Biosphere Reserve Roztochya

Designation date: 2011

Roztochya Biosphere Reserve is located in the western part of the Lviv region, 20 km away from city Lviv, in Western Ukraine at the border to Poland. Geographically, it is situated in the north-western edge of Podillia Upland.

Total area: 74,416 ha

Core zones: 3,314.6 ha

Buffer zone: 10,874.2 ha

Transition zone: 60,227 ha

The Roztochya region forms an ecological corridor enabling the movement of the plants and animals. The Roztochya Biosphere Reserve belongs to the ecoregion of the Central European mixed forests bordering in the south of the Carpathian montane forest region. Due to its location plant species of the three regions – Polesia, Podillia, and the Carpathians – occur here. The area consists of 50.8% forests (broad-leaved, mixed and needle-leaved), 7.4% grasslands (meadows), 1.8% waterbodies, and 13.3% wetlands (mires, bogs, flooded meadows), 17.6% agricultural lands and 9.1% settlements.    

The population remains mostly rural in the area of the biosphere reserve. They practice subsistence farming, stock-breeding, fish farming, and woodworking. Additionally, the BR attracts visitors to its sanatoriums and the growing health tourism sector.

The BR Roztochya includes other protected areas, namely, Nature Reserve “Roztochya”, the Yavorivskyi National Nature Park, and the Regional Landscape Park “Ravske Roztochya”. BR Roztochya is managed by the Coordination Board which consist of the directors of protected areas, scientists, head of local authorities, head of forestry, agriculture enterprise, and NGOs. Meetings of the Scientific-Technical Board, as well as other regular meetings and workshops with local authorities, keep a strong relationship with local citizens which led to the mainly positive attitude towards the establishment of the biosphere reserve. In July 2019, the commission of MAB Programme of UNESCO decided to create Ukrainian-Polish Transboundary Biosphere Reserve “Roztochya” on the area of 371,902 ha.