SFI project enters Phase 2: Setting the course for sustainable forest management in Ukraine
On Apr 10, 2025, the Project Steering Group (PSG) of the project “Promotion of multi-functional sustainable forest management planning and implementation in Ukraine (SFI)” met for its first meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and implemented by the consortium IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH (lead partner) and unique land use GmbH.
In the run-up to the PSG meeting, several preparatory talks were held – including at the Ukrainian Ministry of Environment with Deputy Minister Oleksandr Semenets, with Viktor Smal, Head of the State Agency for Forest Resources of Ukraine, and with representatives of the FAO, the EU and the Environment Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, including its Chairman Oleh Bondarenko. The World Bank was also involved as a regular project partner and contributed its extensive expertise in the areas of sustainable forestry and reform support in Ukraine.
The meeting was attended, e.g., by Dr. Thomas Baldauf, Head of Division for European and International Forest Policy at the BMEL (Division 514), and Anatolii Borsiuk, Senior Specialist at the Department for Protection and Restoration of Forest Resources at the Ukrainian Ministry of Environment. Representatives of the State Agency for Forest Resources of Ukraine were also present as SFI project partners. Christian Aschenbach was on site for the GFA Consulting Group GmbH. The Forest Policy Advisory Group (FPAG), an expert committee initiated by SFI with national and international experts, was also represented.
The focus was on the results of the four-month inception phase and the definition of key priorities for the next two and a half years. At the beginning, the FPAG made recommendations on how the specialist activities can be further developed in a targeted manner to achieve the project objectives even more effectively. In the coming years, the focus will be on the following measures in particular:
- Implementation of a further national forest inventory using modern remote sensing technologies
- Promotion of multifunctional forest management and introduction of close-to-nature forestry concepts
- Support for EU association through the adaptation and further development of forestry legislation in Ukraine
The planned forest inventory builds on the results of the first nationwide, remote sensing-based survey, which was successfully completed in the previous project phase and provided comprehensive data on forest area and timber stocks.
The PSG meeting concluded with an excursion to the Teteriv forestry operation near Kyiv. Around 2,500 ha of the area were affected by fighting in 2022. The head of the operation, Mr. Fedorenko, presented the near-natural restoration measures and showed the potential of Ukrainian forest conversion – especially against the background of falling groundwater levels.