Circular Economy and Quality of Life · Preparatory project
ConNaturLIFE Ukraine
Conservation of Natural Heritage for Life in Ukraine
About the project
Ukraine became an EU candidate country in 2022 and is only partly aligned with the EU Nature Directives: about half of its Emerald Network sites have no protection status and many protected areas are poorly managed. The project started the legal and institutional changes needed for EU-compliant nature conservation, including a roadmap for transposing the Birds and Habitats Directives and a strategy for converting the Emerald Network into Natura 2000 sites. Its results include draft legislation on the Emerald Network and on wildlife trade, a draft decree creating a new nature conservation agency, and proposals to add 63 species to Annex II, 51 species to Annex IV and 4 habitats to Annex I of the Habitats Directive. It also produced management, monitoring and reporting guidelines, a pilot restoration of about 15 ha of steppe and calcareous grassland, study tours, a university course and the first All-Ukrainian BioBlitz.
species and habitats proposed for Annexes II, IV and I of the Habitats Directive
pilot restoration of steppe and calcareous grassland in Buzkyi Gard NNP
Emerald Network sites described in the project book
species recorded in the first All-Ukrainian BioBlitz (>100,000 records)
Ukrainian participation
All work focused on Ukraine, with three Ukrainian partners: the NGOs Environment-People-Law and Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources as a non-financial partner. The pilot restoration took place in Buzkyi Gard National Nature Park, and the first All-Ukrainian BioBlitz recorded more than 100,000 observations of 5,282 species.
| Organisation | Role | EU contribution |
|---|---|---|
| International Charitable Organization Environment-People-Law (EPL) | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €282,638 |
| Public Organisation Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) | Beneficiary | EU contribution: €253,161 |
| Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine | Associated partner | EU contribution: €0 |
Consortium
The consortium consists of the Czech coordinator and three Ukrainian partners.
Coordinator
Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic
Czechia
Ukraine
- International Charitable Organization Environment-People-Law (EPL)
- Public Organisation Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG)
- Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
- See “Ukrainian participation”
Links
Sources and verification
Data verified on 19 Oct 2026 against official sources: