A view of the Carpathians

This year, together with the Carpathians Mountains International Film Festival and national partners, a photo competition was held as part of our public outreach work in the Ukrainian Carpathians. We encouraged entrants to share images of the scenery and wildlife of the region, as well as pictures that depict people interacting with nature – both in a positive and negative way. The top three photos in each category, chosen by a panel of judges, received prizes. A selection of eight photos were also shared in an exhibition at the film festival, where a talk on the primary forests of the Carpathians was presented.

The large-scale primary and old-growth forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians are unique in Europe. Securing these intact forests is key to combatting the entwined biodiversity and climate crises, yet even here – where so few such areas remain – the threat of deforestation is ever present.

Many of Ukraine’s primary forests are at risk – large tracts of ‘wild’ forest remain beyond the borders of protected areas; while inadequate budgets and management capacity mean that forests and wildlife within national parks are also not necessarily safe. Urgent action is needed to secure these forests for the health of our planet and future generations.

By protecting the large primary forests still remaining in Ukraine not only would emissions be reduced (since veteran trees in primary forests store huge amounts of carbon), but the massive carbon sequestration potential of these forests would also be secured.

In the Ukrainian Carpathians we strive to protect 300,000 hectares of natural landscapes, as one of the largest and most valuable networks of protected areas in Europe. To this end, existing protected areas shall be enlarged, and important primeval and old-growth forests added and therefore better protected. Through the creation of a network of protected areas and a focus on connectivity between these areas we aim to ensure that the ecological systems of the Carpathian Mountains and the services they provide are protected effectively and sustainably.

The lives and livelihoods of many inhabitants of the rural communities living adjacent to the protected areas in the Ukrainian Carpathians are closely linked to natural resources. At the same time, the area’s mountainous landscapes are of outstanding beauty, offering great potential for nature-based tourism and other sustainable development opportunities.

Through an environmental communication campaign, targeted at key audiences within the local communities, we aim to improve knowledge of the ecosystem services that intact primary forests provide and the benefits that protected areas can bring for local people. Furthermore, the communications campaign also aims to promote dialogue between park authorities and local communities. By raising awareness of environmental issues and showing communities the benefits that protected areas can bring, we aim to cultivate a constituency for conservation in the settlements surrounding the parks where the project works.