Almost every country in the world has bird sanctuaries where favourable conditions are provided for birds to feed, nest, and overwinter. These sites have proven effective because they successfully combine bird protection, scientific research and development of sustainable forms of tourism without causing harm to birds.
The bird sanctuaries of Europe, Africa, South America, North America, Asia, and Australia offer unique habitats, seasonal features and opportunity to observe rare bird species. They have long been important nature conservation and tourism locations in the world.
Ukraine also has a rich nature reserve fund, which includes 23 bird sanctuaries of national importance and 104 of local importance. In Zakarpattia region, unfortunately, there are only two such areas: the bird sanctuary of national importance «Sokolovi skeli», located in forests below the Runа meadow, and the bird sanctuary of local importance «Tovar», located near the city of Berehovo.
The establishment of new protected areas is not particularly welcomed by local communities today, primarily because protected areas are perceived as territories where economic activities are subject to restrictions. And restrictions are something no one likes. However, any disadvantage can always be turned into an advantage if protected areas are managed properly.
The NGO «Ecosphere» promotes the sustainable development of local communities through the effective use of the benefits provided by protected areas. The foundation of such development is not the restrictions imposed by the protected status of a nature conservation facility, but the new opportunities that become available to the community through the establishment of a new protected area. In the case of bird sanctuaries, this advantage is birds, which always attract people – birdwatchers.
Birdwatching is one of the most nature-friendly forms of sustainable tourism, rapidly developing around the world and only now starting its development in Ukraine. New and interesting birdwatching destinations therefore automatically become magnets for thousands of birdwatchers eager for new adventures, new sightings and photographic trophies.
Although birdwatching has been popular around the world for many decades, particularly in North America and Western Europe, and is a widespread form of ecotourism that generates significant income for local communities, it is still not very well developed in Ukraine. There are only few specially well-equipped, modern and infrastructural sites for birdwatching.
Today, specialists from the NGO «Ecosphere» are working on creating the conditions for creating two new bird sanctuaries on the transformed wetlands of Fornosh and Salva. We plan to develop here the first birdwatching infrastructure in the region, which can be fully utilized by the Mukachevo territorial community (the villages of Barbovo, Makarovo, Fornosh and Dertsen) and the Vynohradiv territorial community. Because protected sites where birds, including very rare species, gather in large numbers will attract birdwatchers, creating opportunities for the development of new tourist destinations and jobs in Zakarpattia’s villages while providing an impetus for the growth of the local economy.
This project is supported by the IKI Small Grants programme strengthening local solutions for effective climate and biodiversity action. IKI Small Grants is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) and is run by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is part of Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI).
