Risks, Challenges, and the Future of Ukraine's Forests: Round Table Results

On March 21st, a round table titled "Forests of Ukraine in the International Context: Risks, Challenges, and Future" was held in Lviv, dedicated to the International Day of Forests. This year's theme focused on "Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World."

The event, organized by the NGO "Forests Initiatives and Communities" (ForestCom), brought together 15 speakers and over 100 attendees.

In the current conditions of the destruction of forest ecosystems due to russian aggression, ongoing illegal logging, and the challenging process of reform, forests require not only close attention from the public, experts, and government structures but also urgent and coordinated decisions and actions. The event aimed to discuss our forests' risks and challenges, their future prospects, and the tools needed for their preservation and growth. Participants engaged in a polylogue around three seemingly simple yet often complex questions: what do we have? What are we protecting it from and how? Where should we concentrate our efforts? Answering these requires analyzing available resources, identifying threats, and determining priority coordinated actions.

The event united scholars, representatives from the expert community (foresters, ecologists), forest-dependent businesses, government institutions, and organizations. They shared their thoughts, work, and experiences regarding forests as natural resources, habitats, commodities that support an entire forestry industry employing thousands of Ukrainians, and crucial ecosystems.

In his opening remarks, Petro Pavlychenko, a representative of the US Forest Service in Ukraine, highlighted the event's main theme: the relevance of the state of forests not only for those whose activities are directly related to forests but also for everyone concerned about the question of whether this planet will remain alive. Unfortunately, centuries of anthropocentric views have led to the perception of nature as a resource. However, forests today are a resource that is either nearly depleted or rapidly depleting. Petro Pavlychenko also discussed the work of the US Forest Service in Ukraine and assured support for all those interested in forestry issues to foster and develop professional thoughts and approaches.

Dmytro Karabchuk, the head of the ForestCom NGO and an expert on forest policy and the development of forestry and hunting, spoke about the implementation of the organization's main project, "Combating Illegal Logging in Ukraine," supported by the US Forest Service. He noted that the project aims to involve the public in monitoring forests for violations as much as possible. "Over four years, we have managed to remotely survey over 6 million hectares of forests and physically inspect over 7,000 hectares, including more than 400 hectares of logging sites," the expert shared.

Tetyana Pyvovar, Ph.D., senior researcher and analyst at the ForestCom NGO, discussed Ukraine's forests in the global context, particularly the threats of deforestation and forest degradation.

Vasyl Masyuk, an international FAO expert in Ukraine, touched on the topic of innovations in the forestry sector and invited an open, comprehensive discussion on the future of forests and their use.

Igor Budzinsky, Head of the Department of Forestry and Forest Reproduction at the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine, talked about the impact of the war on forestry. According to him, it is currently not entirely possible to assess the full scale of the war's impact, and we will feel the consequences for many years to come. However, preliminary estimates suggest damages to ecosystems amount to UAH 20 billion, destruction of equipment to UAH 400 million, and the demolition of real estate to UAH 1.2 billion. Igor Budzinsky also discussed assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the state of demining forestry lands, and outlined the stages of forest restoration.

Viktor Melnychenko, Director General of the State Enterprise "Ukrderzhlisproekt," shared an important development – a geographic information system for managing Ukraine's forest resources.

Igor Lytsur, Executive Director of the State Enterprise "Lisy Ukrainy," outlined the risks and advantages of reforming the forestry sector.

Lyudmyla Slominska, a project manager in the "Forests" program at WWF-Ukraine, sparked a discussion about the number of preserved old-growth forests in Ukraine and their role in preserving the world's forest heritage.

Mariné Elbakidze, Associate Professor at the Department of Geoecology and Physical Geography at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and Senior Researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, shared practical solutions on how global forest-related problems can be addressed at the local level through the involvement of local communities.

Pavlo Kravets, Director of FSC Ukraine, presented the potential of FSC certification for sustainable forest management systems.

Yevhen Khan, CoC and Integrity Manager at FSC Ukraine gave an informative and useful presentation on AI, OSINT, and automation as innovative solutions for forest conservation.

Radmila Ustych, an expert at the FORZA NGO, discussed the features of digital tools and technologies for sustainable forest management and the possibility of testing them by all interested parties.

Lawyer Oleh Storchouse examined the question of the ecological value of forests under current Ukrainian legislation in the fight against illegal logging. 

Sofia Shutyak, another lawyer, talked about the lessons of decentralization, particularly the role of local self-government in forest management.

Yuriy Dyug, Chairman of the Board of the Wood Industry UA NGO, raised the question of whether ecologists, foresters, and businesses are opponents or stakeholders. He emphasized that cooperation between ecologists, foresters, and businesses is possible and highly needed today, as each party will face incredible challenges for survival and development in the next two years.

Based on the round table presentations and discussions, key risks for Ukraine's forests were identified, recommendations for preserving forest resources were formulated, and the importance of joint efforts for forest protection was highlighted.

In conclusion, we cannot help but share Petro Pavlychenko's insightful words, which can serve as a summary for each of us: "I cannot remain calm near majestic trees; I always realize that if a tree has lived for so many hundreds of years, it is certainly better than I am. Or at least equal to me. And I certainly cannot harm it. Such a tree is sacred to me. Like a temple. I want my grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other people to have the opportunity to see such trees. Therefore, our ultimate goal should be to preserve all this for future generations. And this means balanced use of everything we have. And this becomes possible when we have a dialogue, when everyone listens to one another. A dialogue aimed at finding solutions to problems and proposing strategies and approaches that will help us all move together in social harmony towards achieving a concrete result."

You can access the speakers' presentations using the provided link.

A recording of the round table is available on the ForestCom NGO's YouTube channel.

The event was implemented within the project "Combating Illegal Logging in Ukraine" with the support of the International Programs Office of the US Forest Service.