Ukraine

Ukraine is the meeting place of the steppe, Mediterranean, and forest vegetation types. The country offers outstanding natural landscapes whose stories remain largely untold both nationally and internationally.

The heart of the Carpathians arcs across the western corner of the country. This mountainous region harbors the largest intact tracts of old-growth and primary forest in the temperate zone of Europe. These impressive forests stretch, in huge proportions, across peaks and valleys where the trees grow to be centuries old. Even after they die, these trees provide important habitats for a myriad of organisms including mushrooms, mosses, insects, bats, and birds. Larger animals like capercaillie, black grouse, brown bears, wolves and Eurasian lynx also benefit from the diversity and complex structures which result.

A sizeable part of one of Europe’s largest, mostly-intact floodplains is also found in Ukraine – Polesia. Nestled in the northwest of the country, bordering Poland, Russia, and Belarus, Polesia hosts extensive riparian forests, large intact mires, and expansive open-water wetland areas. It is a major hub for migrating birds in spring when hundreds of thousands pass through the landscape to breed, rest, and feed.

Ukraine is already working hard to protect its nature and wildlife – in the Ukrainian Carpathians, there are ten national parks, one strict reserve, and two biosphere reserves. In Polesia, there are four strict reserves, two national parks, and one radiation and ecological reserve. The focus of our work in Ukraine is on strengthening and, where necessary, expanding these protected areas.