International partners are strengthening support for Ukraine’s forestry sector

Ukraine’s forestry sector has strong international support, which is being further reinforced through the initiative of the FOREST EUROPE signatories to establish the Forest Friends for Ukraine (FFU) working group. This was announced by Head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine Viktor Smal.

The first preparatory meeting of the group was held online with the participation of representatives of international organizations, embassies, the European Commission, the EU Delegation to Ukraine, and the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine. During the meeting, participants identified priorities and areas for cooperation.

«I fully share the position of Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Taras Vysotskyi that Ukraine needs a new standard for coordinating international support for the forestry sector. FFU is an ideal platform for developing and implementing such a standard. In fact, this is the transformation of political commitments into an effective assistance mechanism, as it involves the creation of a Multi-Donor Trust Fund to support Ukraine’s forestry sector», - Viktor Smal explained.

FFU is expected to focus on the following areas:

- developing a matrix of needs and resources to align Ukraine’s specific requests with donors’ capacities and priorities;

- preparing a Support Strategy for Ukraine’s forestry sector for 2027–2031 to ensure long-term and predictable assistance;

- facilitating international dialogue and exchange of experience to align Ukraine’s forest policy with the EU acquis.

For its part, Ukraine invites partners to cooperate in several key areas.

Digitalization. Launching LiDAR forest scanning to create accurate 3D forest maps, developing a GPS tracking system for timber trucks, and upgrading the electronic timber accounting system.

Close-to-nature forestry. Starting from 2027, Ukraine will phase out clear-cutting in the mountain forests of the Carpathian region and transition to close-to-nature forestry methods. The experience of European countries in this field will be highly valuable for the sector.

Naturally afforested areas. These are mainly former agricultural lands that are not part of the forest fund. The goal is to preserve these forested areas as much as possible.

Demining. Around 500,000 hectares of forests in Ukraine are contaminated with mines and explosive hazards, making this a critically important issue. Any assistance in this area would be extremely valuable.

Science. The sector requires expert support to improve forest resilience to climate challenges. There is also a need to strengthen and restore key scientific institutions.

Legislation. Ukraine is currently adapting its national legislation to EU standards. The experience of European countries that have already undergone this process will be extremely useful.

«I am grateful to our international partners for their unwavering support and solidarity. I am confident that through joint efforts we will be able to restore everything destroyed by Russian aggression», - the Head of the State Forest Resources Agency concluded.