Green tourism

A low-impact tourism is an approach to tourism committed to sustainable development and aimed at preserving the biodiversity and cultural resources of a natural area.

The ecological value of Svydovets and the traditional livelihoods of the region provide opportunities for a local economy that is based on an intact environment. Raising awareness of social and environmental issues among all stakeholders is essential.For example, hiking in a “Svydovets” natural park, accompanied by a local guide, generates an income for local communities without adversely impacting the ecosystem of Svydovets.

Currently, mushrooms, blueberries and other berries are picked by local people from the surrounding villages and sold unprocessed in Hungary, Italy and Switzerland instead of being processed on site. The infrastructure needed to ensure the added value of these products is at present beyond the reach of the local population. It is therefore essential to build up the infrastructure and knowledge to transform these high-quality products on site. In addition, alpine pastoralism, traditional in this region, should be supported and associated with ecotourism and gastronomy to provide a livelihood for hundreds of people.

How does Svydovets should develop?

The vision of Free Svydovets is sustainable development of the region around Svydovets.

We believe that work should be carried out in two main directions in the near future:

Real protection of the wild nature of Svydovets. For this purpose, Free Svydovets is preparing a proposal for the creation of the “Free Svydovets” nature reserve. This protected area will help safeguard the region’s wild nature from unsustainable logging and resorts, while also allowing for the development of green tourism and traditional agriculture.

However, creating the reserve requires the political will of the Ukrainian leadership, which has not been particularly supportive of the idea of preserving Svydovets in the past.

Investments in the development of local communities. Currently, as partner countries talk about the recovery and development of Ukraine and are ready to support this process, there is a great opportunity to direct investments towards the green development of local communities around Svydovets.

As stated in the “Transcarpathian Regional Development Strategy”, the potential of ecotourism is generally recognized by the regional authorities. However, it is clear that the construction of mega ski resorts does not adequately benefit local populations, as shown by the cases of Bukovel and Pirin. The development of a form of ecotourism with a low impact on nature can offer income opportunities that would benefit more than a handful of people.

The aims of this ecotourism are to:

Discover the beauty of Svydovets with a low socio-environmental impact
Raise awareness of the cultural and environmental issues of the site visited
Generate sustainable economic benefits for the local population
Provide positive experiences for both visitors and local communities
Provide direct funding necessary to preserve the environment
Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of local communities and work to promote their empowerment.

A comprehensive reform of forest management should make it possible to develop Svydovets’ main resource after water and biodiversity. This requires the reintroduction of tree species native to the massif and a form of forest exploitation that respects the ecosystem and promotes the diversity of species. Clear-cutting or industrial monoculture coniferous plantations must be stopped, as should the use of huge felling machines that destroy vegetation and soils. Instead soft methods to access the timber should be promoted, such as horses, light, small-scale machines and cabling. The Ukrainian authorities should make sure that no more wood is harvested than the annual natural regrowth. Local small and medium-sized wood processing companies should be encouraged. This will require at least the enforcement of the existing export ban of logs.