Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill amending some Ukrainian laws regarding preserving Ukrainian forests and preventing illegal imports of rough timber, according to posting on the official website of the head of state. The law increases fines for illegal logging and causing damage to forests and young trees by several times. The amendments are made to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, Criminal Code of Ukraine, Code of Criminal Procedure and the law on the specifics of the public regulation of activities of business entities linked to the sale and exports of wood.
The government is instructed to design a comprehensive program on restoration of forests of Ukraine and set the priorities for these works, fire and disease protection and other measures. The introduction of the requirements of the law will allow preserving the environmental safety of Ukraine and will create an effective mechanism to prevent committing crimes related to illegal logging. As reported, on July 3, 2018, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed bill No. 5495, restricting domestic consumption of rough timber to 25 million cubic meters a year and temporarily banning exports of firewood.
