Ukraine’s forests perform environmental, climate, economic and security functions. The war has placed them under extreme pressure. Fires, shelling, mines, soil contamination, damage to protected areas and restricted access make it difficult to assess losses, suppress fires and plan recovery.
Satellite monitoring data reported by the EU Joint Research Centre indicate that Ukraine recorded almost 9,000 fires affecting about 965,000 hectares of land in 2024. Agricultural land accounted for around one-third of the affected area. The figure should therefore not be misreported as 965,000 hectares of permanently lost forest. It still demonstrates the scale of fire pressure and the need for accurate damage mapping. Current data are available through the European Forest Fire Information System, while the 2024 figures are discussed in this Reuters report based on JRC data.
Ukraine already has a strategic framework for reform. The State Forest Management Strategy of Ukraine until 2035 sets priorities for sustainable forest management, climate resilience, digitalisation, transparency and alignment with European approaches.
The updated Operational Plan for 2025–2027 defines several practical priorities:
The direction is sound. The main challenge is implementation under wartime conditions, with incomplete data, unsafe access and extensive damage.
The EU Forest Strategy for 2030 treats forests as more than a source of timber. Forests are multifunctional ecosystems that protect biodiversity, store carbon, regulate water, reduce climate risks, support employment and sustain rural areas.
The EU approach rests on five connected principles:
The EU Nature Restoration Regulation, in force since 18 August 2024, strengthens this approach. It requires restoration measures to cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. For forests, the Regulation requires positive trends in defined indicators, including connectivity, organic carbon stocks and forest biodiversity.
The central gap between Ukraine and the EU is not the absence of strategic documents. Ukraine already has commitments on sustainable management, digitalisation, restoration and European integration.
The gap lies between policy goals and the full implementation cycle:
Ukraine also needs to move beyond the narrow question of how many hectares were planted. The better question is what ecosystem was restored, how resilient it is and which natural functions it can perform.
1. Develop a Unified Map of Forest Damage
The map should combine satellite imagery, forest inventory data, fire records, contamination and mine-risk information, illegal logging data, habitat loss and damage to protected areas.
2. Separate Restoration Assessment from Unsafe Field Access
Where field surveys are unsafe, authorities and researchers should use remote sensing, geographic information systems, drones and validated secondary data. No assessment activity justifies avoidable risks to human life.
3. Apply a Restoration Hierarchy
The first step should be to assess the potential for natural regeneration. Active planting should be used where ecosystems cannot recover without intervention or where protective functions require faster recovery.
4. Define Ecological Performance Indicators
Each site needs baseline and target values for soil condition, species composition, natural regeneration, habitat connectivity, carbon stocks, water regulation and resilience to fire and drought.
5. Restore Resilient Ecosystems, Not Only Tree Cover
Decisions should reflect climate scenarios, local conditions, the origin of planting material, species diversity and the risk of repeated fires. Monocultures may increase tree-covered area quickly while creating new long-term risks.
6. Make Forest Data Open
Public maps, methods, indicators and monitoring results would improve decisions, reduce corruption risks and allow researchers, communities and civil society to verify progress.
7. Invest in Professional Capacity
Ukraine needs specialists who understand forestry, EU environmental law, nature restoration, climate adaptation, geographic information systems and community engagement.
Ukraine should not copy EU forest policy mechanically. It must adapt European approaches to mines, extensive fires, pollution, occupation and post-war recovery.
The core EU principles still provide a clear direction: protect valuable ecosystems, restore natural functions, use scientific evidence, measure results and report progress openly. This approach can turn forest recovery from a set of isolated interventions into a coherent national policy.
This material was prepared within the EUFOR project for information and educational purposes. It does not represent the official position of the Ukrainian public authorities or the institutions of the European Union.
