The picture painted by some “environmentalists” about “a Transcarpathian with an ax, that cuts down all the trees in the Carpathians” is absolutely misleading and untrue, – Hennadiy Moskal

As the topic of logging always causes in Transcarpathia and uproar with all kinds of speculation and dissemination of unverified or outright fake information, the regional state administration publishes official data on the forestry sector, including forest use and nature reserve fund.

The total area of ​​forestry land in Transcarpathia granted to the state forestry enterprises is 588 thousand 776 hectares. This include 86 thousand 163 hectares of forest agro-industrial farms, transferred to the regional forest and hunting range administration in 2016 by the order of the head of the Regional State Administration.

– The limits of timber harvesting are set by the Ministry of Ecology of Ukraine, and not by the regional state administration or the forest and hunting range administration, – Hennadiy Moskal emphasizes. – The Ministry of Ecology sets these limits for each state forestry enterprise. The rates of sanitary cuttings are set by the State Specialized Forest Protection Enterprise after the inspection of the forest. Therefore, the simplistic picture painted by some journalists or "activists" about "a Transcarpathian with an ax, that cuts down all the trees in the Carpathians" is absolutely misleading and untrue. The management of forestry companies are forced to fulfill the set targets or they will be fired. But this does not mean that they are mercilessly cutting down all the trees in the Carpathians leaving a desert instead.