«Pavement tiles are already laid in the forest»: in the Mykolaiv region, a recreation area is being built in the Mariivka tract

In the Mykolaiv region, in the Maryiv tract, which is located in the Bashtan district, a recreation area is being created for the local population to relax - paving paths are being installed.

This is stated in the publication of Svitlana Zadyrak, a resident of the district, on the «Bashtanka» Facebook page.

«We are working to win! Paving tiles are already being laid in the forest...», the woman wrote.

In the comments under the post, other local residents gathered and expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation.

«It is very unfortunate and painful. People from the villages can't get to the hospital, they ask at least the Bayurs to fill them, but here in the forest there are tiles. They are completely out of their minds,» Natalya Cheryn, a resident of the village of Maryivka, wrote in the comments.

The Southern Forestry Office explained why sidewalks are being installed in the Maryiv tract

The Southern Forest Office responded to the complaints of local residents and explained that the creation of a recreation area in the tract is a necessary measure to prevent forest fires and preserve the ecosystem of this area. The specialists of the office explained that this is done within the framework of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 612 on the organization of protection and protection of forests.

«In the Khristoforiv Forestry of the Bashtan Forestry branch of the State Enterprise «Forests of Ukraine» the creation of a recreational zone is planned for the preservation of the forest and the safe recreation of the local population. This is the protection of the forest from fires!...During the martial law and the fire danger period, visiting the forests is limited. Instead, people still go to the forest. The rest areas will satisfy the flow of those who want to rest by the fire. This is a safe alternative for spending quality time in nature,» said the Southern Forest Office.

They noted that with the opening of similar recreation areas in other regions, the number of forest fires decreased tenfold. Thus, according to the Southern Forest Office, in 2023, compared to 2022, the area of forest fires decreased 43 times. Experts are sure that such an indicator was achieved precisely thanks to the creation of recreational points.

Why were recreational areas not built earlier?

As explained in the southern forestry office, in 2023 a forest reform took place in Ukraine — all forestry enterprises were united into a single enterprise «Forests of Ukraine». Before the reform, the forests of the south of the country were unprofitable, subsidized from the budget and did not have the financial opportunity to create such zones.

«Now there is an opportunity to finance the development of the forest industry in our region within the framework of a single enterprise. The development of recreation has the task of taking care of people's safety, protecting the forest from fire and littering. And most importantly, visiting such recreational facilities is absolutely FREE,» experts said.

Yes, and the Southern Forestry Office emphasized that the funds for the arrangement of the recreation area are allocated by the enterprise «Forests of Ukraine» exclusively from its own budget.

We will remind that 5,825 hectares must be demined on the territory of the Bashtan Forestry. The replacement of the territory does not allow foresters to extinguish fires and plant new trees.

We should also note that 4,787 hectares of forest were destroyed by fire as a result of Russian shelling in the Mykolaiv region. As a result of forest fires caused by the war, damage to the region's environment amounted to 22 billion 413 million 931 thousand 169 hryvnias.

Read also the NikVesty article « Collateral victim : How the war is destroying the ecology of the South and what to do about it."