Methodological recommendations for declaring nature reserves, natural monuments and protected tracts to improve the formation of the ecological network of Ukraine

As part of the project “Preservation of the Irpin River Floodplain as an Important Element of Irpin’s Restoration Based on Green Principles,” the Ukrainian Ecological Club Green Wave has developed Guidelines for Declaring Nature Reserves, Natural Monuments, and Protected Areas to Improve the Formation of Ukraine’s Ecological Network.

The manual was prepared based on the requirements of the Laws of Ukraine “On Environmental Protection”, “On the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine”, “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, “On the Red Book of Ukraine”, “On the National Program for the Formation of the National Ecological Network of Ukraine”, “Land Code of Ukraine”, “Water Code of Ukraine”, “Convention on Biological Diversity”, “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”.

It covers the issues of the regulatory framework for the declaration and functioning of nature reserves, natural monuments, protected tracts and their classification depending on the characteristics, purpose and required protection regime;
international criteria and requirements for the declaration of protected areas;
compliance of the categories of the nature reserve fund of Ukraine (reserves, natural monuments, protected tracts) with the international classification.
criteria for assessing the state of territories and the state of biodiversity;
criteria for assessing landscapes;
the procedure for declaring reserves, natural monuments and protected tracts, etc.

The methodological recommendations are offered to help environmental NGOs, scientific institutions, and individuals.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Center for Environmental Initiatives “Ecodia” with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of the International Climate Initiative (ICI) project “Strengthening Civil Society in National Climate Policy Implementation”.