Clean Bug - joint activities of the Drohiczyn Commune and the Dobrotvir Town Council for protecting biodiversity of the Bug Valley

The quality of the natural environment of the cross-border area is a key aspect of the high quality of life of its inhabitants. It determines its attractiveness and tourist and economic potential, which should be further explored in a sustainable manner. The Bug Valley is a key element of the cross-border shared ecosystem. The Bug river plays a very important role in the ecological security of the eastern part of Poland and the western- southern part of Ukraine due to the fact that it provides a number of ecosystem services. Therefore, significant challenges for the area covered by the project and the Program include: environmental pollution, presence of illegal landfills, persistently low level of waste recycling, low level of awareness of sensitive issues among a wide range of stakeholders and residents, insufficient area of green infrastructure in cities. The aim of the project is to protect the biodiversity of the cross-border ecosystem of the Bug Valley through joint actions to reduce the level of pollution, to develop green infrastructure and to promote environmental education. The project involves supplementing the waste management infrastructure with specialized garbage trucks and the installation of 18 places for waste segregation, liquidation of illegal landfills on both sides of the border with a total area of 4,561 ha (1 ha PL, 3,561 ha UA), as well as renovation of landfill sites by planting about 500 trees and enrichment of the urban and degraded area with green infrastructure in Dobrotvir with an area of 2,95 ha. The project will also include cleaning the banks and the bed of the Bug River over a length of approximately 290 km, as well as an extensive educational campaign. The project will lead to the creation of an innovative exhibition and educational space in Drohiczyn, aimed at conducting intensive ecological education of various social groups. The culmination of the project will be a study of best practices for protecting the biodiversity of the Bug Valley and handling municipal solid waste, as well as drawing up a handbook of good practices to be implemented by other local governments. As part of the project, protective measures will be implemented in 4 Natura 2000 Areas (The Bug Refuge, the Lower Bug Valley, Poleska Bug Valley, the Middle Bug Valley) and 5 other protected areas (Zakaznyk Verkhobuzkyi Nature Reserve, Sviata Hora Nature Monument, Tadani Nature Reserve, the Fedoriwka Reserve and the Bug Valley Protected Landscape Area). About 3000 people will participate in project activities (study visits, conference, cleaning campaigns, ecological competition and picnics). Thanks to the implementation of the project, each party will benefit primarily in the form of improving the condition of the Bug Valley ecosystem. The region’s attractiveness in terms of tourism development will improve. The Polish-Ukrainian local governments along the Bug River and their organizational units will have the opportunity to establish and strengthen neighborly cooperation and exchange experiences in the field of environmental protection, waste management and eco-education of local communities. The local community will learn how to segregate waste and care for the environment, which they can do on a daily basis to reduce the negative impact on the environment. As a result of the project, residents will also benefit from improving the attractiveness of the region, which will translate into financial gains in tourism. The implementation of the project under the indicated partnership is very important due to the Bug River connecting the entities and the common need to maintain a clean environment, which has a direct impact on daily life of the inhabitants of this region. Implementation of the project on its own would only have a limited impact, which would be of minimal importance in the case of the river ecosystem.