Photo by Pavlo Romanov
One of the main objects of our attention is grassy ecosystems – steppes and meadows. They once occupied most of Ukraine’s land area, but people have plowed almost all of them, turning our country into the most cultivated country in Europe. No more than 3% of the steppes and meadows remain. Nearly half of the species diversity of Ukrainian nature is preserved in these last patches of natural habitats. One-third of Ukraine’s endangered plant and animal species are found in the steppes alone.
The rapid destruction of these ecosystems continues. They are still being given away for agriculture, plowed up, quarries and ponds are being created in their place, and invasive tree species are being planted. And that’s not to mention the losses that are being added to the damage caused by the fighting. Grassland ecosystems are becoming less and less every day, and preserving them is an important and timely task.
Creating protected areas
We are trying to include the most valuable areas without a protected status in the nature reserve fund. To do this, we survey steppes and meadows, collect databases on the biodiversity of such areas, and cooperate with scientists from different regions of Ukraine. Over the past ten years, we have protected nearly 37,000 hectares of steppes and meadows in different regions.
Preventing plowing
We monitor cases of illegal plowing of steppes and meadows during expeditions and using satellite images; we also contact law enforcement agencies. As a result of such appeals, criminal proceedings are opened, and lawsuits are initiated.
Preventing steppe deforestation
An urgent problem is the desire of foresters to use budget funds to plant invasive tree species in steppe areas. This is done solely to justify staff maintenance in a region without forest or forestry activities. As a result, thousands of hectares of steppe are plowed for demonstrative tree planting – the steppes are destroyed, and forests are no longer there. We are working to ensure that no areas of natural ecosystems, especially steppes, are allocated for planting new forests.
Legal status of steppes and meadows
One of our goals is to obtain a legal status for steppes and meadows that will protect them from development. So far, we have successfully introduced the “steppe and meadow areas” concept in the legislation. The next step is to develop a methodology for their identification and restrictions on their development.