and the "Forests of Ukraine" is an enterprise, 100% of whose shares belong to the state," the Ministry of Environment emphasized.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Serhii Vlasenko, who is likely to head the unified state-owned enterprise "Forests of Ukraine", may be involved in a lobbying scheme by Leonid Yurushev in the woodworking business.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, European ministers responsible for forests and observers of the "Forests of Europe" process expressed readiness to support Ukraine in post-war recovery and implementation of the necessary reforms in the forest sector.
