Lesy SR anonymizes wood buyer data in transparency app

Lesy SR, the state-owned forestry enterprise, has updated its ‘Otvorené drevo’ (Open Wood) application to anonymize data regarding wood buyers. The company stated that this optimization responds to requests from business partners who claimed that public visibility of specific buyer data could reduce their competitiveness within the narrow Slovak processing sector. Lesy SR maintains that transparency is preserved through the Central Register of Contracts (CRZ) and that the app remains a comprehensive tool for tracking wood volumes, species, and distribution.

However, the political party Sloboda a Solidarita (SaS) has criticized the move, calling it a ‘liquidation of transparency and public control.’ MP Alojz Hlina argued that the anonymization, which also applies to historical data, prevents the public from monitoring how state-owned assets are being managed. Hlina noted that while the company claims to be acting on partner requests, the Association of Wood Processors has reportedly not made such demands, raising questions about the true intent behind the reduction in available information.