Press Conference Highlights: Addressing the Lack of Objective Statistics on Illegal Logging in Ukraine

A press conference was held on September 26, 2025, at Media Center Ukraine to discuss the pressing issue of the absence of objective statistics on illegal logging in Ukraine and its impact on the state and society. This lack of reliable data is a root cause of ineffective forest resource protection policies.

The event, initiated by experts from the NGO ForestCom, centered on an analysis of illegal logging volumes in 2024, based on data provided by forest users. Since 2020, ForestCom has independently collected and analyzed data on illegal logging, comparing it to previous years and sharing findings with the public.

This year's research further emphasized key problems in the recording and investigation of illegal logging in Ukraine:

• Lack of Unified Reporting: The absence of a unified, mandatory reporting form for detected illegal logging prevents proper data aggregation at the national level, hinders tracking of investigations, and limits analysis of the effectiveness of holding perpetrators accountable. ForestCom proposes implementing a standardized information collection form to address this.

• Vague Legal Definitions: Current legislation lacks clear definitions of "illegal logging" and "illegally harvested timber," significantly complicating crime classification by law enforcement agencies during criminal investigations. ForestCom offers recommendations for relevant legislative amendments.

Dmytro Karabchuk, Executive Director of ForestCom, presented the volumes, distribution, and trends of documented illegal logging in Ukraine in 2024, which demonstrate a 30% increase compared to 2023. This included 5,295 cases of illegal logging, totaling 39,600 cubic meters of illegally harvested timber. He stressed that this is only the minimum amount of officially documented illegally logged timber. Interestingly, high rates of detected logging in certain regions may reflect effective rangers and law enforcement efforts.

Karabchuk highlighted the urgent need for a centralized, official collection of information on illegal logging volumes at the national level. Without such data, informed policy decisions are impossible. He emphasized the potential underreporting of illegal logging, with estimates ranging widely. He suggested empowering a specific government body (such as the State Statistics Service or the State Forest Resources Agency) to officially collect and disseminate this information.

Oleg Storchous, a lawyer and expert in forest legislation, analyzed the performance of the law enforcement and judicial systems, and the effectiveness of law enforcement and investigations. He noted a positive trend in increasing numbers of cases referred to court, considered, and resulting in verdicts. However, he also drew attention to a critical backlog of unresolved cases in the courts (the proportion of cases under consideration increased from 13.6% to 60.3%), threatening the exceeding of deadlines, reduced effectiveness of punishment, and failure to recover damages caused by illegal logging.

The total damage caused by illegal logging in 2024 amounted to UAH 1.09 billion, but the level of compensation is catastrophically low – only 1.6% of the assessed amount. Natalia Kaplya, a legal expert from ForestCom, discussed the financial indicators and the steps ForestCom proposes for the authorities to rectify the situation. She emphasized the need for a unified mandatory statistical reporting form to accurately assess the state of affairs in the forestry sector, including tracking the progress of criminal proceedings, investigation timelines, timeliness of referral of cases to the courts, movement of cases in the courts, and the level of compensation.

Leonid Ilchenko, a security specialist from the Information and Analytical Sector of the Department of Internal and Economic Security of SFE "Forests of Ukraine," acknowledged the severity of the problem, noting that it inflicts enormous damage on the state. In 2024, the Department of Internal and Economic Security conducted 964 control measures and detected 1,357 cases of illegal logging, resulting in UAH 645 million in losses for the state.

Taras Lymar, Head of the Forest Protection Department of the State Forest Resources Agency, expressed the agency's interest in restoring the official process of collecting statistical data, which was carried out by the State Statistics Service until 2019. According to Lymar, the number of forest violations on the territory of the State Forest Resources Agency indicates that the institution's specialists are working, identifying, and transferring materials to law enforcement agencies. Approximately 700 raiding brigades have been created to identify offenders, and over 20,000 raids have been conducted. Lymar also discussed challenges in the protection and detection of forest violations, the reform of "Forests of Ukraine" SFE, and digital solutions implemented by the State Forest Resources Agency.

The discussion also addressed the problem of "nobodies forests" (lands not assigned to permanent forest users), creating a lack of protection. Other topics included issues related to the reform of the State Forestry Resources Agency, the normalization of the status of state structures, particularly the State Forest Guard, and problems with unauthorized logging caused by bureaucratic procedures.

Link to video recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wao015YYod0&t=209s

The event was held within the framework of the project  Advocacy for Forest Protection Against Illegal Logging: Removing Legal Barriers for Efficiency supported by the Askold and Dir Fund as a part of the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine - a Driver towards Reforms and Democracy project, implemented by ISAR Ednannia, funded by Norway and Sweden.