The East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is a transboundary protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

, designated as an area of global importance under UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

's Programme on Man and the Biosphere. It is located in the Eastern Carpathians and includes parts of three countries: Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 and Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. It covers a total area of 2132.11 square kilometres (823.2 sq mi).

Overview

The reserve was originally designated as a Polish–Slovak transboundary reserve in 1992; it was extended to include the Ukrainian part in 1998. It includes the following national protected areas:

• In Poland – Bieszczady National Park
  Bieszczady National Park
  Bieszczady National Park is the third largest National Park in Poland, located in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in the extreme south-east corner of the country, bordering Slovakia and Ukraine....
  
   (Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy) and the two neighbouring landscape parks called Cisna-Wetlina Landscape Park
  Cisna-Wetlina Landscape Park
  Cisna-Wetlina Landscape Park is a protected area in south-eastern Poland, established in 1992, covering an area of ....
  
   (Ciśniańsko-Wetliński Park Krajobrazowy) and San Valley Landscape Park
  San Valley Landscape Park
  San Valley Landscape Park is a protected area in south-eastern Poland, established in 1992, covering an area of ....
  
   (Park Krajobrazowy Doliny Sanu);
• In Slovakia – Poloniny National Park
  Poloniny National Park
  Poloniny National Park is a national park in north eastern Slovakia at the Polish and Ukrainian borders, in the Bukovské vrchy mountain range, which belongs to the Eastern Carpathians. It was created on 1 October 1997 with a protected area of 298.05 km² and a buffer zone of 109.73 km²...
  
   (Národný park Poloniny) and adjacent areas;
• In Ukraine – Uzhansky National Nature Park (Національний природний парк Ужанський) and the Nadsiansky (Nadsianskij) Regional Landscape Park.

External links

• East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve at Unesco.org
• East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve at iabsi.com
• East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve at carpates.org
• Carpathians of Ukraine at www.carpathians.org.ua