Kyiv, 25 January 2024 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has delivered a first batch of much-needed equipment for the needs of national natural parks and reserves in Ukraine’s Polissia region. The requirements of the Nature Reserve Fund in the northern part of the country were identified with the support of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine. 

With the equipment provided, employees of national natural parks and reserves in the Polissia region will be able to conduct meteorological observations, record field observations of rare species, and carry out general monitoring of biodiversity. An uninterrupted power supply to the park and reserve premises during any emergency outages will also be ensured for park employees.

Oleksandr Krasnolutsky, First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, thanked the fund’s partners for their support, and emphasized that 2024 has been designated the year of the beginning of the climate dialogue in Ukraine. 

"In the conditions of ongoing full-scale war, the assistance from international partners becomes even more crucial for the protection of the Ukrainian environment," Krasnolutsky said. "Polissia Parks are in the border zone with Belarus. Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, there have been attempts to occupy them.” 

"We face many challenges, including demining territories, as well as restoring ecosystems and peatlands as part of the climate agenda. Park employees continue to preserve our nature. The new equipment from the Global Environment Facility and UNDP will be a significant support in fulfilling their tasks."

Jaco Cilliers, UNDP's Resident Representative in Ukraine, stressed the importance of supporting the institutions of the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine – particularly in terms of conservation and the restoration of ecosystems, monitoring changes in existing biodiversity, and assessing environmental damage. 

"It’s critically important for us to support the Ukrainian institutions that have the primary task of preserving and restoring natural habitats," Cilliers said. "We hope that with the quality equipment provided, the institutions of the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine will be able to work effectively, and unhindered." 

Cilliers also emphasized that the restoration of peatlands is envisaged within the framework of the UNDP-GEF project, and this work is extremely important for climate change adaptation.

The project team is already working on the formation of the next batch of necessary equipment to meet the needs of the establishments of the Nature Reserve Fund in the Polissia region, which will contribute to the preservation and monitoring of biodiversity in the context of Ukraine's green recovery.

The procurement, delivery, and transfer of equipment worth a total of almost UAH 1.5 million (or $38 155) were carried out by UNDP in Ukraine as part of the UNDP-GEF project "Promoting Sustainable Livestock Management and Ecosystem Conservation in Northern Ukraine."

Background:

UNDP’s "Promoting Sustainable Livestock Management and Ecosystem Conservation in Northern Ukraine" project, with financial support from the Global Environment Facility, will be implemented from 2022 to 2026 in seven regions of Ukraine – Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, and Chernihiv. The project will involve drawing up comprehensive sustainable land use plans, restoring peatlands, and supporting the adoption of sustainable methods of livestock production. It aims to conserve and restore natural habitats, and includes the development of a measurement, verification, and reporting system for assessing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands.

Media enquiries: Yuliia Samus, UNDP Ukraine Head of Communications; e-mail: yuliia.samus@undp.org