The state enterprise Forests of Ukraine together with communities and international partners is launching the Forest Recovery program, said general director of the enterprise Yuriy Bolokhovets.

“There are more than 1.5 million hectares of self-sown forests in Ukraine. Previously, such forests were ruthlessly destroyed. Now there is a legal mechanism to save them. We are launching the Forest Recovery project together with the Western partners Forest Europe and Eustafor. They support this idea,” he wrote on Facebook.

Bolokhovets said that communities, on a volunteer basis, transfer land plots to the state enterprise, in particular degraded areas or self-sown forests. They understand the importance of preserving and enhancing nature, the need to improve the state of the ecosystem, passing on to descendants a comfortable living environment with leisure areas, ecotourism, etc.

The expert thanked the eco-conscious communities who care about the future of society. They will be awarded diplomas, and information about the implementation of the project will be transferred to international partners.

The first winner of Forest Recovery was the Omelnyk community (Poltava region), which transferred 55 hectares of land for planting forests and almost 129 hectares of self-sown forests to restore the work of the Kremenchuk Forestry branch. In gratitude, the foresters landscaped the central street of the village.