New Film: Protecting the Carpathians

Global Conservation has supported the creation of a new short film, Protecting the Carpathians".  Read on for an introduction to Carpathian National Nature Park, and to see the film's script.

CNNP Overview

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). As of 2020, the CNNP Protection Program (CFPP) covers 515.7 km2 (51,570 ha) of directly protected forest in the Carpathian National Nature Park. 

The park conserves at least 51 mammal species, 110 birds, 12 fish species, 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 lynxes, and European mink. 

CNNP alone contains 1,100 vascular plant species, 35 of which are endemic to the region, and 75 of which are listed in Ukraine’s Red Book of endangered plants. One of the most distinctive features of CNNP is relict patches of Scots pine, Swiss pine, and European white birch. 600 ha of spruce and beech primeval forests are also protected here. 

The park is located on the north-eastern slopes of the Ukrainian Carpathians from 500-2061 m above sea level. The Prut river merges with tributaries which flow down the mountainsides: the Zhenets, the Zhonka, and the Kamyanka. High above the Prut lie steep crags capped by alpine meadows, where wild narcissus, Carpathian crocus, and wolf’s bane burst into white, yellow, and purple-blue blooms in the spring. Mount Hoverla (2,061m), the tallest mountain in Ukraine, lies within the Carpathian National Nature Park and the neighboring Carpathian Biosphere Reserve.

Script: Protecting the Carpathians

A beacon for wildlife conservation and ecological restoration. A last bastion for pristine forests and endangered species in Europe. A vast wilderness that will be protected for future generations. All of these things describe the Carpathian National Nature Park, whose employees, despite great difficulties and weak legislation, remain at the forefront of environmental protection. Often, they put their own safety at risk to protect ancient forests, patrolling the wilderness to arrest poachers and illegal loggers. They work to preserve the unique biodiversity of the Carpathians’ fragile ecosystem, which has endured significant human disturbance in recent decades.

The oldest park in Ukraine, Carpathian National Park still remains one of the country’s most popular places to visit. Hoverla, Shpytsi, Prut springs, stunning waterfalls and primeval spruce forests - all of these beautiful sights are concentrated in an area of just over 50 thousand hectares. Here you can also meet bears and rare lynxes, and red deer coexist closely with predatory wolves. 

Locals have always appreciated the richness of the forest and its many gifts. However, as the human population grows, so do the threats to the forest. 

The Carpathians suffer from large-scale unauthorized logging, hunting of rare Red-listed animals, commercial development, river pollution and damage to the upper layers of the soil by vehicles. This is not even a complete list of threats, and it is becoming difficult to subdue these human pressures. However, the park staff conducts educational and outreach activities to stop these destructive forces, advocating for the expansion of the park’s boundaries and increased penalties for violating environmental legislation.

The improvement of the regulatory framework and the implementation of international programs for nature conservation have led to strengthened controls and increased responsibility for damage to nature. One of the most important steps has been cooperation with the international environmental organization Global Conservation.

Already, the park is in its second year of collaboration with Global Conservation, which is currently implementing its "Global Park Defense" program. Global Conservation has funded new rangers and set up a command post, and rangers have been equipped with cutting-edge technology for monitoring and recording potential violations. So that they can more easily patrol the park’s vast forests, Global Conservation has provided rangers with all-terrain vehicles. Now, human disturbance in the park is closely monitored, and any cases of unauthorized logging and poaching are immediately stopped. In less than two years, rangers have managed to reduce the total number of violations in the park.

Global Conservation is also working with park authorities on a program to expand the boundaries of the national park. In the future, they aim to create a "Greater Carpathians Park", which will unite all of the parks in the region to protect the entire ecosystem. This will be a zone of zero human intervention, and local people will benefit from ecotourism and ecosystem services. Preservation of this unique landscape will attract hundreds of thousands of tourists, both domestic and from abroad.

To achieve this goal, Global Conservation is also involved in environmental education projects. In particular, they financed the publication of a children’s book about the underground world of the Carpathians by Olena Slobodyan, a zoologist at the Carpathian National Park. The book advocates for safeguarding even the smallest forest dwellers, on which the stability of the ecosystem as a whole depends.

You, too, can get involved in preserving this exceptional ecosystem for future generations. 

If you’d like to help protect the Carpathians and other unique wildernesses around the world, please visit GlobalConservation.com.