The planting of the symbolic “one-billionth tree” took place on the grounds of the Central Military Hospital in Kyiv. The event was joined by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine, the Union of Forestry Warriors of Ukraine, scholars from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NUBiP), service members and demobilised employees of SFE “Forests of Ukraine”, as well as pupils of the Vyshchedubechanske school forestry.

The “Green Country” programme was launched in June 2021. The decree initiating it was signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the “Ukraine 30. Ecology” forum.

“We are launching the ‘Green Country’ project. Let me say at once—this is not a political project but a purely environmental one, for nature and the environment. We have set ourselves an ambitious yet, I am sure, achievable goal: to increase the forest area by one million hectares over ten years. To this end, in the next three years we aim to plant one billion trees in Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his address at the forum.

Over the course of the programme, more than 100,000 sites were afforested across Ukraine.

Foresters of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” established exclusively natural forests, combining species such as Scots pine, Crimean pine (Pallas’s pine), pedunculate oak, silver birch, ash, maple, beech, spruce, fir, larch, and others. The mix of coniferous and broadleaf species reduces wildfire risk and supports biodiversity.

As Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi noted, expanding forest area counteracts the adverse effects of climate change.

“Some planted one tree, others hundreds, but together we accomplished something important—we not only planted a billion trees, we also changed society’s attitude toward forest restoration and nature conservation as a whole,” said Yurii Bolokhovets, Director General of SFE “Forests of Ukraine.”

According to Yurii Bolokhovets, the symbolic one-billionth tree chosen was the oak—a symbol of the resilience and steadfastness of the Ukrainian people. It was planted by demobilised soldier-forester Oleksandr Kotseruba together with pupils of the Vyshchedubechanske school forestry.

Over the course of the “Green Country” programme, it was not only a billion trees that were planted. These years also saw a reform of the forestry sector: management was centralised; a transparent timber sales system was established; a record amount of taxes was paid into budgets at all levels; a digital chain of custody for timber movement was introduced; and efforts to combat illegal logging were significantly strengthened.

“Most importantly, despite the war we kept the forestry sector going. It has operated and developed throughout the years of armed aggression and supported our defenders: in total, over 12,000 railcars of timber were dispatched to meet frontline needs,” said Victor Smal, Head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine.

According to Yurii Bolokhovets, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” continues to work on the second part of the President’s programme—expanding the forest land area by 1 million hectares.