Nature conservation in times of war

It has now been three years since Russia attacked Ukraine. For three years, there have been daily deadly battles along the front line in the northwest, east and south of the country. For three years, people, especially in the cities, have been robbed of life and limb almost every night by air raids and countless very heavy attacks, but millions of people have also been robbed of their sleep every night. The war is not only taking place at the front line, but is shaping everyday life throughout the country, including in the west of the country.

Not many people know that two of the most important and impressive natural landscapes in Europe are located there: the Carpathian mountains with their large beech and spruce forests, parts of which are large primeval forests and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the northwest, directly on the border with Belarus, lies a vast river landscape, Polesia. With its wide river courses, floodplains, lakes and moors, it could easily be described as the European Amazon. The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) has been working in Ukraine for more than 20 years, supporting protected areas in these two regions. Together with the Ukrainian government, which has consistently been very committed to nature conservation, four new national parks have also been created over the years and many others have been expanded.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine has dramatically changed the situation of protected areas and the work of FZS. 13 national parks, two biosphere reserves and eight nature reserves are occupied or are located directly in the combat zone. Old forests, but also steppes and vast reed belts have been burned. Red deer and roe deer have disappeared, birds’ nests and chicks are often burning on the ground, military vehicles are everywhere, even in the water, leaking oil and fuel. Buildings are destroyed, rangers and scientists have died or fled. In the west of the country, thousands of people fled to the safety of the Carpathian Mountains at the beginning of the attack and sought refuge in the buildings of national parks as well as in the surrounding communities.

Bernhard Grzimek, former Frankfurt Zoo Director and long-standing President of FZS, would have said “this is precisely the moment when FZS’s help is most important”. As FZS, we stand by our partners even in difficult times and it was precisely this resolution that we put into practice in February 2022: Just a few days after Russia’s invasion, thanks to many private donations and help from foundations, as well as support from the German government, we were able to set up hundreds of beds in rooms in the protected areas, bought medicines and food, often produced by small businesses in the region, and brought it to the people who had fled. FZS was able to rely on a well-coordinated team on the ground, we had vehicles and sufficient diesel for our transports, which was not a matter of course in the early days of the war.

The Ukrainian government has been having to fend off Russia’s brutal attack for three years now. This is the top priority of the country and the Ukrainians. Funds for other purposes are therefore scarce: for the past three years, the protected areas have only been receiving money for wages from the state budget but no longer for equipment, fuel and support for their daily work. This is why FZS has also provided quick and uncomplicated help here: we buy diesel and petrol for the protected areas in the Carpathians, repair the parks’ vehicles reliably and free of charge in a specially built workshop, cover leaking roofs, procure generators, insulate walls and build solar systems so that the administrations need less money for energy costs. With funding support from the German government, we are also able to buy new uniforms for rangers, new vehicles and other important equipment. To enable the protected areas to offer nature excursions for the many children who come to the Carpathians, we have purchased all-terrain buses and trained staff to work with children in nature. We have also been supporting the protected areas in Polesia in this way since 2025.

There are now 22 motivated FZS colleagues working tirelessly every day for nature and the local people. Among them are many nature conservation experts but also car mechanics and carpenters. No other organization in Ukraine provides such direct and comprehensive help for the protected areas.

The people of Ukraine need functioning protected areas even more urgently than before: the untouched nature of the Carpathians or Polesia are often the only respite from the brutality of war for families. Every year, hundreds of children can forget the war for a few moments at summer camps in the Carpathians. The beauty and tranquillity of the Carpathian forests help people in Ukraine to overcome the trauma of war. If the forests of the Carpathians are well protected and preserved, they can be the basis for important income from tourism after the war.

We will therefore continue our work. And we are also dependent on your support. Help us to preserve these special natural landscapes, which are part of our common European natural heritage. For they give the people of Ukraine courage and confidence.