NATURE RESERVE FUND OF THE POLISSIA-STOLYCHNY RECREATIONAL REGION THROUGH THE PRISM OF MILITARY INFLUENCES

Abstract

The article studies the current state of the objects of the nature reserve fund of the Polissia-Stolychny recreational region through the prism of military influences. The high level of recreational attractiveness of the region is due to the harmonious combination of natural assets and objects of historical and cultural heritage integrated within the boundaries of the protected areas. The objects of the nature reserve fund of the recreational area serve as a basis for the development of sustainable and eco-oriented tourism. The practical implementation of the recreational function is ensured through the functional zoning of national, regional landscape parks and biosphere reserves. A strict protection regime allows minimizing anthropogenic pressure on ecosystems, which is a key condition for preserving their tourist attractiveness in the long term. Armed aggression is causing deep degradation of the region's nature reserve network. As a result of mining, chemical soil damage, and large-scale fires, irreversible destruction of habitats of rare species and a rapid decline in biodiversity are being recorded. These factors create long-term environmental threats that significantly hinder further revitalization and restoration of ecosystems. In this context, continuous environmental monitoring becomes a critically necessary tool. Within the Polissia-Stolychny recreational region, there is a territorial differentiation of the consequences of the war. For protected areas of Volyn, Rivne, Cherkasy and Poltava regions, the key factors are the decline in tourist traffic and security restrictions caused by the legal regime of martial law. In contrast, the situation in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions is much more complicated. The general restrictions are added to the physical destruction of infrastructure, direct consequences of hostilities and a critical decline in tourist interest due to the danger of staying in these territories. International experience offers a wide range of tools for the rehabilitation of protected areas and agricultural lands in the region affected by the war. The spectrum of solutions varies from integrating the remains of defensive structures into military excursion routes to implementing radical strategies for the full conservation of ecosystems for their natural self-renewal.