Promoting the protected area system in Ukraine

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The project supports the preservation of biodiversity, natural resources and environmental services in Ukraine, which, given its size, has a disproportionate share of biodiversity in Europe. It aims to improve the management and effectiveness of selected protected areas in Ukraine and thus also increase the acceptance of the areas among the local population or to maintain it at a high level (module objective). The project sponsor is to be the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine (MENR). The sponsor is to receive 20 million euros from FC funds (14 million euros in current commitments plus 6 million euros in reserves), with the investment needs in the protected area sector in Ukraine far exceeding the currently available commitments. The target group of the project is, on the one hand, the staff of the selected protected areas, who benefit from investments in infrastructure, equipment and better training. On the other hand, the residents of the surrounding communities are part of the target group. They are to be involved in the planning and management of protected areas and benefit from selected investments in socio-economic measures in the area surrounding the protected areas. The project supports eight selected protected areas in the preparation of the necessary planning documents and the provision of the necessary infrastructure, equipment and trained personnel (Services 1 and 2). The local population in the vicinity of the selected protected areas is involved in the planning and benefits from investments in socio-economic measures, which should increase their acceptance of the protected areas (Service 3). At the national level, investments are made if they are directly relevant to the functioning of the selected protected areas and make an important contribution to the program objective (Service 4).