State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has launched an autumn forestry campaign, which will see the completion of the President’s “Green Country” program to plant a billion trees. The billionth tree is planned to be planted in a month. According to the head of the enterprise, Yuriy Bolokhovets, the main goal of the initiative is not only to achieve a quantitative indicator, but also to restore ecosystems and form a culture of responsible attitude towards nature.
“The restoration of Ukrainian forests and the increase in the area of forest reserves should unite Ukrainian society and draw attention to the problems of ecology and biodiversity conservation. Forest restoration is part of the restoration of our country,” Bolokhovets said.
During the final stage of Green Country, special attention is being paid to creating new forests in regions where they did not previously exist, or restoring areas destroyed by military operations, fires, or illegal logging.
The first autumn planting took place in the Kyiv region, in the Khotianiv Forestry (Dymerske Forestry) near the village of Nyzhnia Dubechnya. Last year, almost a hectare of young forest burned down in this area after a rocket strike. In total, since the beginning of the year, more than 60 hectares of forest have been destroyed in the Dymer Forestry due to UAV and rocket strikes.
Pupils from the Vyshedubechansky school forestry, students from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, and children of forestry workers joined in the restoration efforts.
“We are creating new forests for future generations of Ukrainians, so it is very important to instill in our children and young people a love for the forest and a responsible attitude towards it,” emphasized the head of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine.”
The restoration of the destroyed area is being carried out using modern technology: rowan, birch, and viburnum are being planted along with pine trees. This combination of species promotes better seedling survival, maintains biodiversity, and reduces the risk of fires.
Pine seedlings with a closed root system are grown at the selection and seed center in Zhytomyr region.
Over the next few weeks, the autumn forestry campaign will start in all of the company’s forestry operations.
According to Bolokhovets, “Green Country” is a joint project that symbolizes the future: “We are restoring forests together with children, schoolchildren, and students — after all, this is the country in which they will live and work.”
The corporatization of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” provided for in the draft government action program published on Monday, involves transforming the state-owned enterprise into a joint-stock company, with 100% of the shares belonging to the state, Yulia Pliska, director of the GR and corporatization department of the state-owned enterprise, told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to her, the State Forestry Agency of Ukraine (SFAU) has developed a special bill for the corporatization of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” which is currently being reviewed by the relevant ministry. Virtually all of Ukraine’s largest state-owned companies have been corporatized under a special law. If the corporatization of State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” takes place without a special bill, it will be necessary to legislate certain aspects of the process that will regulate the specifics of the enterprise’s transformation into a joint-stock company.
“The advantages of corporatization are a management model that is understandable to international investors, which is a prerequisite for attracting investment. An independent assessment of assets will open up the possibility of attracting funds from international financial organizations: the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Unlike a unitary enterprise, a joint-stock company has greater flexibility in implementing investment projects. In addition, a joint-stock company has the right to direct funds from the sale of illiquid assets to the development of the company,” said Pliska.
The corporatization of Lisy Ukrainy is expected to accelerate the introduction of new modern technologies, upgrade the material and technical base, and thus increase production efficiency. However, the state will remain the owner of forest lands, which, as before, will not be subject to privatization.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers, in its draft Action Program published on Monday, named the adoption of new legislation on the timber market and the corporatization of the state-owned enterprise Lisy Ukrainy as one of its priorities.
