FORMATION OF A LOCAL LEVEL ECOLOGICAL NETWORK ON THE EXAMPLE OF DESIGNING THE ECOLOGICAL NETWORK OF THE VIZHNYTSIA DISTRICT OF THE CHERNIVTSI REGION

Abstract

Forming an ecological network represents a highly efficient approach to safeguarding biological and landscape diversity. Nevertheless, while this matter is frequently brought up at national and regional scales, it still demands the involvement of scientists at the local level. In the context of decentralisation reform, ensuring an environmentally safe environment has become a concern for community leaders. This makes the development and study of ecological networks both scientifically relevant and practically significant. After all, to achieve sustainable development, it is imperative to establish an environmental development strategy that enables a territorial community to operate at full capacity. The article presents a proposal for an ecological network in the recently established Vyzhnytsia administrative district of the Chernivtsi region. The proposal includes specific details down to the level of territorial communities and considers the region’s geographical features, population diversity, and economic development. The Vyzhnytsia district contains several elements of the local ecological network, including key areas such as forests, ecological corridors such as watercourses, rivers, their valleys, floodplain and meadow areas, as well as protective or transitional buffer zones which may include hayfields, pastures and less frequently cultivated agricultural fields. Such buffer zones contribute towards support for areas that are immediately surrounding human activity. The woodlands of the Pokutsko-Bukovyna Carpathians and the Bukovyna foothills constitute the natural nucleus of the local ecological network of the Vyzhnytsia district. Additionally, there are restoration areas such as the National Parks «Vyzhnytskyi» and «Cheremoskyi», and the Zubrovytsia Reserve. Three main hydrological eco-corridors have been identified in the area, namely the Cheremosh eco-corridor, the Siret eco-corridor, and the Suceava eco-corridor (the latter two are interstate). The Bukovyna Ecocorridor, which was established by specialists from Vyzhnytsia National Park and zoologists from the Zubrovytsia Reserve following research in 2010, deserves particular attention. Several local eco-corridors have been identified, including Putyla, Mihidra-Mikhoderka, Korytnytsia, Berezhnytsia-Berezhonka, Psyareva, Hlybochok and Brusnytsia, all of which are integral components of both regional and national ecological networks.