Events and Announcements

We continue presenting results of EPL studies of lost protected areas. As we reported earlier, in most regions of Ukraine we found a large number of areas and objects of natural reserve fund (NRF), which were canceled for various reasons. Instead, a pleasant exception was the Poltava region.

As of 01.01.2016, in Kherson region the Nature Reserve Fund consists of 79 objects of protected areas with total area of 272,700.20 hectares. These include the biosphere reserves “Askania Nova” and “Black Sea”, national natural parks “Dzharylhatskyi” and “Azov-Sivash” and other objects.

Architects of the Institute of general plan of Kyiv offered to donate part of the national park “Holosiyivskyi” for making additional entrance to the future shopping mall.

EPL made the second raid to the forest areas of Western Ukraine to inspect forest logging and its legitimacy. This time we examined management of forestry in the national nature park “Hutsulshchyna” and the state enterprise “Kutsky forestry.”

Recently we learnt about the intention to commit massive violations of the environmental law. In particular, a group of unknown people who call themselves “Excursion auto, motorcycle tours in the Carpathians” plan for the period of 20-25 August 2016 to conduct a massive motorcycle race in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve (Reserve Marmarosky array: Berlebashka mountan,…

In July 2016, EPL made first trips to the Carpathian region in order to reveal violations in the forestry management. The first object of the survey was Burkutska forestry of the state enterprise “Verhovynsky forestry” (Ivano-Frankivsk region Verkhovyna district) where we analyzed the situation with forest logging and its impact on mountain ecosystems.

Just to remind that recently there was made a decision about the need to wothdraw the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the territory of the National Park “Oleshkivski Sands”1, where since October 2015 unauthorized military exercises had taken place.2 After the beginning of the armed conflict this decision was the first important step of the…

As we reported earlier1, after appeal of 200 nature conservationists2, on July 12, 2016 the Ministry of Environment of Ukraine hosted the interdepartmental meeting devoted to unauthorized use by the Ukrainian Army of the territory of the National Park “Oleshkivski sands.” As a result of the discussion the participants found common ground and have agreed…

We continue analyzing the losses of natural reserve fund of Ukraine. Next is Kyiv region. Here we have identified the largest number of cases of cancellation of the protected status of the areas with the aim to enable tree cutting.

On June 29, 2016, EPL eventually received from the State Agency of Geology and Mineral Resources of Ukraine a special permit for subsoil use issued to the company “Shell Exploration and Production Ukraine Investment (IV) BV” and “Nadra Yuzivska” Ltd within implementation of the product sharing agreement for hydrocarbons to be extracted within Yuzivska area.