Barchuk V. Legal and administrative mechanism for the protection of the forest fund in Ukraine

The Thesis reviews and clarifies the principles of organization and the essence of implementation of administrative and legal mechanism for the protection of the forest fund in Ukraine as the tool to introduce the application of specific measures to ensure the safety of all forest territories of Ukraine by public administration in legal reality, characterized by an appropriate biotope and biocenosis for the forest cover of the Earth or are intended for forest management and use. As part of the study of the theoretical and legal foundations of the administrative and legal mechanism for protecting the forest fund in Ukraine, the concept of the “forest fund” has been disclosed, as domestic scientists do not have a common vision of the appropriateness of this category and its legal nature as the object of administrative and legal protection, and also identified normative, as well as the legal basis has been characterized the legal nature of administrative and legal mechanism for the protection of the forest fund of Ukraine has been determined. It has been clarified that the forest fund of Ukraine de jure consists of all forest territories of Ukraine, characterized by a corresponding biotope and biocenosis for the forest cover of the Earth, or intended for forest management and use. Despite the fact that the Forest Code of Ukraine enshrines that the forest fund consists of all forests of Ukraine as the type of natural complexes (ecosystem), there is no clarification that such are only those with the legal status of the forest. This means that unaccounted and self-sown forests, in accordance with the provisions of forest legislation, are not included in the forest fund of Ukraine, which is logical, but unacceptable for a civilized society. and Therefore «de facto» its composition is formed as accounted forests in the form of forest parcels and land plots, and by unaccounted for, including self-sown forests; both those which suffer different interventions from forest owners, forest users and citizens, and those that have long been protected from human influence.