And again it is a C.E.P.T. stamp that I have chosen as stamp of the month. Probably because the topic “Endangered Species” concerns me so much and I am enthusiastic about stamps taking up current social issues and communicating the topics artistically. In this case, it’s the deforestation of large forests in the Carpathian Mountains, which provide a refuge for many endangered species. Unfortunately, although the primeval beech forests and the virgin forests of the Carpathians as well as other regions of Europe are UNESCO World Heritage Sites (2017), it is precisely these that are disappearing more and more due to illegal logging, and at an alarming rate. This destroys a unique ecosystem, which is also a climate factor for the entire region. Thus, in the long run, not only the animals will suffer, but also the people there and probably here in Central Europe. I find this block especially important, because unfortunately, when deforestation is talked about, mostly only the deforestations in Asia and South America are discussed.
The deforestation in the Carpathians is wonderfully thematized in the presented souvenir sheet of the Ukrainian Post by the young artist Olha Simonenk. One stamp shows the main threat facing the Carpathian primeval forest, namely mass deforestation. The stamp “Killer Wheels” shows this industrial process again in detail. On the other hand, in a few simple strokes on the second stamp of the block, the artist illustrates the imaginary “cry of the Carpathians”: a howling wolf over a tree stump. The colors of these stamps do justice to the sad events and one can really sympathize with the howling wolf. 
By the way, the wolf is also thematized on the C.E.P.T. stamp of Austria, although – in my eyes – not so impressively depicted with the threat to itself and its environment.
- Issued on: 2021-06-09
- Printing:Offset lithography
- Print run:100,000
- Description:Issued in panes of six
- Face value ₴ 13.80 on day of issue.
https://europa2021.posteurop.org/#/europa2021/en