The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland, Ville Tavio, has formally announced the allocation of funding for a collaborative project involving the Natural Resources Institute Finland, the Finnish Forest Centre, the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Melioration. The total budget for this initiative is set at €1.037 million, covering the period from 2025 to 2028.
The primary objective of this project is to support Ukraine in the comprehensive mapping of its forest resources and to promote the utilisation of forest biomass for energy production.
“Finland has strong expertise in forestry, and Ukraine has vast forest reserves. This project has good potential to generate commercial cooperation that benefits both countries,” explained Minister Tavio.
By advancing the use of renewable energy sources, this initiative aims to enhance decentralised energy production and improve energy self-sufficiency in Ukraine. Furthermore, the implementation of the forest mapping system is expected to reduce the potential for corruption within the sector significantly.
This endeavour is based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Natural Resources Institute Finland and the Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Melioration. Additionally, it builds upon ongoing collaboration, which includes a project currently funded by the Swedish government. The groundwork for this cooperation in the forest sector was laid in 2018, following discussions between Finland and Ukraine during a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation.
