Lithuania’s anti-corruption agency flags risks in government plan to change state forest status

The Special Investigation Service (STT) has identified corruption risks in a draft government resolution that would allow several municipalities to change the status of state-owned forests in their territories, LRT reports.

The municipalities of Alytus, Kaunas, Palanga, Raseiniai, and Utena would be permitted to convert around 138 hectares of state forest land for other uses, including infrastructure, trails, parks, sports and leisure areas, solar power plants, and other facilities.

In its assessment, the STT noted that the proposal lacks sufficient justification for the need to change the status of specific forest plots, the necessity of the decisions, their proportionality, and the absence of alternatives. The agency highlighted that large-scale forest land conversions—particularly in Alytus (about 72 hectares) and Utena district (about 57 hectares)—are presented in abstract terms, with only a small portion of the land use justified by concrete purposes. For example, in Utena district, around 54 hectares are planned for conversion, but only about 10 hectares have clearly defined uses.

The STT also questioned whether the impact on forests had been properly evaluated, including whether alternatives—such as building pedestrian and bicycle paths or engineering networks without changing the land status—had been considered.

The agency concluded that the draft resolution creates conditions for insufficiently justified changes to the status of forests of national importance, excessive discretion for municipalities, and the prioritisation of individual interests over public ones. The STT had previously flagged a conflict of interest risk in 2022 during an anti-corruption assessment of amendments to the Land Law, which proposed transferring state land management functions to municipalities. At the time, concerns were raised that municipal interests, such as territorial expansion or local projects, could conflict with the state’s goal of ensuring transparent and rational use of state land in the public interest.