PAPILIO aims, among other things to learn and spread the word about the natural resources and folk traditions of Transcarpathia, planning, managing and implementing of theoretical and practical ecological research, and to carry out small-scale landscape rehabilitation. To develop environmentally friendly forest and grassland management.
Szatmár-Bereg plain, belonging to the Pannonian Lowland, near the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains contains species-rich hardwood groves dependent on regular flooding. The species-rich Latorica River is threatened by huge blockages which have developed as it flows through forests, picking up waste dumped by local communities, when it floods. Waste blockages can grow up to 300m long and reach the bottom of the riverbed, preventing the migration and reproduction of various organisms, especially fish species and could cause an ecological catastrophe if not addressed urgently. Three clean-ups have collected over five tonnes of waste. PAPILIO will map the plastic pollution and blockages along 30km of river and 4000ha of floodplain, organise 20 educational events and three more clean-ups with local communities, removing around 10 tonnes of waste from the river. Plastic waste will be recycled, dead wood will be dried, cut and given to disadvantaged families for fuel.
