For four years now, the same memories return: the shock in the early hours of February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine.
Four Years of War – Why Strengthening Ukraine’s Protected Areas Matters Now More Than Ever
In those first hours, our thoughts raced. Were our staff safe? Who needed to be evacuated from areas under immediate threat? And how could we support the thousands of people seeking refuge in national park buildings in the relative safety of the Carpathian Mountains?
The situation was chaotic. But one thing was clear from the start: we had to act.
Rapid Support for Protected Areas and People in Ukraine
Just days before the invasion, we had registered three pickup trucks in Ukraine. We had a strong team in the Carpathians and access to diesel. Under normal circumstances, these details might have seemed incidental. In those days, they were decisive. Thanks to an overwhelming wave of donations, we were able to respond immediately.
Within days, we began delivering relief supplies to protected areas across the country. We provided food and medicine, organized beds and mattresses, and set up more than 3,000 sleeping places in a very short time. In the first weeks and months after the Russian attack, we transported over 100 tons of food, medical supplies, and equipment to 35 protected areas throughout Ukraine – including sites in the east, not far from the front line, where people sought shelter in national park administration buildings too.
Protected Area Staff Under Double Pressure
For the administrations of these protected areas, this period meant a double burden. Many staff volunteered to defend the country and were suddenly missed in their teams. At the same time, park teams faced a humanitarian responsibility no one had anticipated. That rapid assistance was possible at all was due in part to solidarity across borders. The Romanian Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC) provided food, transport, and financial support. National parks and biosphere reserves in Germany also stepped in. Staff members took leave and drove supplies to the Polish-Ukrainian border themselves. In those weeks, it became clear how closely protected areas across Europe are connected.
Why Supporting National Parks During War Is Critical
In the midst of a war that claims lives every day, destroys cities, and leaves long-term damage to fields and waterways, a legitimate question arises: Why continue to support national parks in such an exceptional situation?
Because protected areas in Ukraine are now more than places dedicated to nature conservation. They are places of refuge for people.
The forested landscapes of the Carpathians offer families a brief respite from the realities of war. Children from Kyiv and other major cities spend days away from air raid sirens and constant uncertainty. They sleep through the night again. They can breathe.
Protected Areas as Places of Stability
Together with partners in the Carpathian protected areas, we have therefore established a large-scale environmental education program. Over the past year and a half, more than 1,300 children have taken part in excursions into the wild landscapes of the mountains. Dedicated buses bring groups from different regions of the country to the Carpathians. New camps are being created so that children and young people can spend time in an environment that provides stability where there is otherwise insecurity.
Yet the importance of Ukraine’s protected areas extends far beyond the present moment.
The Carpathians and Polesia: Key Biodiversity Regions in Europe
The old-growth forests of the Ukrainian Carpathians and the vast inland wetlands of Polesia are among Europe’s most valuable natural landscapes. They store significant amounts of carbon, regulate water systems, and provide habitat for an extraordinary diversity of species. They form part of the ecological backbone of our continent. In times of war and political instability, there is a real risk that such areas will be weakened or, once the war ends, exposed to economic pressure.
Safeguarding them requires strong, operational national parks – with functioning administrations, well-equipped ranger teams, stable infrastructure, and reliable funding.
Acting Now for the Time After the War
We currently support 20 national parks and protected areas in Ukraine’s two most important natural regions, Polesia and the Carpathians, providing exactly what they need. In our own workshop, we repair park vehicles reliably and free of charge. We procure equipment for rangers, renovate buildings, improve insulation, and install solar panels and efficient heating systems to reduce operating costs. We refurbish visitor accommodations and modernize visitor centers so that protected areas can generate their own revenue over the long term. Only financially stable parks can fulfill their conservation mandate permanently.
Wars leave not only human scars, but ecological ones as well. When the time for reconstruction comes, it will be crucial that Europe’s last large forests in the Carpathians and the species-rich wetlands of Polesia do not come under further pressure. By strengthening protected areas now, we are safeguarding their ability to act in the future.
Whatever the coming years may bring, one thing is certain for us: we stand with Ukraine’s protected areas. We support the people who work and live there – for as long as it takes, and with everything we can. We do so in the conviction that protecting these unique landscapes matters not only for Ukraine, but for all of Europe.
