Authorities detain man after disturbing actions in Chernobyl zone come to light: ‘The director … has been charged’

A man has been charged with illegally chopping down over 1,000 trees in the protected area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, causing more than $1.8 million in damage, according to Ukrinform.

The man was the director of a limited liability company that had been hired to remove power lines from the radiation-stricken area that was the site of an infamous nuclear disaster in 1986. However, without permission, the man also organized the felling of 1,023 trees, per Ukrinform.

“Under the procedural guidance of the Vyshhoro District Prosecutor’s Office, the director of the LLC has been charged with illegal logging within the territory of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve,” officials said, as quoted by Ukrinform.

This was not the first time that authorities had discovered an illegal logging operation taking place in war-torn Ukraine, with individuals potentially hoping to take advantage of the chaos of the nation’s ongoing war with Russia to profit from the illegal practice. In August, officials uncovered illegal logging in the Kharkiv region, which they say caused roughly $290,000 in damage, per Ukrinform.

Illegal logging practices have long been a problem around the globe and have not been limited to Ukraine.

“The criminals responsible for illegal logging and illicit timber trafficking are not just destroying biodiversity but they also threaten the livelihoods of those reliant on the forest resources,” according to Interpol. “For example, criminal land clearing can cause landslides and deny forest-dependent communities access to food, medicine and fuel.”

Illegal logging accounts for a staggeringly large proportion of the global timber trade, making up 15% to 30% of all timber traded internationally, according to Interpol. This adds up to $51 billion to $152 billion annually.

Forests provide critical habitat to a wide range of plant and animal species, with 80% of all terrestrial species calling the forest home, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Additionally, forests act as vital carbon sinks, absorbing planet-heating pollution from the atmosphere and helping to slow down rising global temperatures.

Sustainable logging practices are essential to protecting local communities, biodiversity, and these important carbon sinks. Illegal logging threatens all of that.

“Illegal logging and trade take many different forms,” the World Wildlife Federation explained on its website. “At the forest level, it can include logging inside protected areas, logging protected timber species, extracting volumes beyond permitted amounts, and corruption associated with the issuance of forest licenses.”

Curbing illegal logging practices requires a comprehensive, collaborative effort among authorities in multiple countries, from the countries where the trees are illegally chopped down to those that purchase the wood. Making matters more challenging, traffickers of illegal timber often forge documents to conceal the true source of their materials.

To help, you can use your voice and urge your elected representatives to make sustainable logging practices — and stopping the illegal timber trade — a priority.

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