On the 8th of September the regional conference "Large Mammalia of the Carpathians" took place in Ivano-Frankivsk. This conference was organized by ecological organization Association "Our Home" and supported by the "Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation",

Regional administration of forest economy ,UkrNII "Girlis" (the Institute of scientific investigations of mountain forests ), UTMR (Ukrainian organization of hunters and fishers), and Polish "Association for nature Wolf". More than 60 participants came at this conference. Among them were representatives of Lviv, Chernivtsi, Ternopol, Slovakia, and Poland. The reports were sent by scientists from Carpathian regions ,Zaporizhzhia, Melitopol, Zhitomir and Tsuriupinsk.

The participants expressed their concern about the catastrophic reducing of animal's number. The notable reducing of scientific investigations, the decline of Ukrainian "Organization of Hunters and Fishers" and the increasing of the role of commercial hunting economies were also mentioned. The poaching and the destroying of the natural Carpathian environment were named as the main reasons of reducing of hunting funds .

Concrete recommendations were formulated by the working groups. So such decisions as necessity of brown bear's entering to the Red Book of Ukraine, the creation of the regional plan of preserving of big mammalia, the spread of zoological reservation's net were confirmed. The resolution is added.

On the 9th.and 10th. of September the seminar "The Role of Non Governmental Organizations in Nature Protective Programs in the Carpathians" took place in Kosiv. At this seminar and at working meetings some useful agreements appeared among the Ukrainian, Slovakian and Polish ecologists. On the 11th of September Sabina Nowak (Polish Association "Wolf") gave the lecture to the students-biologists in Pricarpathian University .The lecture was about ecological importance of the wolf. Association "Our Home" is working at embodying of decisions which were adopted during this ecological marathon.

We invite you to cooperate with us. All the materials about the conference you can get to the address: 76022 Ivano-Frankivsk, Hotkewich str. 50/2 room 28 tel.0342/551019

Email <ourhome@il.if.ua>

THE RESOLUTION OF
THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
« LARGE MAMMAL OF CARPATHIANS »
WHICH WAS HELD ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2000
IN ONE @. IVANO-FRANKIVSK

Having heard the announced reports of the professor Bondarenko ( Lvov Foresttechnical University) and leading scientific employee UkrNII «Girlis» Gunchac M.S., announced speeches of the participants, having familiarized with the reports, after discussion in working groups the participants express concern by a condition of the wild fauna in the Ukrainian Carpathians and assert the following:

According to the official data the number of all kinds of wild hoof animals (Bison bonasus Linnaeus, Alces alces Linnaeus, Sus scrofa Linnaeus, Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus), bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus) and lynx (Felis lynx Linnaeus) in the Ukrainian Carpathians is extremely low and it goes on reducing. The population of the lamb (Alces alces) has practically disappeared. The data about the increase of number of the wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus) are inconsistent.

A poaching, an anthropogenous changes of vegetative structure of a forest and natural factors are named as the reasons of change of number of animals.

These negative processes are promoted by absence of necessary system and long-term scientific researches of the large mammal of Carpathian region. Any scientific establishment doesn't coordinate the scientific researches, interregional and interstate informational exchange. The low regulation, in a part, which touches upon the fauna, stays imperfect. The economic legislation puts UTMR (Ukrainian organization of hunters) in conditions of necessity of radical reorganization of its activity. The increase in Carpathian region of a role of the public nature protection initiatives, the appearance new non governmental organizations, expansion of a non governmental informational network, adjustment of transcarpathion exchanges and cooperation are marked as a positive aspect. Commercial hunting facilities and hunting clubs are the new organizational forms of usage of hunting fauna. Their role in the preserving of animals is poorly investigated yet. In an estimation and interpretation of separate problems the participants have not reached the complete consent and have decided the following:

1. To consider the decrease of number large mammalia in the Ukrainian Carpathians to be the catastrophic phenomenon.
2. To consider bison (Bison bonasus) to be desired kind in Carpathians, to expand works on its settling and to appropriate to it the dual status: 1) protected kind in territory of reservations and their buffer zones; 2) maintained kind in territory hunting areas by way of illumination intended to selection according to the specially authorized central body of the executive authority in branch of the hunting facilities. (Gunchac M. S.)
3. Not to change the nature protection status of the bison (Bison bonasus) (Association "our House")
4. To recognize, that the bear (Ursus arctos) and the lynx (Felis lynx) in Carpathians require the profound attention and protection. To lift a question on entering the bear brown (Ursus arctos) in the Red book of Ukraine. In places of moving of the lynx to limit a hunt on Capreolus capreolus. To expand a network zoological reservations specialized on protection of large mammalia.
5. The population of the Carpathian wolf (Canis lupus) requires the appropriate to it the status of undesirable component of byocenozes with restriction of its number in hunting facilities of all users; to leave under protection only small elementary populations in absolutely reserved territories with simultaneous regulation of its number in buffer zones of reservations, and also in so-called ecological corridors, which provide migration between elementary populations. (Gunchac M. Ń.)
6. To consider the wolf (Canis lupus) to be a desired component of byocenoz. To stop destruction of the wolf. (Association " Our Home", S. Nowak, "Wolf forest protection movement Slovakia").
7. To consider an illegal hunt (poaching) to be one of primary factors of reducing of number large mammalia in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Conditions of its expansion and ways of reduction of its pressure on fauna is the subject of separate discussion.
8. To consider the reducing of number of large mammalia in the Ukrainian Carpathians to be caused by the destruction of their environment. As a result of extensive economy, the places of possible stay of these animals are exposed to fragmentation and are losing their fodder and protective properties.
9. To direct the reference to the supreme bodies of state authority about inconsistency of nature protection laws of Ukraine and their discrepancy to the international obligations of Ukraine.
10. To promote the increase of a role of non governmental ecological organizations. To create district public council in Ivano-Frankivsk. To recommend Association "Our Home" as the possible co-ordination center of work of non governmental ecological organizations of the Ivano-Frankivsk district.
11. To confirm, that a necessary element of work of mass-media, all nature protection and educational organizations should be formation of ecological consciousness, ecological enlightenment.
12. To practice participation of state and non governmental organizations in competitions of the ecological projects spent by Ukrainian and foreign funds.
13. In the projects to consider the planning of cooperation of the Ukrainian state and non governmental organizations, creation of the transboundary projects with participation of foreign partners, the including of actions to the nature protection projects, which promote the solving of prime social problems of region, (for example creation of new workplaces) to be expedient.
14. To create the regional "Program of the preservation and restoration of large mammalia in Carpathians" with involving of bodies of local self-management, bodies of state executive authority, scientific establishments of region, non governmental organizations.

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