Czech and Ukrainian experts have proposed changes to Ukrainian nature conservation legislation to prepare it for entry into the European Union. The two-year project was funded by the European LIFE programme and the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. It was the very first project in Ukraine to be funded by the programme. 

The basic prerequisite is the adoption of two European Union´s directives, namely the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive. This is also related to the inclusion of Ukraine's valuable natural sites in the EU´s Natura 2000 network of protected areas. 

"In addition to comparing legislation, we also assessed the institutional framework for nature conservation in Ukraine. One of the proposals for our Ukrainian colleagues is to set up an agency for the protection, conservation and management of protected areas and nature conservation. Such a specialized institution will also be needed for further implementation of EU´s rules on biodiversity monitoring. Despite the war raging in their country, our colleagues are doing an excellent job," says project leader David Lacina from the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (NCA CR).

The conference was opened by Vitalii Usatyi, Minister-counsellor of Ukraine to the Czech Republic, and Michal Servus, Director General of the Section for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection Department of the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. The delegation from the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine was led by Deputy Minister Igor Zubovich, accompanied by department directors from the Ukrainian Ministry and representatives of non-governmental organizations involved in nature conservation in Ukraine – the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) and EPL – Environment – People – Law. 

"We were all well aware of the risks involved in undertaking such a challenging project in a country that faces daily terrorist attacks from Russia. Despite the harsh conditions, all project objectives have been met. Representatives of protected areas in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ministry of Environment, and journalists also visited some Protected Areas in the Czech Republic in 2024. They were impressed by our institutional State Nature Conservancy system, which integrates modern approaches from the EU and the U.S.," says František Pelc, Director of the NCA CR. 

From May 19 to June 8, 2025, Ukraine held its first nationwide "bioblitz" – mapping the occurrence of wild plant and animal species in nature using iNaturalist, a social network and application for identifying organisms and collecting and gathering records of their occurrence.

The results of the unique citizen science project were very pleasant surprises: 731 active observers and 1,595 verifiers participated, helping to identify species. Over the course of three weeks, they collectively uploaded 105,000 records of 5,279 species, i.e. 28.4% of all species having been ever mapped in Ukraine using iNaturalist. Participants most frequently recorded plants (36%) and insects (41%). Over 5,000 findings of 155 species not native to Ukraine were also identified there.

As part of the project, a book of more than 400 pages was published in Ukrainian and English about the most valuable natural sites in Ukraine, including those in the occupied territories. The NCA CR´s library has added a section on literature related to nature conservation and natural values in Ukraine. The library was established by Ukrainian experts who donated 120 titles. The most valuable part of the library are books documenting the history of Ukrainian nature conservation.

The activities have ben carried out as part of the project Protection of Natural Heritage for Life in Ukraine – ConNaturLIFE Ukraine (101148569 — LIFE23-PRE-CZ-ConNaturLIFE Ukraine — LIFE-2023-PLP).