ULRMC organized a training entitled "Systematization of Spatial Data and its Processing for Biodiversity Protection, with Application of GIS Tools."

The training became the first of its kind in Ukraine for natural reserve experts in the design of spatial databases and the application of GIS and remote sensing data in spatial analysis, in the management of Prypiat-Stokhid, a transboundary reserve that is now emerging in Polissia region, with support from the international community.

The training was conducted at the request from the Scientific Center for Natural Reserve Management, as part of the Project "Biodiversity Conservation in Upper Prypiat River Basin", and supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Global Environmental Fund (GEF).

The training brought together divisional experts from the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Shatskiy National Natural Park, Prypiat-Stokhid Regional Landscape Park, scientific institutions of Lviv and Kyiv, and a group of NGOs.

ULRMC experts presented the training participants with relevant updates in Ukraine and the United States. As an example on how GIS models may be used in reserve management, the participants were also shown a pilot GIS model designed for the studies of the Sea of Azov-Black Sea Region. The model was developed in 2001 and is now continuously upgraded.