On 25 March 2026, FSC Ukraine brought together all key stakeholders in the certification system not only to review the progress made, but also to jointly determine the way forward.
The forum ‘The Value of FSC Certification: Balanced Solutions for Responsible Forest Management and Society`s Credibility’ brought together in Kyiv representatives of executive authorities, FSC certificate holders, representatives of leading NGOs, including WWF-Ukraine, the NGOs ‘Ecosphere’ and ‘ForestCom’, certification bodies, representatives of sectoral associations and businesses, as well as scientific and educational institutions (National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine) – all of whom may sometimes hold differing views on certification, but who are united by the common goal of responsible forest management. The event took place in a hybrid format.
The forum was opened by Lieske van Santen, the FSC Global Network Director. She noted that despite the war and reforms to the forest sector management system, the most telling result of the last four years is that FSC certification in Ukraine has not only survived but continues to develop.
Директорка Глобальної мережі FSC International Ліске ван Сантен відкрила Форум
Lieske van Santen emphasised that, despite initial difficulties in the supply chains, the system had overcome them: the FSC closely monitored how disruptions were affecting the supply chain, adjusted its policies and, overall, ensured business continuity. This has resulted in growth of more than 20% over the last four years. She described these results as a shared achievement of all participants in the system, regardless of sector or form of commitment.
Addressing the audience, the FSC Global Network Director emphasised the condition without which any result remains fragile: the need to listen more than to speak, and to be open to different points of view, as it is open dialogue that forms the basis for moving forward together.
Forum participants actively engaged in the discussion. Over 140 participants, attending both online and in person, put questions to the speakers. Clare Coleman, FSC’s Regional Director Europe, was present online at the forum and also answered participants’ questions regarding the EUDR and its impact on the Ukrainian and European markets.
Окрім участі офлайн до Форуму долучилося понад 110 осіб онлайн
The figures cited by Helen Too, the Senior Director Markets at FSC International, provided context for the developments in Ukraine. FSC International has been operating for over 30 years, with 1,200 members across 90 countries, 170 million hectares of certified forests and 69,000 certificates of various types.
Separately, the Senior Director Markets at FSC International highlighted consumer recognition of the FSC: according to a survey conducted in 50 countries among over 40,000 respondents, 52% recall having seen the FSC logo. No other certification system has achieved similar figures – and this result, she said, is a strategic advantage for the entire network.
She also reported on the ongoing review of FSC Principles and Criteria with the aim of making the system more user-friendly, results-oriented and with less paperwork. Working groups on the new requirements will begin their work as early as the second quarter of 2026.
The global context was given a specific Ukrainian dimension in the speech by Valentyn Bachurny, Deputy Head for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine. He effectively brought to a close the long-standing debate on the status of FSC in Ukraine: certification here has long since gone beyond the scope of a voluntary market initiative and has become an element of state forestry policy, underpinned by a strategy up to 2035 and measured by specific indicators. The fact that Ukraine ranks first in Europe in terms of the number of certificates and fourth in terms of the area of certified forests, and that its enterprises have become among the first in the world to test blockchain solutions for the timber traceability system, demonstrates that a country at war is simultaneously setting standards for the forestry sector.
Оксана Павліщук, консультантка FSC Україна
But statistics are merely an external measure. Oksana Pavlishchuk, a consultant at FSC Ukraine, shed light on what is happening within the system; she presented the findings of a large-scale study into the practical implementation of the FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard, involving over 80 respondents. An analysis of certification body reports identified potential areas for improvement: environmental protection, stakeholder engagement in planning and monitoring, occupational health and safety, and product traceability. At the same time, the study confirmed the key point: the standard acts as a driver of change. ‘FSC certification requirements transform the philosophy and culture of organisations. They facilitate the integration of traditional management approaches into this system. Utilising the opportunities offered by FSC certification contributes not only to environmental but also to social benefits for enterprises and the strengthening of their economic potential”, summarised Oksana Pavlishchuk.
The highlight of the forum was the work of four thematic groups – three in-person and one online – designed to outline directions for formulating specific proposals: the FSC standard’s approaches to forestry practices in the context of Ukrainian legislation; FSC solutions for European integration; solutions for diversifying enterprises’ activities; and FSC certification under martial law.
The forum left behind more than just the minutes of the working groups. It outlined a position that FSC Ukraine is articulating openly: there are challenges, but they do not concern the system as such, but rather the complexity of its practical implementation in conditions that FSC has hardly ever encountered anywhere else in the world. War, the mine contamination of forests, and the disruption of supply chains are not arguments against certification. This is experience that Ukraine is gaining first-hand and which enriches the entire global FSC system.
Павло Кравець, Національний представник FSC Україна
Ahead lie new opportunities that the forum has merely touched upon: the certification of non-timber forest products, ecosystem services, and low-carbon construction projects as part of Ukraine’s recovery. All this requires not new tools, but what all the speakers discussed throughout the day: that stakeholders listen to one another, communicate and act together. FSC remains the platform for achieving this. Whether to make use of it is up to each participant in the system.
The forum’s conclusions highlighted the key point: a proactive stance by stakeholders in overcoming current challenges under extraordinary conditions is not only the foundation for the survival and development of Ukraine’s forestry sector, but also sets an example for the entire FSC system to follow. Adapting certification to the conditions of wartime and post-war situations is not an exception to the rules, but Ukraine’s contribution to the development of the global system.
“The forum is designed not only to demonstrate commitment to FSC value, given more than five years of implementing the FSC National Standard for Ukraine, but also, most importantly, to provide impetus for the development of responsible forest management with full awareness of the current challenges facing nature and society. The issues and proposals raised today represent our tasks for the next 5-10 years. This means one thing: our work is in demand”, concluded Pavlo Kravets, Director of FSC Ukraine.
Detailed summaries of the forum, speakers’ presentations and a report on the practical implementation of the FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard for Ukraine are attached.