“The steppe is reviving…”

The Askania-Nova director Viktor Havrylenko, a well-known biologist and environmentalist, told The Day that, due to a difficult situation in this country, only 36,000 tourists had visited the preserve past year, while it can receive an average 70,000. The situation in Kherson oblast is quiet now, and the preserve staff hope there will be more visitors.

 “The most welcome news is that the biosphere reserve is living and functioning, and it is Ukrainian,” Havrylenko says. “The reserve was thoroughly cleaned up long ago and was the other day generously washed by rain. We are waiting for tourists. There’s so much blossom and fragrance here. The steppe is reviving like a puffy green blanket. The trees are gradually budding. In particular, the common ash is in blossom. Also blooming are snowdrops, prairie smokes, and anemones. They will soon be followed by a collection of tulips. The snowball is blooming so nicely. And it is incredibly interesting to watch birds nesting here in April. It’s not so simple – birds are literally fighting for a better place.”

Mr. Havrylenko, are all the tourist routes functioning now?

“Walking routes are fully prepared to receive tourists. Not to reduce the inflow of guests, we decided to meet them halfway in this season and not to raise the current price of 25 hryvnias. Let everything around goes up in price due the dollar rate, but nature must remain accessible, for most of those who come to us are public-sector employees, school and college students. We expect to top up a special fund by increasing the inflow of visitors, not the admission price. Naturally, we will spend all the earned money on maintaining of our young animals and the arboretum.

“Of course, there is a problem – people will find it difficult to reach us. Unfortunately, the price of fuel and, hence, bus fare is really stiff.”

As Russia annexed Crimea, Kherson oblast became a frontier area. How did you winter? Are there any dangers to nature today?

“Luckily, there was no mortal danger to the preserve. Past year I appealed to our government and the international community to protect the biosphere reserve at any cost, for it is an invaluable creation, I asked that this territory should under no circumstances be part of the combat zone. Thank God, things settled. Yet helicopters were flying here, and our military were stationed nearby. But today it is a quiet area. There is no danger at all to nature and visitors.

“Moreover, in spite of a difficult past year, we have as many animals and birds as before. On the contrary, some of Kyiv’s pseudo-academics even complain that the preserve has a very large number of animals. Indeed, we have the largest number of mammals in the whole history of Askania-Nova’s existence. So, shall we shoot them dead? Two thirds of those animals are on international protection lists. All we are sorry for is that we cannot hold tours now on the territory of the Great Chapel area because work is still in progress over the project of a protected nature complex. But this step is for the preserve’s benefit. What caused the delay is the fact that the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences is considering the question of expanding the territories listed as part of our preserve. It is a very right step. Since 1932 in the Soviet era, the preserve has only had some of its land taken away. Now they – 1,552 ha – are being returned. This mandatory procedure demands that some documents be coordinated. I invite again all of you to Askania-Nova. And I thank Den for particular attention to our preserve.”