8000 signatures for the protection of the Carpathian forests
The Bruno Manser Fund presented the Ukrainian Embassy in Bern with an official appeal to preserve the Carpathian forests. The area is threatened by illegal clear cutting and a giant ski resort that is projected to be built in the Svydovets massif. More than 8000 people from Switzerland call on President Poroshenko to protect this ecologically unique forest landscape.
(BERN / SWITZERLAND) A delegation consisting of representatives of the Bruno Manser Fund, the European Civic Forum and the Ukrainian environmental movement Free Svydovets met Ukrainian Ambassador Artem Rybchenko in Bern yesterday. The government representative was presented with an official appeal to protect the Carpathian forests, signed by 8258 people from Switzerland. The widely supported appeal calls on President Poroshenko to ensure sustainable forest management and the protection of the area from deforestation.
The Svydovets mountain range is located in the Transcarpathian region in the southwest of Ukraine in the headwaters of the Tisza river and it is home to Europe's highest beech forests. In the middle of this fragile ecosystem, an enormous ski resort with a capacity of 28,000 tourists per day is being planned. The local environmental movement Free Svydovets is committed to opposing this gigantic project and has pledged to protect the threatened forest landscape. Oreste Del Sol, the coordinator of Free Svydovets, emphasized in an exchange with Ambassador Rybchenko: «People from the affected villages who speak out against the project are being pressured on a massive scale. So far, the authorities have informed the public neither about the exact plans of the project nor the origin of the investors.»
The Ukrainian ambassador was impressed by the commitment of the Swiss population to the preservation of the Carpathian Forests and promised to forward the petition to the responsible authorities in Ukraine. The members of the delegation will be available for media inquiries.