The Black Sea Reserve was organized in 1927 by the Resolution of USSR Council of Peoples Commissars of July 14, №172 “About the establishment of seaside reserves on the coast of the Black and Azov seas”.
On November 25, 1983 NAS Presidium by its Decision № 538 transformed the Black Sea State Reserve into a biosphere reserve. In 1985 the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve was included in the International network of biosphere reserves (UNESCO certificate of 15 February 1985).
The basic lines of Reserve’s research activities are:
- protection and conservation of natural systems;
- development of scientific principles of preserving their natural conditions;
- ecological monitoring.
Principal achievements:
- The territoties protected have been assigned the highest conservation status – that of biosphere reserve. These territories are Wetlands of international value (under the Ramsar convention).
- The classification and inventory of natural complexes of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve have been carried out. A representative system of ecological monitoring of their state has been developed and implemented.
- Guidelines towards improving the territorial borders of the Reserve were prepared, according to which in 1998 the territory of ‘Yahorlitsky Kut’ site was enlarged (4700 hectares of land and 8761 hectares of water area) by the Decree of the President of Ukraine of 12 May 1998 № 457/98 "About extending the territory of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve".
- “Annals of Nature” are published every year; they present the results of research done at the Reserve and the results of ecological monitoring.
- The Management Plan for further development of the Biosphere Reserve has been prepared.
- The Department of environmentalist education and the museum of Reserve’s wild life successfully operate here.