The territory of the Transcarpathian region is cut down by a dense network for a year, whence comes the poetic name of the region – Silver Land. All rivers of the Transcarpathian region originate in the high mountains of the Carpathians and belong to the basin of one of the largest tributaries of the Danube – the Tisza River, which is the main waterway of the region.
The average density of the river network is 1.7 km / km2. 9429 years total length of 19,86 thousand km in the region. Basically, these are small rivers, with the exception of the rivers Tisa, Borzhava, Latoritsa, and Uzh, which are more than 100 km long. The rivers Tisa, Latoritsa and Uzh are transboundary.
There are 9 reservoirs and 59 ponds in the region. The total volume of all artificial reservoirs is 60.5 million m3, the area of the water mirror is 1.56 thousand hectares. 32 Natural Lakes are high altitude lakes that play an important role in water regulation and climate formation in the region. Most of them are small water mirrors (<1 ha). The largest of them is Lake Synevyr, the area of the water mirror is 5 ha and the depth is 22 m.
The biggest problems related to aquatic ecosystems in the region are their pollution of municipal wastewater, littering of household waste, falling groundwater and runoff, resulting in sudden floods and prolonged droughts due to unstable practices in forestry and water management. change of hydrological regime of rivers through construction of hydroelectric power plants.
Projects implemented by Ecosphere NGO in the areas of Water Ecosystem Monitoring and Water Management:
| Financial support | Carpathian Foundation |
| Project name | We care about our river! |
| Sphere | Public monitoring of aquatic ecosystems, environment |
| Sphere of influence of the project | Transcarpathian region of Ukraine |
| Total budget | 5 000 € |
| Funds raised from the donor | 2 000 € |
| Duration of the project | 12 months (2001) |
| Short information about the project: | |
| Public monitoring groups have been set up to investigate water quality in the transboundary rivers Uzh and Latorica through chemical analyzes by the AcvaMerk Portable Laboratory and mapping of sources of organic pollution. Water quality studies were accompanied by studies of the biodiversity of these rivers and the identification of types of water quality indicators. The target audience was the students of Uzhhorod and Svalyava schools, for which special training sessions were also held. This work was awarded in 2002 by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine the second prize among Ukrainian public organizations in the competition “To clean sources”. | |
| Financial support | ISAR Unity |
| Project name | A publication for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems! |
| Sphere | Aquatic ecosystems, ecosystems |
| Sphere of influence of the project | Закарпатська область України |
| Total budget | $ 2 000 |
| Funds raised from the donor | $ 2 000 |
| Duration of the project | 6 months (2002) |
| Short information about the project: | |
| As part of the project, a teaching and teaching tool for teachers “Take care of our river!” in two parts. The first part sets out a series of training sessions on aquatic ecosystems. The second part describes the methodology of aquatic ecosystem research that can be carried out, even by schoolchildren. | |
| Financial support | Cross-border cooperation program HUSKROUA ENPI 2007-2013 |
| Project name | Flood Preparedness Improvement in the Berehovo Transboundary Polder System Targeting the Charonda – Latorytsia Basin |
| Sphere | Aquatic ecosystems, public monitoring, bioindication |
| Sphere of influence of the project | The Ukrainian part of the Berehovo cross-border polder system |
| Total budget | $ 22 000 |
| Funds raised from the donor | $ 20 000 |
| Duration of the project | 24 months (2012-2014) |
| Short information about the project: | |
| School monitoring groups have been formed, led by teachers of biology or chemistry, in rural schools. Monitoring groups investigated the ecological status of the Uzh, Borzhava rivers and its tributaries, as well as the ecological status of the channels of the Berehovo polder system. Biodiversity of rivers was investigated and bioindication was used to determine the quality of aquatic ecosystems. Within the framework of the project, the educational and methodological manual “Ecological studies of aquatic ecosystems” was issued, which in 2013 received the 1st prize in the category “Authors” in the All-Ukrainian competition “To clean sources”, which was conducted by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine. | |
| Financial support | European Union, NED, Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum |
| Project name | Ecosystem Approach to Hydropower: Promoting Europe’s Requirements for Hydropower Development in Eastern Europe |
| Sphere | River ecosystems, ecosystem services, ecosystem approach to nature management |
| Sphere of influence of the project | Eastern Partnership countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan) |
| Leader of the project | National Ecological Center of Ukraine (Kyiv) |
| Partner organizations of the project | Ecosphere NGO, International Ecological Association of Eco-TIRAS River Defenders (Republic of Moldova), Ecological and Cultural Non-Governmental Non-Governmental Organization “Hazer” (Republic of Armenia), Azerbaijan Ornithological Society (Republic of Azerbaijan) |
| Duration of the project | 10 months (2019) |
| Short information about the project: | |
| The project aims to identify the specific features of the ecosystem approach to energy projects, programs and plans in four EaP countries. The subject matter of the project activity is to identify key weaknesses in national practices and ways to address them. The project aims to promote the work of Working Group 3 on Environment, Climate Change and Energy Security in one of the most urgent areas – the introduction of horizontal environmental legislation in the energy field. This topic has been the focus of national civil society forums for the last several years, and recently it has taken the first position in the relevance of the WG-3.
The project envisages the full involvement of non-governmental environmental and other civil society organizations in promoting the European integration of the EaP countries through the strengthening of dialogue between civil society, national governments and the EU. An analytical review was issued as part of the project «Implementation of ecosystem approach and ecosystem services in the Eastern Partnership hydropower sector: status and challenges» and popular science publications «Ecosystem services of mountain rivers of the Ukrainian Carpathians» and «Ecosystem approach to hydropower: facilitating the implementation of European requirements for hydropower development in the EaP countries». |
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