The Rivne branch of the state specialized enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” Kostopil Forestry was the first in Ukraine to receive a special permit to use forest resources in electronic form, said Yuriy Bolokhovets, CEO of the state enterprise.
“The electronic logging ticket is an important component of the forestry reform and another huge step towards the de-shadowing of the forestry industry,” he wrote on Facebook.
The head of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” emphasized that the pilot project, which started on June 1 and will last for two years, provides for the introduction of a single electronic database of logging tickets and certificates of origin in the industry.
The logging ticket is expected to increase the effectiveness of public control over timber harvesting and counter illegal logging. Greater transparency will reduce corruption risks by minimizing contacts between farms and officials, the state enterprise believes.
As reported, the state specialized economic enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” is one of the largest forest users in Europe and the largest forest user in Ukraine. It is managed by the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine. The company manages 6.6 million hectares of state forest land.
In 2016, Ukraine launched a forestry reform. It has already introduced the sale of unprocessed timber at electronic auctions. Since 2021, an interactive map of wood processing facilities has been operating in a test mode in a number of regions.
The industry has implemented the Forest in a Smartphone project, which contains a list of logging tickets for timber harvesting and allows you to check the legality of logging on the agency’s online map.
On June 1, 2023, Ukraine launched a pilot for the electronic issuance of logging tickets and certificates of origin of timber. In addition, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has launched a pilot project for the procurement of timber harvesting services.
