The problem of deforestation exists not only on a scale of entire continents but it all starts small. A sparse sparkle can turn into a formidable flame like a sparkling snowball in an astounding avalanche. We will not go far from the capital of Ukraine; the activists have just stopped the cutting of the Bilichansky forest by Gostomel. This was reported by one of the residents of the settlement, who was at the scene. It is known that activists from Kotsyubyns’kyi settlement have demanded to bring the boundaries of the Bilichansky Forest into their administrative responsibility for more than one year. Like many local people, they want to stop the deriban of land forever. Kotsyubyns’kyi village chairman Olga Matyushina submitted a corresponding program to draw the borders of the National Park to the New Leaders project. Her project was in the top 100.

Not only the residents of Kotsyubyns’kyi settlement are affected by this problem. In the Kyiv region, in the territory of the May Day forest, the wood area gradually turns into a desert. Nature advocates blame the foresters, noting that under the guise of sanitation they cut down many healthy trees. The May Day forestry, located five kilometers from Kyiv, is subject to the Kyiv Forest Research Station and the industrial felling of trees here is forbidden, only sanitary is allowed when the damaged plants are cut. However, after the tree has already been cut down, it is impossible to determine whether it was diseased. In January 2019, nature conservationists noted that the felling of trees was ongoing. If you look at satellite images of this forest, you can see huge “bald spots”. They are much larger than in potential forestry areas where logging is not prohibited. Before cutting a damaged tree, it is marked with a special mark. This indicates the legality of the logging that is documented. However, the cost of a meter of such pine starts from a thousand hryvnia. For illegal felling of trees, you can get three-year imprisonment with confiscation of property. Environmentalists have repeatedly contacted the police, but so far no one has been punished.

Recently, another crime has come to light. One old age man from a small village belonging to  the united territorial community of Belotserkovskiy district has been declared a suspicion. In the Belotserkovsky district of Kyiv region, one hundred trees in the forest were illegally cut down to the amount of UAH 1.6 million. It is reported that the prosecutor’s office has already sent to the court an indictment in criminal proceedings concerning the old age man on the fact of illegal deforestation. It is noted that in the criminal proceedings the accused was sued in the interests of the state for compensation for the damage caused.

It is worth mentioning that earlier in the Zhytomyr region the director of the forestry allowed cutting the forest for 15 million UAH. He was suspected. The Chief Forest Officer of the Forestry Company has cleared more than 2,000 trees of oak, hornbeam, ash, pine, and has compiled and issued a number of forged official documents.

We should not keep silent. The forest in Kyiv oblast is the lungs of the capital. Silence leads to nonchalance and nonchalance leads to crimes.

February 16, 2019