On April 29, the Commercial Court of Lviv Region upheld the claim of the Frankivsk District Prosecutor’s Office and invalidated the decision to transfer 2.74 hectares of land within the Bilohorshcha Bog Nature Reserve to the “Silver Auto” cooperative. The disputed plot has now been returned to the Lviv community.
Bilohorshcha Bog is a locally significant landscape reserve, created thanks to a citizen-led petition in 2017. Supported by the Lviv City Council, the initiative led to the transfer of 58.8 hectares in 2019 for nature protection purposes. In 2020, the Lviv Regional Council officially approved the reserve’s status with a total area of 92 hectares.
However, prior to the formation of the unified Lviv territorial community, the Riasne-Ruska village council unlawfully allocated five land plots within the reserve’s boundaries to private entities. These included the cooperatives “Silver Auto,” “Pikap,” “Avtosvit,” “Avtomekhanyk,” and the company “Galtекс-Bruht.”
The new landowners not only attempted to formalize ownership but also challenged the legitimacy of the reserve’s creation. Yet on March 7, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled definitively in favor of the reserve’s lawful establishment.
This is the second major legal victory for the community this year. Back on March 24, the court also returned 3.29 hectares of the reserve to the public, previously transferred to the “Pikap” cooperative.
The reserve is known for its peat deposits over 1 meter deep — a factor that qualifies it as a specially protected area under Ukrainian law. Such lands cannot be used for construction or other purposes unrelated to environmental protection.
In addition, in 2024, Lviv’s Environmental Department secured a €100,000+ grant (over 4.2 million UAH) from the European Union to restore the wetland ecosystem. Planned efforts include:
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construction of eco-trails with wooden walkways
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installation of birdwatching towers
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various habitat restoration and conservation measures
This legal decision marks another important step in safeguarding one of Lviv’s rarest natural areas and returning it to public stewardship.