The Verkhovna Rada registered 4 draft laws developed with the participation of BRDO that will help reform the forestry sector. Draft laws No.8246, 8238, 8239 and 8240 are aimed at creating the State Fund for the Forestry Development.
There have been no funds allocated for the forest sector from the state budget since 2016 and only 5-7% of the needs were satisfied.
Improving the forestry financing and development as provided for in the draft laws will allow:
- to increase the conservation and protection of forests from illegal logging, fires and pests;
- to ensure the conservation of biodiversity, creating new forest nurseries;
- to ensure the consistent forest management for long-term planning of forestry measures.
In case of adoption of these draft laws, contributions to the State Fund for the Development of Forest Resources out of a special state budget fund (with crediting rent payments from final cuttings) will amount to 632.8 mln UAH starting from January 1, 2019. This will meet financing needs of the forest sector to a greater extent.
As a reminder, last year, BRDO experts prepared an analysis of timber market regulation problems in Ukraine published as the Green Paper.