EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

The status of the corridors will change irrespective of the nomination outcome. The
connecting corridors on the Ukrainian territory will become an integral part of the Pan-
European ecological network through the Ukrainian national ecological network according to
the Law of Ukraine No. 1989–111 “On establishing of the Ukrainian national ecological
network”. If the nomination is successful, the status of the connecting corridors will change
on the Slovak territory in that their sectors falling into protected areas of any kind
(specifically the B an C zones of the Poloniny National Park and Vihorlat Protected
Landscape Area) will be upgraded as “protected areas of international significance” and their
conservation management plans will be adjusted accordingly in compliance with the Law on
Nature Protection No, 543/2002 Coll., § 54, Section 4). That conservation regime supercedes
any other provisions.
4) Integrated Management Plan
4.1 The Coordination Councils in Ukraine are important elements of the management process.
Because of their experience, they will be essential drivers in setting-up the Integrated
Management Panel.
4.2 There are two ways for the Joint Management Committee to ensure that the Territorial
Plans in Slovakia are, if necessary, changed as proposed: either through the representatives of
the Prešov Self-Governing Region, who is a member of the Joint Management Committee, or
through filing its respective proposals to the Prešov Self-Governing Region Administration by
the way of the Ministry of Environment as its umbrella state authority. The self-governing
region will then be obliged to start territorial proceedings that will result into issuing a
territorial decision, according to § 39b, Act No. 50/1976 Coll., which is also subject to
national government approval, in which the position of the Ministry of Environment is
considered. However, the whole territory on which the nominated properties (Slovak part) are
located belongs to the Prešov Self-Governing Region, which has had its binding Territorial
Plan approved by the Government provision No. 216/1998 Coll. and no major changes in it
are required as it does not foresee any infrastructural developments in the area containing the
nominated properties, their buffer zones and connecting corridors. The areas are currently
void of such infrastructure. More importantly, the Joint Management Committee will, in a
close cooperation with the Integrated Management Panel, initiate or support changes, if
necessary, in the territorial plans of communities in the areas adjacent to the buffer zones and
connecting corridors.
4.3 The bottom-up approach during the 1st implementation stage of the he Integrated
Management Plan is asserted mainly through the participation of elected members of
municipal governments (independent of the state authorities, ministries etc.):
− Mr. Mykola Andrus, head of the Deputies Council of Zakarpatska Oblast, Ukraine
− Mr. Peter Chudík, head of the Prešov Self-governing Region, Slovakia.
During the 2 nd stage of the IMP implementation, representatives of the Integrated
Management Panel (citizens, NGOs, other stakeholders) will be delegated to the Joint
Management Committee. The panel role is essential also for the appropriate management of
the connecting corridors. The motivation of its members leans to a large extent on built-in
components based on the self-interest of all stakeholders: the panel will serve, among other
things, as a platform for empowering state, individual and collective forest owners and
managers through providing them with solid quantitative data, instead of generally qualitative
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