Ukraine – Improving forest management planning by strengthening local capacities
FAO is leveraging its technical expertise and expanding its emergency response efforts to assist the Government of Ukraine in improving forest management planning and protecting rural livelihoods.
Context
The ongoing war in Ukraine is significantly impacting the forestry sector, with accumulated damages of USD 3.3 billion at the end of 2023. The destruction of forests due to fire damage in war-affected areas has impacted 211 574 hectares and thousands of people. Additional damages include air pollution, reduced carbon sequestration and ecosystem services disruption due to the Kakhovka Dam breach in June 2023. The losses reported for the sector are estimated at USD 26.5 billion, reflecting a dramatic increase when compared with the assessment conducted a year ago (USD 523 million). In response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is scaling up its emergency response to support the Government of Ukraine in improving forest management planning and protecting rural livelihoods. In support of Ukraine’s national priorities and FAO’s efforts, the Government of Germany, through the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, contributed USD 400 000 for the implementation of the project titled “Improving forest management planning by strengthening the capacity of the Ukrainian Forest Management Planning Association”.
Through this project, FAO is mobilizing technical capacity to support the development of technical specifications for the digitalization of the State Forest Cadastre, together with the State Forest Resource Agency of Ukraine. This will improve the capacity of the Ukrainian State Forest Management Planning Association to advocate for resources to support software development and roll out a digitalized system, paving the
way for greater availability of reliable and up-to‑date data for efficient decision‑making in land use, regional and local development, as well as to inform policy formulation and monitoring. Moreover, through the provision of modern equipment and tools, FAO will support improved efficiency of analysis of forest‑related data of the Ukrainian State Forest Management Planning Association.
Objective
To improve the quality of forest management in Ukraine, by enhancing the capacity of the Ukrainian State Forest Management Planning Association to provide evidence-based and digitalized forest management plans in 2025.
Expected Outputs
Output 1.
Preparation of technical specifications for the development of a digital State Forest Cadastre to be approved by the State Forest Resource Agency of Ukraine. To achieve this output, the project will review bilaterally funded forestry projects in Ukraine and conduct a comprehensive analysis of requirements for the development and implementation of the digitalization of the State Forest Cadastre. This process will include the preparation of technical specifications. The findings and technical specifications will be presented in a final consultation with a panel of experts.
Output 2
Delivery of modern equipment and tools to the Ukrainian State Forest Management Planning Association. To achieve this output, the project will identify priority needs and prepare technical specifications for the procurement of modern equipment and tools. The required equipment and tools will then be procured and committed to the Ukrainian State Forest Management Planning Association.
Address
FAO Representation Ukraine
Leipzyka St 15 A
01001 Kyiv
Ukraine
