The State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine has planted 240 million trees in 2021, it is planned to increase this figure by a quarter, to 300 million in 2022, according to a press release from the department on Tuesday.
“This year, enterprises subordinate to the State Forest Resources Agency have planted 240 million seedlings and saplings. In addition, additional 9 million woody plants have been planted on the lands of other forest users,” head of the agency Yuriy Bolokhovets said.
The State Forest Resources Agency clarified that 59.5 million out of 240 million trees have been planted as part of the presidential program Green Country, which provides for planting 1 billion trees in three years, its implementation began in the summer of 2021.
It is clarified that 51 million trees have been planted in Zhytomyr region, Rivne region – 29.5 million, Volyn region – 23.3 million, and Chernihiv region – 15.6 million.
In the forest-steppe regions, 66.5 million trees have been planted, including in Kyiv region – almost 20 million, Poltava and Sumy regions – almost 10 million each, Cherkasy region – 8.2 million, Kharkiv region – 6.2 million, Vinnytsia region – 5.2 million, Ternopil region – 4.4 million, and Khmelnytsky region – 3.7 million.
In addition, in the steppe regions of the country, foresters have planted 21.3 million trees, including in Luhansk region – 6.6 million, Zaporizhia region – 4.4 million, Kirovohrad region – 3.8 million, and Kherson region – 2.7 million.
According to the State Forest Resources Agency, 30.3 million trees have been planted in the Carpathians in 2021, including 15.1 million in Zakarpattia region, in Lviv region – 8.1 million, and in Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk regions – 3.5 million each.
All timber that will not be included in the electronic timber accounting system will be considered illegal due to the adoption of instructions on the electronic timber accounting system, the press service of the State Forest Resources Agency said.
According to its press release, the relevant instructions for the timber accounting system were approved by the order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and registered by the Ministry of Justice. Electronic timber accounting is a program for monitoring harvested and sold timber.
“The delay in the adoption of the electronic timber accounting instruction lasted more than a year and a half, since the adoption of the document was extremely unprofitable for the participants in the shadow market. Now we will bring out of the shadow those processes that take place in a third of the area of Ukrainian forests,” Viktor Smal, the deputy chairman of the State Forest Resources Agency for digital development, is quoted as saying.
The agency explained the work of the electronic timber accounting system: a special tag is stuffed onto the harvested wood, in which information about the characteristics of the wood and the place of harvesting is encrypted. When timber is moved further to the warehouse, a consignment note is attached, which contains information about the transportation. All information goes to the electronic timber accounting system.
“Thus, it is possible to compare how much wood was harvested and how much sold. Wood that did not enter the system is considered illegal,” the press release said.
According to Smal, until recently, the e-wood accounting system was used exclusively by state-owned enterprises under the management of the state forestry agency, in whose jurisdiction 73% of the area of Ukrainian forests is, and there was no information on the rest of the forests in the system. While the adoption of the electronic timber accounting instruction in practice means that its use is mandatory for 100% of forest users and forest owners, all volumes of harvested and sold timber must be reflected in the system, the agency clarified. The action of the electronic consignment note applies to all forest users.
Forest Innovation and Analytical Center has begun the creation of the Forestry Startup Fund on behalf of Head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine Vasyl Kuzovych.
“The main task of the Fund will be the development of a special platform (project exchange) designed to streamline contacts between startup developers and potential investors interested in creating modern high technologies in the timber industry,” the press service of the State Forest Resources Agency said on Saturday.
According to the press service, in the future, the Forestry Startup Fund may become the founder of the first industrial park in the forestry industry, arranged according to the classic three-module scheme, which has proven itself in Silicon Valley and other global centers of innovation.
