Project Goal

To raise environmental awareness and improve communities’ access to clear information about the nature reserve fund sites in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast by systematizing open data, incorporating local community knowledge, and explaining the natural, educational, cultural, historical, and ecosystem values of protected areas.
The project does not aim to duplicate official registers, environmental passports, or regional reports. Its purpose is to create a community-based educational information resource that presents the Nature Reserve Fund as a living natural heritage of local communities.

Project Objectives:

1. To create and populate the “Protected Areas of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast” section on the website of the Youth Public Environmental Organization “Our Home — Manyava” in 2026 as a community-based educational resource about the region’s nature conservation areas.
2. To collect and organize initial information during 2026 on at least 50 protected areas or valuable natural sites in the Ivano-Frankivsk Region, using open sources and a public community forum. The information will include the site name, category, general location, local description, source of information, and potential ecosystem services.
3. To prepare and publish at least 20 information cards on protected areas, explaining in clear and accessible language the natural value of each site, its local importance for the community, potential ecosystem services, and its educational, cultural, or historical significance.
4. To share information throughout 2026 about the importance of protected areas, ecological networks, ecosystem services, and the natural heritage of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast through the website, social media, a public community form, partner channels, and targeted outreach to communities, educators, local historians, and nature conservation practitioners.

Project Implementation Location:

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Implementation format: an online resource combining information and analytical work, community engagement, and the systematization of open data and local knowledge.

Beneficiaries:

Local residents of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Benefits: improved access to clear and accessible information about protected areas and local natural sites, and a better understanding of their value for water, climate, biodiversity, recreation, education, and local identity.
Local communities and local authorities
Benefits: a stronger opportunity to present the community’s natural heritage and use the materials for environmental education, local conservation initiatives, communication with residents, and partnership-building.
Teachers, students, and youth
Benefits: access to clear, accessible materials on protected areas, using examples from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, to support lessons, environmental activities, research, youth initiatives, and local history studies.
Local historians, conservationists, civil society organizations, and local initiatives
Benefits: an opportunity to contribute local knowledge, stories, place names, observations, and information about natural sites that are meaningful to the community.
Journalists, researchers, and partners
Benefits: access to organized, clearly explained, and responsibly presented information about the region’s protected areas, which can support media materials, research, partnership initiatives, and future conservation projects.

Why this project matters:

The “Protected Areas of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast” project is not an official state register of protected areas. It does not aim to duplicate environmental passports, regional environmental reports, official cadastres, or Wikipedia materials.
Official sources remain the basis for verifying the status, category, area, and general information about protected areas. However, they often present information in a technical or reference format and do not always explain why a particular site matters to the community, education, nature, climate resilience, or local identity.
The project’s value lies in helping transform scattered official data and local community knowledge into clear, meaningful, and useful information for people.
Many communities already have deep knowledge of their natural places: springs, forest tracts, old parks, forests, wetlands, river valleys, cliffs, waterfalls, and other valuable areas. Local residents often know their names, stories, changes, challenges, and importance to the community. However, this knowledge is not always linked to information about the site’s conservation status, ecosystem services, or educational and cultural value.
The project will help explain why a particular site matters not only as an entry in a register, but as part of the community’s natural heritage. In the catalog, it is important not only to provide the site’s name and category, but also to explain:
– what makes this area valuable from a natural perspective;
– what ecosystem services this area can provide to the community;
– whether this area is connected to water, forests, wetlands, river valleys, rare species, or valuable landscapes;
– what educational, cultural, historical, or recreational value this site has;
– what local names, stories, observations, or traditional community connections are associated with this site.
Even the history of a natural site, its local name, or people’s memories are valuable. They help us see protected areas not as dry administrative categories, but as living places connected to the community.
For communities, the project offers an opportunity to better present their natural heritage. For educators and youth, it provides local examples for learning. For journalists and civil society organizations, it creates a clear basis for materials and initiatives. For partners and donors, it helps show the conservation potential of the region through specific sites, local stories, and community needs.
In this way, the project adds a community-based, educational, and explanatory layer to official data. Its main value is to make the protected areas of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast more understandable, relatable, and meaningful for the people who live near them, as well as for the wider audience across the region.

Ecosystem services highlighted by the project:

One of the key approaches of the project is to show the practical value of protected areas for communities through the concept of ecosystem services.
Protected areas can provide a range of ecosystem services for communities, including:
– protecting springs, small rivers, and the local water balance;
– helping protect communities from floods, soil erosion, and landslides;
– helping preserve forests, wetlands, meadows, river valleys, and other natural ecosystems;
– helping support biodiversity and habitats for rare species;
– helping mitigate heat, retain moisture, and support the local climate;
– helping purify air, water, and soils;
– providing space for environmental education, guided visits, research, and youth initiatives;
– providing recreational, health-related, cultural, historical, or spiritual value;
– helping support local identity and a responsible attitude toward natural heritage.
The information cards on protected areas will include a separate explanation of the question: “Why is this site important for the community?”

Safety and responsible information sharing:

The project is implemented with careful consideration of martial law conditions and the “do no harm” principle.
The public community questionnaire does not request photos, exact coordinates, or routes. Participants are asked to provide only general information about a natural site, such as its name, settlement or general landmark, category, local description, potential ecosystem services, and source of information.
The project does not collect information about military sites, critical infrastructure, infrastructure-related facilities, or any other sensitive locations.
In the case of rare species or vulnerable natural areas, information should be shared without exact location details. Materials will be published carefully to avoid creating risks for natural sites, species, or communities.

Communication approach:

To collect information about the first 50 protected areas or valuable natural sites in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, the project will go beyond simply publishing the questionnaire on the website. It will also include targeted communication with people and institutions that already hold local knowledge about natural areas.
Communication will take place through:
– the “Our Home — Manyava” website;
– the organization’s social media channels;
– targeted communication with educators, local historians, librarians, civil society organizations, conservationists, and community representatives;
– partner channels;
– thematic publications on protected areas, ecosystem services, and local stories about nature.
Main communication message:
“If there is a natural site in your community that is important for people, nature, history, or local memory, we invite you to share this information.”

Project results:

1. A structured online section titled “Protected Areas of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast” has been created on the organization’s website;
2. Initial information on at least 50 protected areas or valuable natural sites in the region has been collected and systematized;
3. At least 20 information cards about protected areas have been prepared and published;
4. At least 3 educational or analytical materials on protected areas, the ecological network, ecosystem services, and the natural heritage of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast have been prepared;
5. The visibility of local community knowledge about protected areas has been strengthened;
6. A foundation has been established for the further development of a regional environmental information resource.

Project Impact:

• increased public environmental awareness of protected areas;
• improved access for communities to clear and accessible information about protected areas;
• developing an understanding of protected areas not only as a legal status, but also as the living natural heritage of local communities;
• strengthening the role of local knowledge, place names, stories, and observations in the conservation of natural heritage;
• improved understanding of the ecosystem services that protected areas provide to communities;
• creating a foundation for environmental education, public participation, and local conservation initiatives;
• supporting future partnerships with communities, educational institutions, conservation organizations, media, and donors;
• strengthening the role of “Our Home — Manyava” as a regional environmental information resource.

Donor:

An initiative of “Our Home — Manyava”
Project format: volunteer-based project

Project Duration:

2026
Status: ongoing, long-term initiative

Community questionnaire:

Help us create a catalog of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast’s protected areas
Complete the questionnaire