Press-release
This is the conclusion that can be made after the press conference “The truth and lies about forest logging”, which took place on 8 November in the Transcarpathian press center at Zhupanatska St. 15/4 in Uzhhorod.
On November 8, 2016, after changing the venue twice, there was held the press conference where the facts revealed by the environmental scientists Petro Testov in the course of analysis of the current situation with forest protection and management were presented.
Petro Testov emphasized that the government only simulates restoration of the order in the forest sector and deliberately spreads false information about “hundreds of hectares of illegal logging in Transcarpathia revealed through interactive map of forests logging”, although there has been functioning a similar free system Global Forest Watch, results of which showed that by analyzing satellite imagery basically it is quite difficult to determine legality of logging. Such actions of the State Forest Agency and the Agriculture Ministry may prove their full incompetence or deliberate discrediting of state administration in the forest area for further privatization of forests.
Sofia Shutyak, EPL lawyer, described the legal conflicts that cause the current situation with “smuggled forest”, illegal logging and illegal forest land use inappropriately and ways of fixing them.
After the press conference there was held a training, where active public gained practical skills how to analyze the law, what to emphasize during a conversation with law enforcement authorities, how to take record of violations, what methods of legal combating of illegal logging exist.
All trainees received instruction including 5 steps of a civil activist to protect forests of Ukraine and samples of procedural documents.
It should be noted that importance of the training was emphasized by representatives of WWF who stressed that the training is consistent with their work within the project “Forest Guard”, complements it with practical and applied information.
“If the public work on this subject systematically, together we can create critical mass of trained activists who can really influence the improvement of forest management sector”, – stressed the experts.
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The press-conference and the training were held at financial support of International Renaissance Foundation. International Renaissance Foundation is one of the biggest charitable foundations in Ukraine founded by the investor and philanthropist George Soros. The International Renaissance Foundation’s mission is to foster an open, participatory, pluralist society based on democratic values in Ukraine. http://www.irf.ua/
International charitable organization “Environment-People-Law” is a human right organization that since 1994 has been protecting environmental rights and other adjacent rights and performing a wide spectrum of activities in the field of environmental protection.