Polesia - Wilderness without borders

Polesia is a natural landscape in the heart of Eastern Europe. Vast forests, mires, floodplains, lakes and rivers characterize Polesia. A group of conservation organisations and researchers is working to protect this unique landscape.

Explore Polesia's beautiful landscapes and meet our conservation heroes!

News

Decades without man: rewilding of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone benefits endangered birds

Decades without man: rewilding of the…

1. March 2023

New partnership for the benefit of Polesia’s wetlands

New partnership for the benefit of…

7. February 2023

The year 2022: conservation wins in a year of trials

The year 2022: conservation wins in a…

27. January 2023

A Purple Emperor in the Pripyat-Stokhid National Park in the Polesia area, Ukraine. © Daniel Rosengren

Where the rare things are

Where the rare things are: mapping…

3. November 2022

Polesia - Wilderness Without BordersFollow

Polesia - Wilderness Without Borders @wildpolesia·

22 Mar

#Water is the “blood” of #WildPolesia. It maintains unique ecosystems and impressive #biodiversity of the region, mitigates ... #climatechange and extreme weather events. Thanks to Polesian water resources, millions of people are supplied with drinking water. #worldwaterday

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Polesia - Wilderness Without Borders @wildpolesia·

21 Mar

‘Polesia’ derives from ‘les’=‘forest’. Rare types of old-growth #forests, some found nowhere else in Europe, still exist here. ... Harboring unique #biodiversity and providing vital ecosystem services, they are fragile: being destroyed, they can never be fully restored. #IntForestDay

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Polesia - Wilderness Without Borders @wildpolesia·

15 Mar

March is the mating period for #lynx in #Wildpolesia. In May, a female lynx gives birth to 2-3 cubs on average. Kittens stay with their ... mother for about a year to enjoy her care and learn to hunt. Our #cameratrap caught a moment like this! #WildlifeWednesday

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Unique wilderness across four countries

The wetlands and forests of Polesia stretch across Belarus and Ukraine, spreading into Russia in the East and Poland in the West. This massive lowland region covers more than 18 million hectares – about half the size of Germany.The core of the diverse landscape of Polesia is in Belarus and Ukraine. Here, the landscape is a mosaic of mires, bogs, marshes, forests, and the largest peatlands in Europe and is shaped by the river Pripyat. Polesia is a stronghold for large mammals, such as wolves, moose, bison, and lynx. It is also a vitally important region for breeding and migrating wetland birds which fuel en route to their rich wetland habitats.Find out more about the fauna and flora of Polesia.

Polesia, a unique wilderness area in Europe

Key to migratory birds in Europe

Home to endangered freshwater habitats and wildlife

Provides ecosystem services like flood and climate change mitigation

Constitutes the greatest network of riverine protected areas in Europe

Polesia's wilderness is in danger

Polesia’s vast natural landscape is threatened by climate change, infrastructure development, fragmentation, wetland drainage, forest fires, intensive forestry, illegal mining, and unsustainable resource extraction.Find out more about threats to Polesia.

Keep Polesia wild and vast!

A group of conservation organisations and research institutes are collaborating to protect the core area of Polesia in Belarus and Ukraine.We are working together to conserve the natural character of this unique landscape by expanding protected areas, improving protected area management, and providing alternative livelihoods. We are also conducting vital research on how best to protect this landscape and why it so important for local wildlife.Find out more about us.

The project “Polesia – Wilderness Without Borders” is part of the Endangered Landscapes Programme and is funded by Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. The project is coordinated by Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and implemented in collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).