Are you preparing to privatize “Forests of Ukraine”?

Ukraine's forests may be preparing for privatization. In my opinion, the ground is already being prepared for this decision.

After the reform of the State Forestry Agency and the former forestry enterprises in 2022, one large state specialized economic enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” (one of the largest forests in Europe by area) operates in our country. As noted on their website, “the enterprise manages 6.6 million hectares of state forest fund land.”

The reform does not plan to stop at the creation of one, one might say almost monopoly, state-owned enterprise, which cuts about 15-18 million cubic meters of wood per year. According to information from open sources, it is known that there are further plans to turn this state-owned enterprise into a joint-stock company. A corresponding bill has already been developed.

Of course, they want to stipulate that 100% of the shares will belong to the state.

However, is it advisable to do this now in war conditions? And won’t the newly created joint-stock company “go bankrupt” later, so that the state can “save” it and sell off its shares? These issues are increasingly worrying society. Such volumes of wood are a tasty morsel for oligarchs.

One can observe how more and more attention is paid to the issue of timber harvesting, or, in simple words, to forest felling.

One of the recent messages on the Facebook page of the General Director of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” Yuriy Bolokhovets, in my opinion, may indicate that the industry management wants to show how well forestry is carried out in private companies. Paying attention to the fact that this company alone in the USA harvests about 28 million cubic meters of wood per year. And then it is noted that “this year “Forests of Ukraine” is also investing in the purchase of logging equipment.”

Learning from experience is, of course, a good thing. But this example may be indicative. Yuriy Bolokhovets, in my opinion, has already begun to prepare the forestry community and public opinion for the privatization of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”.

Environmentalists and environmental organizations are also talking about the possible harmfulness of the current reform.

I just want to quote one well-known and professional ecologist Pyotr Testov: “But as for the reform, what after the reform - instead of punishing at least one forester for illegal sanitary logging (damn, at least one!!!), the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” and The State Forestry Agency decided to go the route of pushing for the abolition of restrictions on sanitary logging. Well, because a plant with a capacity of one million cubic meters annually, which is being built in Transcarpathia by the oligarch Yurushev, will not provide itself with wood....”

Rumors that forestry reform to transform it from state to private have been circulating for a long time. As well as the name of the oligarch who may be behind this idea. Time will tell whether these rumors will come true. But I personally really don’t want Ukrainian forests to become the private property of a small circle of people.

Let me remind you that Article 13 of the Constitution of Ukraine notes: “The land, its subsoil, atmospheric air, water and other natural resources that are located within the territory of Ukraine ... are objects of ownership of the Ukrainian people.” Forests are a common asset, our ecosystem, which we must pass on to the next generations of Ukrainians. It needs to be protected and increased, and not destroyed for the enrichment of individual oligarchs and officials.