The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources approved the petition to create the Vilny Svidovets nature reserve in Transcarpathia, where a ski mega-resort was planned to be built.
The next steps to protect the mountain range will be an agreement with the state enterprise Forests of Ukraine and local village councils, the Free Svydovets community on Facebook reports.
Eco-activists emphasized that it is the Ministry of the Environment that should receive approval, but the agency redirected this work to the Zakarpattia OVA.
"Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the Zakarpattia OVA, which supports the destruction of Svidovets for the construction of a mega-resort, will work on the creation of a nature reserve. Therefore, it is extremely important that the Ministry of Environment does not remove itself and is actively involved in the work," they said.
It is noted that biologists propose to include high-alpine meadows of the main Svydovets ridge, its spurs, as well as adjacent high-altitude forests and the Stanislav River to the Free Svidovets nature reserve.
Ecoactivists emphasized that 122 species of rare vascular plants were found in these territories. The peculiarity of the territory is ancient forests and primeval forests, the preservation of which is one of the main environmental protection priorities in Ukraine.
"We hope that the Ministry of Environment's participation in the protection of Svidovets will not be limited to the approval of the petition. After all, the preservation of Svidovets is a priority for more than 25,000 Ukrainians who signed a petition for the creation of a nature reserve, to which the president has already responded," they said.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that eco-activists opposed the planned construction of the Svydovets ski mega-resort in Transcarpathia. Such a construction will violate 4 international environmental treaties signed by Ukraine, and will destroy dozens of species of Red Book animals and plants.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, in the Carpathians, the Bukovel company of the odious oligarch Igor Kolomoisky plans to build 3 megaresorts, namely Svydovets, Bystrytsia and Turbat, with a size of 1,400 hectares. The company can start construction work as early as 2023.
