Svitlana Hrynchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, together with Oleh Nemchinov, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Oleh Bondarenko, Chairman of the EcoCommittee, Volodymyr Zagorskyi, Rector of the National Forestry University of Ukraine, scientists, the public and industry experts discussed the prospects for the development and adaptation of Ukrainian forestry legislation to EU standards during a two-day expert discussion on the occasion of the International Day of Forests.

“Today, a lot has been done at the institutional level, and the reform continues. The process of synchronising our management with the European one continues. Control over timber circulation – from harvesting to export – has been digitised, allowing us to guarantee 100% of its legitimacy. Foresters are overcoming the effects of the hostilities on forests. As of today, 40 forestry enterprises on the territory of 850 thousand hectares are under occupation or in the war zone. That is why one of our main tasks is to restore and increase the area of forests,’ said Svitlana Hrynchuk.

According to Ms Hrynchuk, over 102,000 hectares of forests have been restored during the full-scale invasion. In addition, 14,000 hectares of forests have been completely reforested. Since the beginning of the spring 2025 silvicultural campaign, 2.4 million seedlings have been planted on an area of 382 hectares, and 12.3 hectares are new forests. This is a major contribution to the future of our country.

Of course, there are still many problematic issues:

  • Bringing Ukrainian legislation in line with international standards, in particular with the European Union Deforestation and Forest Degradation Regulation (EUDR), which was adopted on 31 May 2023 and will enter into force on 30 December 2025. This regulation sets strict requirements for the traceability of forest products and their compliance with environmental standards.
  • Combating illegal logging, and here it is important to strengthen state supervision and control mechanisms that will help preserve forests and prevent illegal logging.
  • Speeding up the procedure for developing and approving forest management materials, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders, which will ensure a balanced use of forest resources.

“The focus of our work today is to build forest management in a way that is consistent with sustainable principles. This includes legislative changes, conceptual solutions for the forestry sector, and cooperation with international partners,’ the Minister pointed out.

Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine