KYIV. Oct 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said he is convinced that state nature protection services and local authorities should support not only the preservation of forests and national parks, but also contribute to the development of ecological tourism in the country.
“As a rule, the territories with the overwhelming majority of national reserves are depressed. Employment in these territories is extremely low, and I think that in such circumstances, instead of trying to cut down a forest, taking part of the reserve and leaving a desert, we should help organize ecological tourism. This will create jobs,” the presidential press service quoted him as saying at a meeting on forestry reform and improvement of state environmental policy in Ivano-Frankivsk on Friday, September 29.
Poroshenko stated his readiness to support a special program, if necessary, for the development of ecological tourism.
“If we need a national program for ecological tourism, I’m waiting for proposals. We can resolve this issue quickly at the governmental and legislative level. These are the conditions for protecting the natural environment through the format of a national park,” he said.
According to the president, it is expedient for Ukraine to study the foreign experience of organizing national parks, which generate a large-scale tourist flow and positively influence the development of adjacent territories and the filling of local budgets.
