Wild Polissia in Ukraine

In the central part of Polissia, a protected area network covering a total of 1 million ha exists, although many of the landscape’s most valuable areas for nature remain without formal protection. This network includes several national parks, strict nature reserves and other types of protected areas. In Ukraine, four strict nature reserves prohibit all economic activities within their boundaries; access is limited to scientific research, monitoring and educational activities. Additionally, the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone established after the nuclear disaster in 1986, in both Ukraine and Belarus, is largely uninhabited and now provides a refuge for many species, in particular large mammals like moose, lynx and wolves.

FZS and partners protect biodiversity and re-establish connectivity between habitats for migrating wildlife in Polissia. This is achieved through the establishment of new protected areas or through the enlargement of existing ones, on 100,000 ha of currently unprotected wilderness. These efforts have led to, among others, the creation of the Almany Mires Reserve in Belarus by 10,000 ha in 2021. Almany now spans 104,000 ha (roughly the size of Hong Kong) – securing Europe’s largest intact transition mire.

FZS and partners are finalizing conducting preparatory work for the restoration of wetlands that were drained throughout the past century. This drainage led to the destruction of unique habitats, like mires and marshes, which are some of the rarest in the lowland European landscape. In their natural state, mires are one of the planet’s most effective long-term carbon storage. In the first phase of the project, we aim to restore up to 20,000 hectares of drained wetlands. Restoration will help re-establish the hydrological and ecological functioning of these landscapes.

FZS and partners have conducted extensive biodiversity surveys, species distribution modeling, and habitat mapping to identify High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs), protected area gaps and ecological corridors in the core area of Polissia. Fieldwork included seasonal surveys of birds, bats, butterflies, fish, and dragonflies to document species composition and inform future protected area expansion.

Currently, monitoring efforts are focused on evaluating the effectiveness of restoration measures, particularly through hydrological monitoring and satellite-based remote sensing. In parallel, we also monitor species like moose, wolf, and lynx that migrate through the vast lands of Polissia. For this, the extensive use of camera traps provides data on wildlife population sizes and connectivity, which can be used to guide, compare and assess conservation actions.

Despite the ecological value of Polissia, many protected areas in the region lack the resources and capacity needed for effective conservation management. The ongoing war has further strained Ukraine’s already limited ability to fund and support these areas.

To help close this gap, FZS and its partners provide practical support to protected area administrations. This includes essential supplies such as fuel, ranger uniforms, vehicles, and equipment for monitoring and daily operations. We also assist with urgent operational costs, such as vehicle repairs, infrastructure maintenance, or emergency needs like heating system failures, to ensure continuity in protected area functioning. We support the development or revision of protected area management plans and provide tools such as camera traps, automated water monitoring loggers, boats, and motorbikes. In parallel, we build the capacity of park staff and local decision-makers through training and knowledge exchange to strengthen long-term conservation outcomes.

Governments want to create a 2,000 km long navigable waterway connecting the Black Sea and the Baltic, that would cut through the heart of the region. Constructing the so-called ‘E40’ waterway would require dredging, damming, straightening, and deepening of pristine rivers. This would lead to the destruction of enormous floodplains and wetlands, home to rare animals and plants, including eagles, bison, bears, wolves, and lynx. The project would destroy the social fabric of local communities. It could also contaminate human water supplies with hazardous radiation.

FZS is a partner of the international coalition ‘Save Polesia’, which aims to prevent the planned construction of the ‘E40 waterway’. We encourage national governments to boost local and regional economies through investing in existing rail infrastructure and using the huge potential for nature-based tourism in Polissia.

In the current context, with the war in Ukraine, the E40 waterway project is not being taken forward as a single coherent international project. However, the three countries are still committed to their stretches of the waterway and are taking forward individual projects.