The State Forestry Agency is working on several major projects that will increase transparency of processes and counteract corruption schemes, said Viktor Smal, head of the agency, during a joint briefing with Hamlet Poghosyan, director general of the state-owned LIAZ, at the Media Center Ukraine.
“In just a few years, we have digitized the main permits. Currently, we have an e-felling ticket, an e-certificate of origin, an e-consignment note, which is mandatory for all forest users, and photo recording of all cargoes. And the use of the electronic timber accounting system (ETS) is mandatory for all forest users,” Smal said.
According to him, the digitalization of key processes in the forest industry is ongoing. The team is currently working on several large projects.
“We have started working on a system of global control over the movement of all timber trucks in the country, as well as on the creation of a new generation of EDI. We are creating one of the best timber traceability chains in Europe,” Smal explained.
According to him, the main task in the reform process is to minimize the human factor. In particular, this refers to possible interference with databases by EDI operators. According to him, in 2024, the State Forestry Agency initiated an internal audit for internal security reasons to determine the likelihood of such facts.
“Then all the materials of the inspections were transferred to law enforcement agencies and cyber police were involved to change the security policy of information handling,” Smal assured.
He added that the new management of the State Enterprise “LIAC”, which ensures the operation of the electronic timber circulation system, is working to establish control over all operations related to entering data into the system.
“I would like to emphasize that since the end of 2024, not a single fact of illegal interference has been recorded in the EOD system. This is not a coincidence or a temporary phenomenon, but the result of deep systematic work carried out by the new team of the State Enterprise “LIAC”, – said Hamlet Poghosyan.
According to him, the system has accumulated vulnerabilities over the years that could be exploited by dishonest employees. However, the new team of the State Enterprise “LIAC” eliminated these problems in just a few months of work, in particular, a new procedure for making changes to the EDI and an electronic monitoring system are already in place, and the Internal Security Sector has been created.
“I emphasize once again: we do not tolerate any form of dishonesty. Maximum transparency of individual systems and the industry as a whole is our goal. And step by step we are approaching it,” summarized the head of the State Forestry Agency.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/1087879.html
