Nearly 400,000 hectares of forests managed by the State Enterprise «Forests of Ukraine» are contaminated by landmines

Clearing these areas using methods applied to agricultural land is not feasible. Manual demining would take decades and require tens of billions in funding.

Janne Harjunpää, a member of the Supervisory Board of SE «Forests of Ukraine» and Chair of the Audit Committee, proposes an innovative approach to addressing this challenge.

The approach involves the use of remote-controlled harvesters to carry out forestry operations in damaged and hazardous areas, preparing the land for subsequent mechanical demining and the restoration of forest stands. The outcome would be the creation of healthy and safe forests.

Applying this approach would make it possible to clear significant areas within a few years. Otherwise, mined forests will remain a constant threat to local communities and a source of large-scale forest fires.

A coordination meeting was held at Forests of Ukraine with the participation of representatives of the State Emergency Service and the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine to discuss a roadmap for implementing a pilot project.

Key issues included the development of a regulatory framework that would allow forestry operations in mined areas using specialized equipment, as well as the attraction of grant funding and the adaptation of harvesting machinery.

According to Janne Harjunpää, the project has strong potential for support from international donors. Global manufacturers are ready to assist with adapting the equipment, and there is support from the relevant ministry regarding the regulatory framework.

Importantly, this approach goes beyond demining alone. It represents a comprehensive solution that combines safety, cost efficiency, risk reduction, and economic value creation through the safe use of forest resources and the long-term restoration of forests. As a result, Ukraine has an opportunity to implement a project unprecedented in global practice.