How to preserve the biodiversity of the Ukrainian forest and defend national identity

Recently, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted Law 5650, which protects self-seeded forests and introduces several useful changes, in particular, to the Forest Code of Ukraine, namely: it indicates the prevention of invasions of alien species into natural ecosystems during reforestation and reforestation. So, what is reforestation and why should many enterprises in the forestry industry of Ukraine stop their activities, which contribute to the loss of biodiversity and national identity.

Ukraine is a large country and rich in biodiversity, which has been formed for thousands of years. By planting non-native tree species in forests, foresters impoverish forest biodiversity. Arguments such as the fact that the majority of tree species brought to Ukraine from Asia or America increase the productivity of stands are remnants of the programs of building communism in the prison of nations - the Soviet Union. For decades, alien trees, independently or with the help of foresters, settle in the forest, oppressing and displacing the local flora and fauna. And how many of them enter nature reserves and national natural parks of Ukraine by seed or vegetatively? Who will be responsible for crimes against the environment?

Planting non-native species in forests is dangerous for biodiversity and the preservation of the national identity of Ukrainians, the loss of which is a threat to the national security of the state.

Imagine the Carpathians without spruces, firs, and beeches, but instead planted with Menzies Pseudotsuga (a native of America) or Japanese or European larch (the latter naturally grows only on a small area in the Carpathians, where it should be protected and restored). Are the Hutsuls and boyki used to such "highly productive" forests made of alien trees, or did Ivan Franko and Yurii Fedkovich see and describe the Ukrainian Carpathians like this, or did the opryshki with Dovbush walk like this? No, this is a foreign forest for them.

Many Ukrainians are also familiar with the native oak forests of Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Cherkasy, but red oak, a foreigner from North America, is currently growing there on thousands of hectares. Why don't they respect and try to eradicate our local oak? Maybe because dozens of common oak trees in Ukraine still preserve the memory of the famous hetmans Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Ivan Mazepa, chieftain Maksym Zaliznyak, an outstanding poet and artist Taras Shevchenko? Why are they trying to destroy their memory in the Ukrainian forest?

There are also forests that remember the battles of the UNR army, the feats of Sich marksmanship, the offensive of the Ukrainian Galician Army, and the battles of the Cossacks of the Kholodnoyarsk Republic, the feats of Ukrainians in the Second World War and the heroism of the UPA. Why is it so easy to turn the UKRAINIAN FOREST into a plantation of alien species and deprive us of its heroic history and biodiversity?

Governments of developed countries that care about their people, their cultural and historical heritage; forests, as a factor in the formation of an ecologically stable environment, not only prohibit the use of alien species in the forest but also fight against them.

We must return the UKRAINIAN FOREST to the Ukrainians and make sure that the ban will not only be on paper. Of course, artificial forests in the Steppe zone, where most tree species grow outside their range, will remain problematic. A different approach needs to be developed here, and until it is available, a complete ban on planting alien trees should apply. For example, the US Forest Service's response to invasive species is embodied in the National Invasive Species Prevention Strategy and Plan, which was developed following a 1999 presidential executive order.

According to the Invasive Plant Atlas of The United States, most of the plants known to us that are indigenous to Ukraine are considered invasive in the United States, including oak, pine, European spruce, hazel, and black alder, sycamore, sycamore, field maple, and many others. Others, although some of them grow faster in America than local species. This is how the USA protects its forest, its national heritage and biodiversity. And in Ukraine?

Any exception to the ban on alien species in the forest will continue to benefit the enemies of Ukraine, who dream of destroying its natural biodiversity and wealth and losing its national identity and memory.

We hope that the amendment of Article 82 of the Forest Code of Ukraine will be the first step towards the preservation and restoration of forests in Ukraine - an integral part of our historical and cultural heritage. The next step should be the approval of the list of invasive species by the Ministry of Environment and the Cabinet of Ministers (for those who do not see how alien species take over our forests) and the development of a Strategy for responding to invasive species in the forests of Ukraine (their eradication and control when they appear).

Ukrainians should fight for their forest, their history, national identity and future!

Taras Kharachko, candidate of agricultural sciences, head of the Forest Restoration Center of the NGO "Forest Initiatives and Society", with the support of the US Forestry Agency