Main points
- Illegal felling of trees carries fines ranging from 510 to 15,300 hryvnias, depending on the violator and the nature of the violation.
- Fines for sawn-down Christmas trees can range from 599 to 4,132 hryvnias, depending on the location of the violation.
What is the fine for cutting down a tree / Photo by Pexels
There are fines for illegal tree felling in Ukraine. The punishment depends on the circumstances of the violation, the size of the tree, and its type.
What fine will I have to pay for a cut down tree?
The Code of Administrative Offenses states how much an illegally cut tree will cost.
Thus, illegal felling, damage or destruction of forest crops and seedlings threatens a person with a fine. For citizens – from 510 to 1,020 hryvnias . If an official is guilty – the fine will be from 2,550 to 5,100 hryvnias .
As se.forest.gov.ua notes, for a repeated violation, the fine will be higher. For citizens, it will be 1,020–1,530 hryvnias and for officials , it will be 10,200–15,300 hryvnias .
According to another article, the destruction of green spaces and certain types of trees outside and within the boundaries of a settlement that are not included in the forest fund also carries a fine for violators. This is 170-510 hryvnias for citizens and 510-850 hryvnias for officials or entrepreneurs.
In particular, in addition to fines for felled trees, the violator must compensate for damages. These are determined by the diameter of the trees.
- So, if the diameter of the trunk of the felled tree is up to 14 centimeters, the additional compensation will be 534.55 hryvnias.
- For a diameter of 22.1 – 26 centimeters – 4,855.61 hryvnias.
The largest compensation must be paid for trees with a diameter of 46.1 – 50 centimeters – 22,038.11 hryvnias .
What is known about fines for cut down Christmas trees?
At the same time, as the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration notes, there is a separate threat of felling during the pre-New Year period. This applies to coniferous plants. That is why separate fines have been introduced for felling such trees, which depend on the size of the tree. If you cut down a Christmas tree:
- in the forest – a fine from 599 to 2,709 hryvnias.
- within the city or settlement – a fine from 1,152 hryvnias to 1,852 hryvnias.
- within territories and natural reserves – from 908 to 4,132 hryvnias.
What else do you need to know about trees and their care?
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In order not to be left without a harvest, in the spring it is worth treating trees in 4 stages, which will provide comprehensive protection. In particular, you need to use special preparations based on copper or iron.
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You also need to take care of proper tree pruning so as not to harm the plants. In general, there are 3 favorable periods: early March, late March and early April, and May-June.