On Wednesday, 22 July, a group of people attempted to disrupt the operations of the Environmental Control Post in the town of Yaremche. According to environmental inspectors, the group included individuals involved in organising ‘jeep tours’, which are prohibited under Ukrainian law.
The State Environmental Inspectorate of the Carpathian District reported that the incident occurred following joint operations with the police aimed at tackling breaches of environmental protection regulations.
The offenders are outraged by the work of the regulatory authorities
According to the State Environmental Inspectorate, one of the aims of the gathering was to demand the regulation of vehicle access through the nature reserve area.
This was the response of those involved in the unlawful activities to the joint operations carried out on 21 July by regional representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate, staff of the Carpathian National Nature Park and Police Station No. 1 of the Nadvirna District Police Department. The aim was, in fact, to combat off-roading – to identify, document and put a stop to such violations.
The State Environmental Inspectorate emphasises that such raids fall within the institution’s remit, and that the passage of vehicles through nature reserves constitutes a breach of Ukrainian law.
Scope of Offenses
The Carpathian branch of the SEI has already conducted six state environmental inspections since the beginning of the year, identifying seven cases of jeep tourism. Administrative protocols have been drawn up against the violators, and the court is currently reviewing them. The calculated damage from just these cases amounted to nearly 42,000 UAH.
Environmental inspectors have also received 14 complaints regarding similar violations. The environmental damage caused by them is approximately 1.4 million UAH.
The Ministry of Economy once again reminds: jeep tourism is a violation of the Law of Ukraine “On the Nature Reserve Fund.” Liability is stipulated under Article 91 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses.
“Protected areas are established to preserve nature, not for illegal extreme tourism. We will continue to strengthen controls to ensure such violations do not become commonplace for citizens,” emphasized Deputy Minister Oleksandr Krasnolutskyi.
Ambiguous Position of the Local Authorities
The mayor of Yaremche appears to be against jeep tourism, but not categorically. He refers to the influx of tourists and the popularity of this leisure activity among them.
Andriy Myronyak acknowledges that nature is harmed when vehicles drive over the vegetation. He also admits the illegality of this form of earning money. However, instead of an outright ban, the mayor of Yaremche proposes regulating the issue-by developing infrastructure, designating stopping points, cleaning the area, and most importantly, making the operation of jeep tour organizers subject to oversight.
Whether “developing infrastructure” actually implies building roads through protected areas solely for the purpose of making money from tourists-the post does not clarify.
The city mayor also noted that “this area requires legislative regulation.” Recall that the issue is already “regulated” – the movement of vehicles within the territory of nature reserves is prohibited. Exceptions exist for representatives of national parks and government agencies, as well as for local residents within buffer and management zones. EcoPolitic reported that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, signed Law of Ukraine No. 4188-IX “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine 'On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine'” as early as February 2025.
Due to the severity of the problem, the Ministry of Economy reported about intensified patrols at nature reserve sites and an active review of reports regarding environmental violations.
National parks are also seeking additional tools to prevent vehicles from entering their territories. At “Synevyr,” hidden photo and video traps have been installed on popular illegal routes, and in “Mali Polissia,” roads have been blocked with barriers.
EcoPolitics provided a detailed account of the catastrophic impact of jeep tours on the Carpathians in a separate article.
