Conservation of forests and increase of their area, creation of new plantations, digitalisation, de-shadowing and strengthening of control over timber movement, as well as regulatory activities, strengthening of international cooperation and investment attraction are the key priorities of the forestry sector in 2024.
The course towards European integration and recovery remains unchanged. What is this year going to be remembered for?
Conservation, restoration and creation of new forests. Out of 35.2 thousand hectares of restored forests in 2024, 6.1 thousand hectares were planted with completely new forests.
We plant mixed forests that are resistant to climate change and fire. We continue to implement the Green Country programme of the President of Ukraine. In total, 238.3 million pieces of planting material were planted in 2024.
To support silvicultural operations in 2025, 175.4 million standard seedlings were grown, including 11.2 million seedlings with a closed root system.
We continue to work on the preservation of self-sown forests: In 2024, 54 thousand hectares of land were granted the status of self-forested. We agreed to transfer 38 thousand hectares of self-seeding forests to the forest fund of Ukraine, and registered property rights to 10.9 thousand hectares.
Digitalisation and increased control over the movement of timber.
The year 2024 was marked by a significant achievement in the field of digitalisation. According to the BRDO’s Better Regulation Delivery Office, the e-felling ticket and e-certificate of origin became the largest digitised permits in Ukraine, with UAH 150 million saved by businesses thanks to the digital tools implemented.
At the same time, the introduction of photographic recording of timber and the improvement of the electronic timber accounting system (ETS) have provided a new level of transparency in this area.
Our goal is to fundamentally change the very idea of timber control. The development of the second-generation version of the ETS will allow us to extend this system to wood processors and significantly improve control over timber movement. We continue to work on this.
Rulemaking activities, which resulted in new regulations in 2024 that fundamentally change approaches to the industry. In particular, this includes the regulation of military logging and close-to-nature forestry, the abandonment of clear-cutting of the main use in the Carpathian region, typology of logging types, regulation of activities related to forestry, etc.) Clear, transparent rules and equal opportunities for all timber market participants: timber sales through licensed exchanges, long-term contracts, and 95% contract fulfilment.
Clear, transparent rules and equal opportunities for all timber market participants: timber sales through licensed exchanges, long-term contracts, and 95% contract fulfilment.
About 12.7 million cubic metres of timber worth UAH 23.0 billion were supplied to the domestic market:
+ 0.8 million m³ – increase in sales volume year-on-year + UAH 2.5 billion – increase in revenues from timber sales
At the same time, the average cost per cubic metre of timber sold in 2024 remained almost at the level of the previous year, with a slight increase of 5%, and amounted to UAH 1.810.
These figures underscore the significant contribution of the timber market to the development of Ukraine’s economy.
Record net sales revenue of UAH 23.7 billion in the face of Russian occupation, mining and hostilities allowed us to invest in forestry, in particular in the construction of forest roads, forest seed plants and fire prevention measures.
The war is ongoing, so support for the military remains an important area of the industry’s activities both in the reporting year and in the future: 215 thousand cubic metres of timber products were transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2024, 148 thousand cubic metres of timber were supplied for defence purposes under contracts. A total of 1169 units of equipment were transferred, including 47 vehicles in 2024.
During the presentation of the public report, with the participation of deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), NGOs, scientists, leading experts and specialists in the forestry industry and representatives of woodworking businesses, three discussion panels were also held to discuss:
✔️Modern management practices and integration into global trends and processes in the context of preparation for COP30’
✔️Challenges facing the forest industry in overcoming the consequences of aggression. Mine clearance’
✔️Futher digitalisation of the industry to complete the timber traceability chain’
Having a clear vision, being aware of the state priorities, implementing a systematic approach to work, we continue to work and set even more ambitious goals for the next year!
For more details, see the videohttps://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EJEsZypqu/?mibextid=wwXIfr
PUBLIC REPORT OF THE HEAD OF THE STATE FOREST RESOURCES AGENCY OF UKRAINE FOR 2024
