During a working meeting in Kyiv, the State Forest Resources Agency team and World Bank representatives discussed the launch of a new technical assistance programme, ‘Supporting Ukraine’s forest management, alignment with EU standards and strengthening climate change mitigation measures,’ funded by the PROGREEN project.
Fisseha Tessema Abissa, Head of the World Bank’s EU4Environment programme, informed that PROGREEN provides countries with the funding, technical assistance and knowledge they need to invest in and protect their forests and landscapes. ‘In order for the assistance to truly solve current problems and meet the urgent needs of Ukraine’s forestry sector, especially in the context of full-scale war, we must agree on the project’s objectives, its main components and expected results. We have come to Kyiv to discuss specific steps,’ explained Fisseha Tessema Abessa.
The project will provide technical assistance in the areas of supporting the implementation of key institutional reforms identified in the DSU-2035, promoting low-carbon development, and strengthening forest product value chains. ‘In particular, as part of institutional capacity building, we can finance staff training and the purchase of necessary equipment. This is what Ukraine needs. I am a proponent of learning by doing, rather than in the classroom, so we can facilitate training directly in countries whose experience is worth emulating,’ said the head of the World Bank’s EU4Environment programme.
Representatives of the SFRA outlined areas for further cooperation in Ukraine’s forestry sector. These include:
– assessing the condition of forests damaged by hostilities and demining them;
– introducing carbon certificates in Ukraine as an additional incentive to preserve natural forests;
– purchasing equipment for a genetic-molecular laboratory and a laboratory for soil-typological research;
– developing amendments to the National Strategy on Environmental Security and Adaptation to Climate Change in view of changes in Ukrainian legislation.
First Deputy Head of the State Forest Resources Agency Volodymyr Buchko also emphasised the need to develop mechanisation in logging.
“The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” plans to purchase specialised equipment – harvesters and forwarders. Given that many of the company’s employees have been mobilised during the full-scale war, the issue of mechanisation is extremely relevant, as one logging machine can replace 25-30 workers. In addition, there is a need to create a training centre for operators of multifunctional logging equipment,” he said. Volodymyr Buchko added that the World Bank has a strategy for long-term cooperation with Ukraine for many years to come, so during further consultations, joint plans for the medium and long term will be developed, as well as what can be done right now.
