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National Committee in Ukraine for the International Year of Mountains (2002)

The chairman of the National Committee was the Vice-Minister of Environment. The Committee was comprised of the following members:

Government:

Nadia Rym, Assistant to the National Deputy

NGOs:

Yuriy Vasidlov, President of the Association 'Our Home'
Vasyl Shkurhan, Head of Kosiv Association 'Gusulschyna'
Natalia Paishnyk, ngo 'WETI'

Research and academic community:

Dr. Fedir Hamor, Director of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve
Dr. Vladimir Kricsfalusy, Programme coordinator, Laboratory for Nature Conservation, Uzhgorod National University
Dr. Oleg Adamenko, State Technical University of Petroleum and Gas in Ivano-Frankovsk
Prof. Vadimir Bodnarenko, State University of Forestry and Wood Technology

Civil society:

Prof. Yurij Chernobaj, Director of the Nature Museum in Lvov
Information concerning International Year of Mountain activities was posted on several Web sites, including www.carpathians.org.ua, which continues to function as a Web site for mountains.

Activities and achievements during International Year of Mountains

International:

An international scientific conference, 'Mountains and People' was held in Rakhiv (September).

National:

The Committee distributed promotional International Year of Mountains material throughout the country, particularly in the Carpathian regions.

A seminar 'Towards Kiev 2003. Public Participation in the Decision-Making Process in the Western Region' was held in Kosiv (19-20 April). During this seminar the legal status of the National Committee was recognized.
The National Committee supported a WWF-funded project to protect endangered brown bears in the Carpathians.

Beyond International Year of Mountains (2002)

The Fifth Pan-European Ministerial Conference 'Environment for Europe' (Kiev, May 2003) culminated in the signing the Carpathian Convention by governments of the region.

In order to raise awareness and maximize the involvement of the Ukrainian public in the event, a joint project 'Kiev 2003' was initiated to encourage NGOs and concerned individuals to get involved in the development of pan-European environmental policies.

Although the National Committee in Ukraine has ceased functioning, the country now has an established active network lobbying for environmental mountain issues, which builds on the activities undertaken during the International Year of Mountains. For example, the 'Our Home' Association continues efforts towards the protection of large predatory animals, and continues the project 'Building Support for Brown Bears in the Ukrainian Carpathians'.

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