Background and aims

There is a need to build and expand on existing integrated monitoring programmes and management planning systems for wetland ecosystems in eastern Europe including the Ukraine. Ukraine has a number of internationally important wetlands and the Carpathian mountains is one of the richest biodiversity areas in Europe. It is therefore important that Ukraine receives more attention from international research and conservation organisations. This project will provide the foundation and links to develop international efforts to safeguard wetland biodiversity in the Ukrainian Carpathians. The project aims to: i) obtain the scientific data for identifying key ecosystem indicators for wetland monitoring to inform sustainable management. This will be achieved through comparing biodiversity composition and abundance within a network of wetland sites in Ukraine, representing the range of environmental conditions affecting biota (e.g. managed and neglected sites); ii) increase the capacity and practical knowledge for management planning among Ukrainian partners. Monitoring is an integral part of land management and combining these two areas of work together will provide Ukrainian partners with a powerful tool to inform long-term biodiversity conservation action planning for this country.

Purpose and outputs

A key purpose of this project is to: a) identify monitoring indicators and implement a monitoring programme based on the participation of expert and amateur recorders. The output from this will include the dissemination of indicator information and monitoring methods, as well as the establishment of a network of monitoring sites for long-term use by stakeholders beyond the life of the Darwin project;
A further key purpose and output is to: b) prepare and disseminate management plans using an ecosystem based approach through stakeholder involvement to promote sustainable, landscape-scale wetland management and monitoring within, and through, the Ukrainian Ministry of the Environment and to other decision makers.