Ensuring a sustainable future for forests:
The case of Ukraine

One important ecosystem service that forests offer is
reducing wind-driven soil erosion, a factor that affects
agricultural areas in particular. To make the most of
this benefit, farmers and forestry managers can work
together to create ‘shelterbelts’ and other stabilizing forest elements. Along with preventing soil degradation, this increases biodiversity, filters water, and contributes to overall ecosystem health.

An important step is to instigate a national forest
inventory and system for integrated forest monitoring that could provide early warning information on undesirable changes in forest ecosystems. Taking into account the complexity of optimizing forest management activities in a changing world, the transition to an adaptive sustainable forest management strategy requires the development of new scientifically based management tools and approaches, among which is the generation of new integrated models. Alongside this, policymakers should use established best practices for transition to sustainable forest management, exchanging experiences with countries that also have large areas of forests growing in dry and semi-dry conditions, such as Bulgaria, Greece, Israel, Romania, and Turkey.

Ultimately, the transition to sustainable forest management might minimize losses of major ecosystem services, or at least slow down the impoverishment of forest ecosystems over substantial areas of the country. However, substantial and urgent efforts are required.

Last edited: 31 July 2018