The Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) recently announced the sale of 494 land plots in the Zakarpattia region. Some of these plots are located on the Borzhava mountain valley, a unique area in the Ukrainian Carpathians. The lands were privatized through a scheme by the former head of the State Investment Agency and Zakarpattia Regional Council deputy, Vladyslav Kaskiv. Due to these illegal actions, the lands were seized as part of a criminal investigation and transferred to ARMA for sale.
The Borzhava mountain valley (polonyna Borzhava) is a unique part of the Ukrainian Carpathians, home to dozens of species listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. The Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has already prepared and submitted a petition for the establishment of a protected area—the “Borzhavski Polonyny” Regional Landscape Park. The territory of the mountain valley is also part of the Emerald Network. Development would lead to the loss of habitats for these species.
Since 2017, environmentalists have been actively defending Borzhava from development. Recently, the prosecutor’s office won a lawsuit against a wind farm project on Borzhava. The Western Appellate Court found the actions of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (Derzhheokadastr) officials illegal and canceled the orders to transfer 54 plots to a Turkish company for the construction of 34 wind turbines. Thanks to this ruling, the land was returned to the community.
Now, a new threat has emerged: the construction of a large-scale resort.
We support the development of tourism in the Carpathians but believe that Borzhava must remain a wild nature area. No new construction in the highlands is acceptable, both from a nature conservation perspective and in accordance with environmental protection laws.
However, there is a risk that the buyers of these plots could pressure authorities to obtain development permits, hiding behind the status of “investors” or “bona fide buyers.”
Therefore, we have appealed to ARMA and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources (Min dovkillia), asking them to consider mechanisms to protect the natural territories of Borzhava from development and preserve its unique ecosystem.
