Mechanism for Compensation of Damage Caused to the Forest Fund of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The article is the first in domestic legal science to examine the mechanism for compensation for damage caused to the forest fund of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, which indicates the novelty of the study and the conclusions drawn in it.

The author emphasizes that the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has caused large-scale and systemic environmental damage, in particular to the forest fund.

The mechanism for compensation for damage caused to the forest fund of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation is defined as a system of measures of influence upon the aggressor state that ensures the possibility of full compensation for the damage caused and includes: the purpose, grounds, conditions, forms, methods, procedure, guarantees, and prospects of such compensation within national and international jurisdictions.

It is established that the general basis for compensation for damage caused to the forest fund of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation is the very fact of causing such damage. The conditions for compensation include: damage, unlawful conduct, causation, and fault.

The author substantiates the necessity of legislative consolidation of the concepts of “forests damaged as a result of hostilities” and “forests destroyed as a result of hostilities,” taking into account the ecosystem-based approach. Such consolidation should provide for: defining the relevant concepts; establishing procedures for accounting of forests damaged as a result of hostilities; determining specific conditions of use (including access restrictions); establishing demining regimes; and implementing other measures aimed at the restoration of damaged forests.

It is noted that damage caused to the forest fund of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation may only be compensated through restitution (return of occupied forestry lands, demining, reforestation, land reclamation, etc.) and compensation in the form of monetary reimbursement for damage caused to the forest fund, including funds for the restoration of forest ecosystems (reforestation and reclamation), compensation for the loss of ecosystem services, and reimbursement of demining costs.

The procedure and guarantees for compensation for damage caused to the forest fund of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation are determined.

Methods of compensation for damage caused to the forest fund of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation may include recourse to national and international jurisdictional institutions, namely: Ukrainian courts, international justice mechanisms, and the international compensation mechanism currently being established.

Damage and losses caused to the forest fund of Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, in addition to those provided for in Methodology No. 414, must necessarily include the calculation of costs for forest restoration in an amount equivalent to the destroyed (damaged) forests, expenses related to the assessment of damage and losses (including expert examinations, expert studies (expert evaluation), collection and processing of Earth remote sensing data), as well as the value of lost ecosystem services. Such an approach would ensure that the methodology complies with the standards of international judicial institutions, would significantly increase the amount of reparations, and would provide Ukraine with a real opportunity to obtain full compensation from the aggressor state for environmental damage, a substantial component of which is the damage caused to the forest fund.