The government has changed the rules for timber harvesting during martial law
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a resolution allowing, for the duration of martial law and for 12 months following its conclusion, timber harvested during sanitary logging to be excluded from the harvesting limits for commercial logging.
The new rules apply to all forests in Ukraine, with the exception of the mountain forests of the Carpathian region.
The Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture emphasized that the decision is aimed at more efficient use of forest resources, increasing the volume of timber for the needs of the economy, communities, and the defense sector, as well as improving forest management.
“The adopted resolution will allow for more efficient use of forest resources under martial law and ensure additional timber supplies for the needs of the economy, communities, and the defense sector. The document strengthens requirements for forest management, biodiversity conservation, and forest restoration. “We are establishing clear rules for forest users while ensuring a balance between the state’s economic needs and environmental responsibility,” said Taras Vysotsky, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
Thanks to these innovations, forest users will be able to further meet the timber needs of the population, the economy, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while state-owned forestry enterprises will have the opportunity to increase the supply of marketable timber to the market.
At the same time, the resolution includes safeguards to preserve forest resources. In particular, if the application of the new mechanism leads to a reduction of 30% or more in the main-use logging quota for mature and overmature stands, a mandatory recalculation of the quotas will be conducted, with a corresponding reduction.
After logging operations, forests must undergo mandatory restoration in accordance with the requirements of current legislation.
In addition, the document clarifies the rules for conducting sanitary measures and mitigating the consequences of hostilities in forests, defines the specifics of carrying out certain types of logging, and introduces a mechanism for correcting technical errors in electronically issued logging permits.
This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to temporarily suspend the export of unprocessed timber. This decision was driven by a number of factors, including the need to protect national forest resources and stabilize the domestic timber market.
The government decided to extend restrictions on the export of certain types of raw materials by introducing a licensing and quota system.
