Employees of the Environmental Supervision Department of the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture, between January 01 to January 31, 2026, identified 127 facts of illegal forest use.
102 of the revealed violations relate to illegal acquisition-transportation of trees, and 25 of them are facts of violation of technical regulations by saw mills and illegal saw mills.
6 facts of the offenses contain signs of criminal offenses, and materials were sent to the relevant authorities for the purpose of further response. In the month of January 2026, 3 unregistered saw mills have been sealed.
Protecting natural resources and preventing, identifying, and exposing facts about illegal use of forests is a priority for the Department of Environmental Supervision. Departmental crews are patrolling all over the country for 24 hours; immediate response to every message received on the Ministry Hotline (153).
Within the framework of the fight against illegal forest use, the department actively uses modern technologies, and the sanctions are tightened.
As a result of all these actions, in recent years, there has been a decrease in the frequency of illegal forest use. In 2025, compared to the previous year, illegal forest use decreased by about 13%. Statistics in the last 5 years, compared to 2021, show that in 2025, illegal logging decreased by about 50%. A decrease in violations of the law is recorded in the monthly indicators of the past and current years. In January 2025, compared to January 2026, the department revealed more than 20 – 147 facts.
Employees of the Department of Environmental Supervision of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture identified 127 cases of illegal forest use from January 1 to January 31, 2026.
Of the identified violations, 102 relate to the illegal harvesting and transportation of timber, while 25 concern breaches of technical regulations by sawmills and the operation of illegal sawmills. Six of the violations contain elements of a criminal offense. The case materials have been forwarded to the relevant authorities for further legal action.
In January 2026, three unregistered sawmills were sealed.
The Environmental Supervision Department’s patrolling and urgent response crews carry out continuous 24-hour monitoring across the country and implement preventive measures to ensure the timely prevention, suppression, and detection of illegal logging and other environmental violations. Immediate response is provided to every report received through the Ministry’s hotline (153).
Within the framework of combating poaching and other environmental crimes, the Department actively employs modern technologies, while enforcement mechanisms and sanctions have been strengthened. In 2025, compared to the previous year, the number of illegal forest use cases decreased by approximately 13%. Regarding the statistics of the past five years, in 2025, the number of such cases was approximately 50% lower compared to 2021. A reduction in violations is also reflected in the monthly indicators of the past and current years — in January 2025, compared to January 2026, the Department identified 20 more cases of illegal forest use, totaling 147 cases.
