Carpathian National Nature Park Progress 2021
Carpathian National Nature Park (CNNP) is Ukraine’s first and largest national park and the largest protected area in the Carpathian region. It was established in 1980 and spans 515.7 km2 (51,570 ha). The park conserves at least 51 mammal species, 110 birds, 12 fish, 10 amphibians, and 6 reptile species. Of these, 76 are listed in the IUCN or Ukrainian Red Data Books of endangered species, including brown bear, wolf, Eurasian otter, Eurasian lynx, and European mink.
In 2021, Global Conservation and our partners made substantial progress in improving park and wildlife protection for CNNP by deploying Global Park Defense, as well as initating biodiversity monitoring of critically endangered species like the European Mink.
As a developing economic region, bringing jobs, businesses and economic opportunities for local communities is paramount in taking pressure away from the national parks in terms of hunting, poaching and illegal logging by locals in search of food and forest resources like timber.
Logging is one of the greatest threats to the Carpathian National Nature Park and the surrounding old-growth forests
We are working with the national, local and regional governments, and local communities to increase the focus on nature protection and the expansion of the national park and its buffer zones.
By highlighting the multi-million dollar opportunity for nature and cultural tourism in the coming years, we are presenting a bright future that is less reliant on forest extraction and destruction. Because we are protecting the wildlife and old growth forests, visitors will experience an area unlike any in Western Europe, which is now largely devoid of wilderness.
A Eurasian lynx in Carpathian National Nature Park, Ukraine. The lynx is one of the park's rare and endangered species.
Progress in 2020-2021
Park and Wildlife Protection
Global Conservation has financed the rollout of SMART systems in CNNP. Thirty-five cellular trailcams have already been deployed to monitor CNNP's trails for illegal poaching and logging. We are focusing surveillance on high-threat areas.
A new truck and equipment has enabled an incrrease in thte area patrolled, and the first formal agreement between CNNP and the local police has resulted in one officer being dedicated to investigating criminal activity in the park. Already, arrests were made of two people involved in large scale illegal logging with in the national park.
Setting up Global Park Defense in Carpathians National Nature Park.
In 2019-2020, we accomplished three main objectives:
Training of 70 park rangers and increasing patrol coverage and frequency to increase capacity and reduce illegal activity in the area.
Increasing rapid response and monitoring capacity in the areas with high wildlife poaching and illegal cutting incidents. We are increasing the use of threat monitoring technology (i.e., cellular trailcams, GPS trackers) and increasing the efficiency of the existing SMART patrol teams in CNNP.
Mapping the Greater Carpathians Ecosystem with the eventual goal of expanding the national park and connecting adjacent protected areas.
Global Conservation has supported CNNP in the deployment of Global Park Defense, creation of a new command center, developing a protection strategy, and ongoing capacity building.
CNNP staff have been trained in SMART systems for efficient park and wildlife protection.
Summary of Performance, 2021
9 Response Interdictions
6 Arrests
4 Confiscations
16 Talks/Warnings
3 Prosecutions
780 Kilometers of Vehicle Patrols
2000 Kilometers of Foot Patrols
3 Cases with Police Cooperattion
Setting up a cellular trail camera in CNNP.
Hoverla Cleanup
Until this year, the main entrance to Hoverla and the mountain trails to the summit had no solid waste or sewage system. With over 30,000 people ascending Ukraine’s tallest mountain each summer, this left large amounts of trash and human excrement on the trails and in the woods leading up to the summit.
Over the past several months, our partners have been working to improve the waste management systems on Hoverla and to clean up the pollution that has been building up over the last years.
Dozens of park staff and local community members participated in the clean-ups that removed trash from the slopes of Mount Hoverla.
Global Conservation funded two major clean-ups and education programs, called “Save Hoverla!”, working with the local communities and the park rangers. Additionally, with our funding, solid waste and recycling systems were installed for the first time.
Our partners also installed the first sewage systems for processing toilet outflows for 30,000+ visitors, consisting of BioFilter purification equipment with a capacity of 3.0 m³ / day. This technology uses microorganisms to break down sewage, a very effective and low-cost treatment method.
CNNP staff installed sewage systems to accommodate visitors to CNNP.
Equipment
As part of our Global Park Defense deployment at Carpathians National Park in Ukraine, Global Conservation has provided critical equipment. GC is focused on the deployment of Global Park Defense against wildlife poaching and illegal logging. We are providing equipment, systems, technologies and training to improve the effectiveness of park administration and park rangers. We have supported the work of the rangers by purchasing the vehicle, camera traps, GPS's, smart phones, and software for mapping.
Global Conservation has provided gear and equipment to improve park and wildlife protection.
Global Conservation is also supporting the mapping and legislative work needed to expand and connect existing parks and forest areas into a large Greater Carpathian National Park for potential UNESCO World Heritage designation.
Cellular trail cameras and GPS unnits are key to Global Park Defense.
The CNNP rangers are working hard to counter wildlife poaching and illegal logging, responding quickly to illegal activities in CNNP. Rangers are on patrol every day of the year. Their tireless work has been effective in strengthening law enforcement and cracking down on illegal logging and poaching networks. Ranger patrolling is conducted from 12 ranger stations. Each station has a patrol quadrant that ranges from 4,000 ha to 8,000 ha.
CNNP rangers inn new uniforms financed by Global Conservation.
Tourism Development
Up to now, tourism in CNNP has been concentrated in Yaremche and the Bukovel Ski Area, with over 2 million visitors a year. Our goal is to replicate success in a new center for nature and cultural tourism in Verkovenya, the heart of the Carpathians, without the over-development, large hotels, and billboards scarring the view and visitor experience. We are aiming for an authentic experience of the natural and cultural world of the Carpathians, perhaps one of the most intact cultures in Europe.
The cultural history of the Carpathians region is rich.
Working with CNNP authorities, local and regional governments, and the local community leaders, Global Conservation and its partner – ForestCom, led by Dima Karabchuk – are conducting an inclusive planning process to share ideas for best practices, protection of cultural and natural benefits, and urban and rural landscape and viewscape protection.
Verkhovyna, which means "Highland Place", is home to the Painted Stones, one of Ukraine's most important cultural/natural heritage sites located in the Hutsul region of the Carpathian Mountains. Activities include cultural tourism, mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, thermal spas, and food and adventure tourism.
Verkhovyna Tourism Hub
Verkhovyna is a central hub to the best of the Carpathians nature and cultural tourism, including the best preserved forests, villages and Hutsul cultural heritage. Verkhovyna is already a growing tourist center in Western Ukraine, hosting visitors to Horvela, Ukraine’s largest mountain, and three national parks - CNNP, Hutsulshchyna and Verkhovyna, and the Painted Stones nature monument.
Global Conservation will provide financial marketing support for three of the best operators for lodging, tours, biking, and exploring in Verkhovyna. GC will also provide support for the development of a regional guidebook for all tourism opportunities, the new tourism center at the Painted Stones, and improvement of transportation options and touring opportunities in the Greater Verkhovyna Region.
ForestCom has selected the three best national park gateways in cooperation with local and national park authorities and Ukraine’s Ministry of Environment. ForestCom will directly supervise the construction and opening of 1) East Hoverla Gateway, Carpathian National Nature Park, and 2) Perkalaba Gateway, Verkhovyna National Nature Park.
Each visitor center will provide orientation and park history, as well as tourism maps and information. Roads will be improved by local governments including parking, and there will be restrooms, landscaping, and outdoor furniture. Orientation and information stands will discuss biodiversity and conservation in the Carpathians and their role in protecting against climate change; tree types and species richness; old-growth forests; sustainable use of forest resources including collection of berries and mushrooms; sheep and cattle herding; and more. Hiking trails should be two types – one of approximately 2 km, available for easy access with orientation signage, and a second larger trail network of up to 10 km.
The Painted Stones
The Painted Stones is famous for petroglyphs, the oldest of which belongs to the era of Kievan Rus. These signs and symbols are used in modern day Hutsul ornaments. Famous Ukrainian writers Ivan Franko, Lesia Ukrainka, Myhailo Kotsyubynsky all loved to spend their time here.
The Painted Stones will be legally gazetted and zoned into the Verkhovyna National Nature Park or into another form of protection of national significance. The Ministry of Environment is supporting this enhanced protection and responsible development of a major visitor site and managed trail network to visit the Painted Stones. Over $2 million has been budgeted by national and local governments. Global Conservation is funding completion of the Architectural and Structural Plans and Environmental Impact Study.
Plans for the new visitor center.
World-class national park gateways promote nature-based tourism, providing safe access and basic facilities for sustainable tourism while informing visitors of regulations (fishing, hunting, noise, littering, etc.). These gateways provide critical visitor information (maps, trail routes, history, etc.) and visitor infrastructure including a visitor center, park entrance and parking, clearly-marked trail networks, garbage management, and restrooms. This project aims to improve cooperation and dialog between conservation institutions, local communities, and responsible state government institutions.
Conservation Education
All schools and libraries within and around Carpathian National Nature Park are receiving videos and books on the importance of the national park and its wildlife and forests. Over 200 communities are receiving the new book – "Carpathian Underworld" – a pop-up 3D book showing the wonders of the ecosystems, cycles of life and insects, funghi, and animals of the grasslands and forest understory.
Sponsored by the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Mrs. Eva-Marie Melchor and Global Conservation, the author, Dr. Olena Slobodian – born and raised in the Carpathians – builds a compelling case for children to understand and respect the power of life and rebirth under the leaves and roots of the forest.
Furthermore, our new film, Queen of the Carpathians, tells the story of a young woman realizing that the future health of her homeland is at risk, leading her to build support for greater protection of her Carpathians.
Biodiversity Monitoring
One of the most iconic endangered species of the Carpathians is the European mink. With only a few scattered upland habitats remaining for its survival, protection of its habitats – primarily upland creeks with pure water and fish stocks – is paramount.
The European mink is one of the most endangered mammals in Europe and Ukraine. Its range has been reduced by over 85% since the mid 19th century. The remaining population is small, fragmented, and declining, with the most viable Western European population located in the Danube Delta. Everywhere else, the populations of European mink are vanishing or becoming increasingly fragmented and localized.
A critically endangered European mink.
The main threats to the European Mink are habitat loss and degradation, overexploitation, illegal hunting, and impact of invasive species, such as the American mink. In Europe, human activities have resulted in large-scale alteration of landscapes, environmental change, and disturbance which has had a substantial impact on its habitat.
This species is legally protected in all of the areas it inhabits, except Russia. National and regional authorities need to increase attention and allocate sufficient and continued resources for European mink conservation to prevent this species from disappearing.
© Tiit Maran
European Mink (Mustela lutreola)
Status IUCN: Critically Endangered
Population: Less than 1600 individuals; less than 100 in Ukraine
Threats: Habitat loss, illegal hunting, and the invasive American mink species
Trend: Decreasing, from 20,000 in 2003 to ~1,000-1,500 in 2014
We are supporting the Carpathian National Nature Park with the following objectives:
To improve and strengthen the collaboration between different on-going conservation activities.
To monitor and control the invasive mink populations that are currently threatening the European mink species.
To establish large-scale coordinated efforts to secure the survival of the last small remaining populations in different areas inside of their historical range.
Monitoring Results
The project team is conducting a scientific survey to determine population status, habitat assessment, distribution, and abundance of European mink in the Carpathian region. Fifteen camera traps were installed in the project area.
After intensive studies in 2020-2021, our partners have determined that the mink occurs at the top of the Prut and Black Cheremosh basins as well as tributaries of the Prut basin (Stavivsky, Kamyanka, Pigy streams). The population in the Prut is limited to 3-5 pairs, the upper reaches of the Black Cheremosh to 1-3 pairs, and other streams 7-9 pairs. A total of up to 20 pairs (40 individuals) is estimated in the study area.
The team also discovered that, fortunately, the American mink has not reached CNNP and is therefore not a threat in this area.
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