Operational costs support

After the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, the Carpathian protected areas faced new challenges: to continue daily nature conservation activities in the face of significant funding cuts, while at the same time providing shelter to thousands of Ukrainian refugees. 

The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) decided to finance the operating costs of 13 national nature parks and nature reserves in the Carpathians from May 2022 to support them in maintaining patrol services, monitoring biodiversity, and educational outreach. Since then, we have been funding the most urgent operational needs (excluding salaries) such as fuel, vehicle parts, administrative and environmental education materials, and some utility costs.

At critical moments in 2022, we also supported several parks in Polesia and in the east and south of Ukraine. 

Right now, protected areas in Ukraine are in critical need of systematic, permanent support and FZS will continue its support. In 2022, our support consisted mainly of private donations, while the next phase of support was made possible by additional funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI), a funding program established by the German Federal Government as part of Germany’s commitment to international climate and biodiversity finance.