We want to believe that Oleksiy Sobolev, the new Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agricultural Policy, will not wish to go down in history as the one who destroyed Ukraine forests.
It appears the Ministry have forgotten that they are now officially the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agricultural Policy. Their mandate requires them to care also about environmental conservation.
We desperately want to see a genuine reaction from the professional land surveying community.
Last week, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) conducted a field expedition to the Zviahel District (formerly Novohrad-Volynskyi) in the Zhytomyr region (Zhytomyrshchyna), located in the historical and natural area of Polissia (a large, forested swampy region). On one hand, we observed stunning natural landscapes. On the other, we concluded that if action isn’t taken…
Ministry officials had been effectively blocking attempts to auction off plots of land containing peat, amber, and sand if those plots fell within Protected Areas.
We have analyzed the changes and categorized them into key blocks relevant to the international conservation community.
Foresters do not hide the fact that this resolution is needed to increase timber harvesting and gain access to resources.
The year 2024 proved to be challenging, yet highly productive across multiple fronts.
Currently, the foresters are lobbying for legislative changes that would legalize new, almost unlimited, experimental logging.
It is now forbidden to construct forest roads in nature reserves, a practice that foresters previously abused.