OREANDA-NEWS. June 19, 2008. There are more than 60 thousand ha of primeval forests in Zakarpattya (Transcarpathian, West Ukraine). This is some 10 percent of the whole square of the mountain region's forests. The figures were set during implementation of a Ukrainian-Dutch project on inventory of Zakarpattya's primeval forests.

The primeval forests are preserved in terms of the highest levels of a mountain belt, mainly in Tiachiv and Rakhiv districts. However, there are no such forests on smooth hillsides with 20 degrees ratio. Environmentalists say this is due to their easy availability for farming. Besides, only one fourth of the virgin forests has reliable protection.

In order to keep the environmentally-friendly and scientific value of the forests, experts recommend to inscribe them into the national ecologic network and develop and carry out a monitoring system.