Conservation organisations, environmentalists and scientists continue, bit by bit, to defend Ukraine’s natural environment, which has not yet been defaced by human activity. The process of establishing nature reserves involves lengthy procedures, yet ultimately more and more nature reserves and natural monuments are still emerging across Ukraine.
EcoPolitic has compiled information on valuable ecosystems that have recently been granted the appropriate protected status.
Despite the devastating impact of the war, efforts are being made in the Kherson region to preserve fragments of its intact and diverse natural environment. Five new nature reserve sites have recently been established in the region.
According to the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG), four burial mounds in the Beryslav community have been granted protected status: ‘Tavanska Storozha’, ‘Shirbskyi Dozor’, ‘Dzhyzyl Velykyi’ and ‘Dzhyzyl Malyi’. They have been designated as botanical natural monuments and established to protect the near-pristine steppe and rare plant species.
A botanical reserve, “Karl Falz-Fein’s Ivanivka Estate”, has also been established in the region. This nature reserve covers an area of over 294 hectares and is located in the Borozens’ka community.
Source: UNCG
In Chernivtsi region, more than 250 ha of natural forests and quasi-pristine forests have also been placed under protection. The latter are areas where human impact was minimal, allowing both species composition and natural structure to remain intact.
These plots are located in the mountainous Putylskyi forestry district. Although these are hard-to-reach territories, they preserve all the forest's biodiversity. Juniper woodland here is complemented by diverse flora and fauna, including Red Data Book species.
As added by SE “Forests of Ukraine”, foresters had been protecting these territories since 2019. Their inclusion in the nature reserve fund was based on studies and conclusions reached jointly with scientists and the Ecology Department of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration.
Source: SE “Forests of Ukraine”
Part of the Malechiv Forest in Lviv region has also been placed under protection. This decision by the local regional administration concerns 56 ha of land. The “Teren” organisation began working to conserve it back in 2025 to provide justification for creating a conservation site, searching for Red Data Book species. The site will receive additional protection through the creation of the “Khomychevi Pagorby” sanctuary, for which the Lviv City Council has already prepared the necessary documentation.
In Rivne region, the Sheykhceriyeve Bog, covering nearly 108 ha, will receive appropriate protection – this is one of the most valuable wetland ecosystems of Ukrainian Polissia. The area is home to rare plant species listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, including Scheuchzeria palustris, Salix myrtilloides, and Dactylorhiza incarnata.
The area was granted protected status on the initiative of WWF-Ukraine. Experts emphasise that the conservation of such natural complexes will help to preserve unique biodiversity, protect rare species from human impact and maintain the natural balance of the Polissya ecosystems.
Sometimes the establishment of nature conservation areas encounters opposition from local authorities. EcoPolitics reported that in Kharkiv region, the creation of six landscape reserves was denied. Environmental activists are convinced that this constitutes a violation of the Law "On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine", as the regional administration neither approved any of the petitions nor provided comments.
