“In mountainous districts, there are no jobs, besides logging and tourism” – Hennadiy Moskal

While in 2015, the volume of timber harvesting from all types of felling in Transcarpathia amounted to 1 million 402.6 thousand cubic meters, in 2016 this figure dropped to 1 million 373.4 thousand cubic meters, and in 2017 – to 1 million 204.1 thousand cubic meters of wood. The difference between 2015 and 2017 is 198.5 thousand cubic meters of timber, which is almost 15 per cent. This year, the tendency to decrease in timber harvesting will remain. At the same time, the volume of sales of forest products in monetary terms, payments to the budget, the average monthly salary of forestry workers and other financial and economic indicators of the industry are constantly increasing. So, while in 2015 the regional forest and hunting range administration provided works and services at UAH 616.8 million, in 2016 this figure increased to UAH 761.9 million, and in 2017 – to UAH 887.9 million.

– Forestry is one of the few stable industries of Transcarpathia, which gives jobs with a decent salary to more than three thousand people, – Hennadiy Moskal says. – If they lose jobs, these people will be forced to go to work abroad, and budgets of different levels will lose huge revenues. Therefore, all kinds experts, activists, environmentalists and journalists must understand that attempts to stop logging, especially in highland areas, will inevitably lead to resistance from the local population. Just like attempts to stop the construction of recreational tourism complexes. Theoretically, it’s possible to turn the entire Transcarpathia into a natural reserve, but then you will have to displace a lot of people. Because in mountainous districts, there are no jobs, besides logging and tourism.