In November 2024, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources (Min dovkillia) refused to approve a permit for peat extraction in the Pivnichno-Mainychska area, citing a negative impact on water resources.
However, in February 2025, the Ministry granted this approval, even though the boundaries of the plot had not changed. Why? Did the threat of a negative impact simply disappear?
Moreover, this plot is located in the Dniester River floodplain in the Lviv region. This area was once considered for the establishment of the “Dnistrovsko-Chaikovytskyi” National Nature Park. Now, even without the peat extraction, agribusinesses are finishing off what remains of its natural environment by deepening drainage canals, uprooting forests, and turning the entire territory into farmland.
The Ministry has the power to stop this by developing a new resolution on the use of peatlands and by ceasing to approve peat extraction.
Our Appeal
We’ve prepared and attached our comments and proposal regarding the Pivnichno-Mainychska plot, located in the Sambir district of the Lviv region. The document details our objections to including this area in the list of subsoil plots for auction, as it is intended for geological study, including pilot industrial development and subsequent industrial extraction of peat.
This publication was prepared as part of the project “Nature-Based Solutions in the Restoration of Wetlands for Biodiversity, Improved Water Quality and Climate Change Prevention.” The project is being implemented in partnership with Snowchange Cooperative (Finland) and Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków (Poland) and is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM).
