In Ukraine, more than 450,000 hectares of forest are still dangerous due to mining and unexploded ordnance. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, only 47,600 hectares of forest areas have been cleared, which is just over a tenth of what is needed. According to Viktor Smal, head of the State Forestry Agency, the priority for sappers remains populated areas, critical infrastructure and agricultural land, so forests are often the last to be cleared.
Experts remind us that the consequences of war for forests can last for decades. In France, there are still areas mined during the First World War, and in Germany, from the Second World War. Ukraine cannot afford to wait that long, so state structures are looking for ways to speed up demining and restore forest ecosystems now.
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The State Forestry Agency has developed an Action Plan for the rehabilitation of forests and the restoration of forest natural complexes damaged by hostilities. The document provides for the conclusion of agreements with operators in the field of mine action for the demining of forest plantations. A separate block of work concerns the prioritisation of contaminated areas, focusing on those territories that are of greatest economic, social and security importance to communities.
The first practical steps have already been taken at the government level. This year, funds from the United24 fundraising platform will be allocated for humanitarian demining of forests. Initially, this concerns areas in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions with a total area of 103 hectares. This resource is intended to supplement state funding and expand opportunities for deminers to work in hard-to-reach and dangerous areas.
At the same time, cooperation continues with the Humanitarian Demining Centre, which is implementing a system of automatic prioritisation of territories. This includes forests, so the Ukrderzhlesproekt production association provides the Centre with access to a geoinformation system. The data allows for an assessment of the ecological and economic potential of damaged areas and determines where demining will have the greatest effect on safety, forestry activities and economic recovery.
Ukraine is also working to attract international financial and technical assistance to accelerate the pace of forest demining. Among the proposals discussed during the delegation’s participation in the COP30 international climate summit in Brazil was the use of clear-cutting in forests contaminated with explosives using armoured unmanned logging equipment. This approach could reduce risks to people and create conditions for further work by deminers in areas cleared of timber.
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