The Vinnytsia Regional Council has voted to establish a nature reserve on Lyskivka Hill, near the village of Busha in the Yampil territorial community. Investors had planned to develop a quarry at this site, but local residents opposed the project. UAnimals also appealed to relevant state institutions, demanding a ban on the development of the Busha deposit.
On March 26, 2024, the state sold a license for the deposit’s development to the company Si-evolution through an electronic auction. Since then, local residents have actively protested, concerned that the potential quarry would be located directly next to residential houses and amid a cluster of natural and historical landmarks.
Near the deposit, there is the Busha Historical and Cultural Reserve and the Haidamatskyi Yar nature monument—fascinating rock formations carved by the Bushanka River through mountain layers. The ravine is home to many plant species listed in Ukraine’s Red Book, as well as rare and endangered animals.
In September, UAnimals called on the state to revoke the license for the Busha quarry, arguing that its development would harm the region’s biodiversity. “The unique ecosystems that have formed in the protected zones provide a habitat for numerous plant and animal species listed in Ukraine’s Red Book. Any disruption of the natural landscape due to mineral extraction would inevitably lead to the destruction of their habitats,” stated UAnimals in an appeal to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the State Geological and Subsoil Service. According to local activists, other organizations also sent similar appeals.
On January 31, during a session of the regional council, the quarry development permit was revoked: deputies voted to establish the “Hora Lyskivka” landscape reserve and declared the hill a protected natural site.
The Busha deposit contains limestone, chalk, and tripoli (a type of rock used in cement and other construction materials). The investor is particularly interested in tripoli. The company plans to challenge the regional council’s decision in court.
A similar situation unfolded with permits for resort development in the Svydovets mountain range in the Carpathians: despite the Supreme Court canceling the construction plan, investors created a new proposal and are ready to continue the fight. Read more about this case in an op-ed by an environmental lawyer and member of the Free Svydovets initiative on UAnimals media.
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