The Chełm and Kovel borderland area is home to a particular landscape characterised by numerous chalk hills and waterlogged areas. In the immediate vicinity one finds the Chełmski, Sobiborski and Strzelecki landscape parks, as well as the NATURA 2000 protected area of the Polesie National Park and the lakes of the Ukrainian Shatsk National Park. These pristine areas will be the focus on the project activities.
A number of events to promote ecological tourism and to foster cross-border contacts aimed at different target groups have taken place, including a gastronomical borderland fair in which locally grown ecological food from agritourism farms has been promoted. Workshops on sustainable development have been held for local residents and decision-makers, and several cross-border excursions have taken place – as well as a seminar focusing on the area's indigenous bird populations.
A future potential
The project promoters have stressed the importance of recruiting and motivating local teenagers and young people to involve themselves in the promotion of ecological tourism initiatives. To this end, a canoeing rally has been held along the Uherka to the Bug rivers for high school students from Chełm and Kovel, as well as a bike rally through the swamps of the Polesie National Park.
An exhibition on the region's natural heritage and an open-air photo exhibition will be opened in the Chełm Museum. Local maps and guidebooks will be developed in order to attract more external visitors, as well as a website and a promotional film showcasing the pristine natural areas of the region, which will be broadcast by national and local media.
Situated a mere 90 km apart, Chełm and Kovel enjoy a close relationship, and have been cooperating in several fields since signing a partnership agreement in 1996. Chełm and Kovel are situated on the old trade route from Berlin to Kiev and are at the heart of the 5,000,000 inhabitants strong Bug Euroregion, which encompasses the borderland areas of Belarus, Poland and Ukraine, and has been facilitating cross-border cooperation in the area since 1995.
Photo credit: Chełm City Office.