The area of six cities of Ukraine. It became known how many hectares of trees have been cut down in the Carpathians.

Mass deforestation in the Carpathians: poachers destroy 1500 trees

The Transcarpathian State Environmental Inspection was informed about mass deforestation near the road to Bukovel. The perpetrators destroyed more than 1500 trees without the necessary permits, resulting in damages amounting to 32 million UAH. This was reported by journalists in their investigation (NGL.media).

According to journalists, such cases of mass deforestation occur too often in the Carpathians. Poachers choose the most valuable trees and transport them with horses through riverbeds.

According to the investigation, over the past 20 years, the Ukrainian part of the Carpathians has lost 161 thousand hectares of forest - almost 10% of the total forest cover. 80% of the destroyed forest areas belong to the State Forest Agency, while the rest are under the management of various ministries.

The article notes that the loss of forest on such a scale significantly affects the ecosystem of the Carpathians. Rural areas become more vulnerable to erosion, landslides, floods, and the extinction of local species of animals and plants.

Journalists are calling for the adoption of a new version of the law "On the ban on clear-cutting in the mountain fir-beech forests of the Carpathian region," which was adopted in 2019. The introduction of a moratorium on logging was an exception for sanitary cuttings and gradual cutting of mature trees.

However, the introduction of the ban has led to forest rangers using different points of origin to bypass the law and continue illegal logging. The insufficient severity of punishment also contributes to the impunity of poachers. Currently, perpetrators who cut down forests are punished according to the Criminal Code, but this does not prevent them from continuing their activities.