An auction for a special permit to extract sand from the Starovyzhivske deposit, 150 hectares of which are located in the Smolyarovsky general zoological reserve, has been held in Volyn.
Although the reserve is located in the Dubechiv forestry, foresters have not received any letters to approve such activities, the Polissia Forestry Office reported on Facebook.
The post emphasized that this situation is problematic. After all, the permit for subsoil use became known only after the auction. The Kovel Forestry branch of the state enterprise Forests of Ukraine has a certificate for the right to permanently use this forestry plot.
"But this does not mean that the approval procedure has been completed and sand mining will already begin," the press service explained.
It is noted that after the auction, the winning company must apply for the necessary development permits to the regional administration as the owner of the land. And the Volyn OVA should send a corresponding appeal to the permanent forest user – SE "Forests of Ukraine".
In the message, they assured that there will be no development of the deposit in the reserve, because it is contrary to the Law No. 2456-XII "On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine". Thus, in the territories of the protected areas, any activity that contradicts the goals and objectives provided for by the regulations on the protected area, in particular, interference or violation of lands, is prohibited.
The press service said that the Polissky Forestry Office informed the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Volyn Oblast and the Prosecutor's Office of the Kovel District about the illegality of the development of the deposit.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in Volyn, eco-inspectors discovered illegal sand mining in the Dubivsk community for more than 86.1 million hryvnias and for 23.1 million in the Lublynetsk community.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, experts of the Association of Environmental Professionals (PAEW) stated that in order to attract foreign investments in the field of subsoil use in Ukraine, it is necessary to introduce fair rules for the sale of special permits.
