NSDC to hold meeting on forest conservation – Secretary Danilov

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has told the National Security and Defense Council to prepare a meeting on forest preservation and reforestation.

This was announced by NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov who spoke at a meeting of the interdepartmental working group on forest conservation and reforestation, Ukrinform reports referring to the NSDC press service.

The participants in the meeting discussed progress in forestry reform and the implementation of the Large-scale afforestation of Ukraine environmental initiative.

The participants also discussed the implementation of tasks set by Presidential Decree No. 111 of March 23, 2021, which put into effect the NSDC decision of March 23, 2021, "On challenges and threats to national security in Ukraine"  and Presidential Decree No. 228 of June 7, 2021, "On certain measures for the preservation of forests and reforestation."

Among other things, the parties discussed ways to address the problems of forest management, primarily in terms of accounting, protection, and use of forests, as well as reforestation, along with the issues of reorganization of forestry enterprises and improving the forestry's financial system.

In this context, Danilov stressed the importance of pacing up the national forest inventory. "We have more than 10 million hectares of forest, so this asset must bring economic, environmental, and aesthetic benefits," he said.

The secretary of the National Security and Defense Council stressed the importance of taking measures to ensure that each united territorial community is interested in participating in the implementation of the Large-scale afforestation of Ukraine environmental initiative.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Soloviov, Chairman of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine, Yuriy Bolokhovets, representatives of other relevant ministries and agencies, NGOs, as well as the NSDC researchers and specialists.