Conservationists have criticized the intentions of the State Forest Agency and the Ministry of Natural Resources to increase logging in Ukrainian forests, in particular due to clear-cutting of old forests.
They noted that the new Rules will be another monument to missed opportunities, according to the Ukrainian Environmental Group - UNCG on Facebook.
“Last year, the Ministry of Natural Resources developed a draft of new felling rules in the forests of Ukraine. Then, together with colleagues from Ecology-Right-Human, we submitted comments and suggestions, which were rejected by the State Forest Agency almost without reading," writes UNCG.
After a full-scale invasion, the State Forest Agency resumed work on new felling rules, which did not undergo significant changes over the year. According to the guards, the document contains many inaccuracies and opportunities for abuse.
The material emphasized that the new logging rules are a chance to introduce the most modern and friendly approaches to biodiversity into Ukrainian legislation. For example, establish requirements for the conservation of dead wood, limit clearcutting around swamps and watercourses, and generally limit clearcutting as such.
However, these provisions are absent in the new Rules.
Also, environmentalists expressed indignation at the discussions that the State Forest Agency initiated in early June. After all, the public was informed just two days before the event, and the event itself took place offline.
“Given the martial law, the fact that many are either in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or are volunteering, almost no one from the environmentalists got into discussion,” the article says.
The UNCG emphasized that in order to make the cutting rules really high-quality and modern, the document must be carefully worked out with all interested parties, which is difficult to do in a war, but possible, taking into account the interest from the forest industry and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
"The State Agency and the Ministry of Natural Resources directly declare their intention to increase the volume of logging in Ukrainian forests," the guards write. - "Of course, environmental restrictions do not contribute to this."
Recall Ukraine approved new rules of protection forests.
As EcoPolicy reported earlier, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced enormous damage to forests due to Russian aggression.
