In July, a training seminar organised by FSC Ukraine was held at the Subsidiary Enterprise ‘Zviahel Forestry APK’ of the Agro-Industrial Complex of Zhytomyr Regional Communal Agroforestry Enterprise ‘Zhytomyroblagrolis’ of Zhytomyr Oblast Council for staff responsible for forest certification within the administrative apparatus of ZRCAE ‘Zhytomyroblagrolis’ and its subsidiaries. The aim of the seminar was to promote responsible forest management by the enterprises of ZRCAE ‘Zhytomyroblagrolis’ through the deeper integration of the priorities of the FSS for Ukraine into their management systems and forestry practices.
Cooperation between FSC Ukraine and representatives of ZRCAE is ongoing. At the start of the year, they took part in the ‘Values of FSC Certification’ Forum, where the prospects and challenges for the development of responsible forest management under current conditions were outlined.
Communal forests are one of the three forms of forest ownership in Ukraine, alongside state-owned and privately-owned forests. Such forests belong to local communities and are managed by local authorities. In the case of ZRCAE, this is the Zhytomyr Oblast Council. The organisation comprises ten subsidiary forestry enterprises within the agro-industrial complex, half of which already hold FSC certificates.
On this occasion, the training seminar for administrative staff was attended by Pavlo Kravets, Director of FSC Ukraine; Oksana Pavlishchuk, FM Manager at FSC Ukraine; and Volodymyr Dudiuk, PhD of Economics, Associate Professor and FSC Ukraine expert.
During the seminar, the expert emphasised the essence and values of FSC certification, as well as the basic approaches to management – systemic, process-based, adaptive and risk-based – and used examples to explain how to integrate them into the enterprises’ operations. This helps to improve their management and production activities in line with the requirements of the FSS for Ukraine.
The interactive session aimed to gauge participants’ awareness of the environmental, economic and social aspects of responsible forest management, to assess the level of its implementation, and to identify the challenges faced by FSC certificate holders and applicants. The discussion centred on specific steps to further integrate the FSS for Ukraine into ZRCAE’s activities, taking into account best practices in this field.
The discussion confirmed a shared position: all of ZRCAE’s structural units see scope for improving their operations despite the challenges of wartime. These challenges are most acute in the case of those subsidiaries that utilise forests contaminated with explosive objects.
Participants acknowledged that the greatest challenge lies not in territorial constraints, but in the full implementation of responsible management and operational practices. The philosophy of responsible forest management must become an integral part of management, rather than a one-off task in the run-up to an audit.
“FSC certification is a strategic priority for ZRCAE, given the reputational and market benefits. Holding an FSC certificate is a day-to-day endeavour: establishing and maintaining processes, documenting procedures, and consistently applying systemic, process-based, adaptive and risk-based approaches. At the administrative level, there is a clear understanding of the value of certification, and our task today is to promote the dissemination of best management practices, which can then be adapted to suit the specific characteristics of individual forest management units,” said Oksana Pavlishchuk, FM Manager at FSC Ukraine.
“FSC is consistent in its policy of openness towards forestry operations, regardless of ownership structure, size or administrative affiliation. We commend the persistent and long-standing efforts of the communal enterprise’s team to meet the requirements of the FSC standard for Ukraine. This helps to increase the diversity of organisational and legal forms among certificate holders, as well as the approaches and methods within their management systems, and thus to better achieve a balance of interests in forest management. We will continue to support this development of diversity within our system, which is the key to its sustainability and resilience in the face of today’s challenges,” said Pavlo Kravets, Director of FSC Ukraine.
In conclusion, decisions were reached regarding the importance of centralised development, at the level of ZRCAE, of the procedures defined by the FSS for Ukraine. These are to be elaborated upon by subsidiary enterprises, taking into account their specific circumstances. The aim is not merely the formal fulfilment of the standard’s requirements, but the strengthening of a shared vision of the priorities of responsible forest management and their practical implementation.
All photos: SE «Zviahel Forestry APK» ZRСAE «Zhytomyroblagrolis»