Shatsk National Nature Park

Shatsk National Nature Park [Шацький національний природний парк; Shatskyi natsionalnyi pryrodnyi park]. The second national park to be created in Ukraine, after the Carpathian National Nature Park. It was proposed in the 1970s and set up in 1983. The park covers 48,977 ha in the northwestern part of Volhynia oblast, near the borders with Belarus and Poland. Its vegetation consists mainly of mixed forests and peat marshes on the upper watershed of the Prypiat River. More than 25 lakes dot the area, the largest of which is Svytiaz Lake. The intermittent forests are predominantly pine and hornbeam. Numerous organizations have established recreational bases in the area, particularly around Svytiaz Lake. Besides providing camping and hiking facilities the park conserves the natural landscape and its forest and wetland ecosystems, and supports scientific research. The local flora and fauna are very diverse. Over 780 vascular plant species, more than 30 of which are included in Ukraine’s Red Data Book, are found there. The park has 333 registered animal species, of which 44 are mammals, 241 are birds, 19 are amphibians or reptiles, and 29 are various species of fish. 33 animal species are included in Ukraine’s Red Data Book.

[This article was updated in 2014.]