A delegation of Ukrainian ecologists will be in Brussels on 15-16 April
to meet representatives of the European Commission and European
Parliament. The “Free Svydovets Initiative Group” (FSIG), one of the
most active ecological movements in Ukraine, will present a brand new
report, “The great Carpathian land grab – How oligarchs are using
Ukraine’s war economy to get hold of one of Europe’s last great
wilderness areas”.

This group has been campaigning since 2018 against a huge winter tourism project in the Carpathian mountains. To begin with, this involved a ski resort in the magnificent and untouched Svydovets massif which would have a capacity of 28,000 tourists. In the two years since the Russian invasion in February 2022 this project has been massively expanded to include two other ski resorts, bringing the total capacity up to 65,000 tourists at any one time. It would thus become one of the biggest ski resorts in Europe, in a mountain range whose highest peaks are well below 2000 metres.

The FSIG and the other members of the delegation have two major concerns with regard to these projects.

Firstly, they will have a catastrophic impact on the ecosystem, the biodiversity and water resources. These were outlined in detail in the FSIG’s report “The Svydovets Case” published in 2019.

Secondly, the promotors behind these projects are corrupt oligarchs, above all Ihor Kolomoisky.

They strongly believe that this region needs economic development, but not one which will permanently ruin an unspoilt mountain landscape. They are in favour of low-impact tourism attracted by the natural riches of the region, as well as high-quality agricultural products and small-scale industries based on local resources, such as timber which is far too often logged illegally and exported unprocessed.

This is a chance to have an advance copy of the report which will be officially made public on 23 April. You will find attached a summary.
This is for the moment confidential. Journalists are requested to respect the 23 April embargo.

Contacts: Nicholas Bell, European Civic Forum, France/Switzerland (we are partners of the Free Svydovets Initiative Group). +33.622 43 68 85.

PS: The delegation will be made up of :

– Dmytro Tuzhanskyi, political scientist, Director of the Institute for Central European Strategy, based in Transcarpathia

– Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), chairman of the VR Committee on Freedom of Expression

– Iris del Sol, Free Svydovets Initiative Group, expert on the environmental issues involved

– Adelina Zakharchenko, Eastern Europe campaigner, Bruno Manser Fund, Basle, Switzerland

– Tetiana Shamina, head of communications, Free Svydovets Initiative Group, Ukraine Nature Conservation Group, Kyiv

– Nicholas Bell, European Civic Forum