The Tylihul Estuary in times of war: how nature and tourism coexist in the face of growing popularity

The Tylihul estuary. Photo: NikVesti

The Tylihul Estuary is one of the few places where it is not forbidden to have a rest after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Every year, this tourist destination becomes more and more popular.

NikVesti decided to find out how the tourist magnet has changed over time and whether the influx of tourists poses a threat to the unique nature near the estuary.

What attracts tourists to the Tylihul Estuary?

Despite the war, the Tylihul Estuary remains relatively safe for recreation. It is one of the largest estuaries in the Northern Black Sea region, stretching along the Black Sea coast for more than 60 km. Its uniqueness lies in the combination of fresh and salt water, rich biodiversity and picturesque landscapes that attract both nature lovers and tourists looking for relaxation.

The estuary is surrounded by steppe slopes, and its coastline is a combination of shallow water, beaches and salt marshes. The area is part of the Tylihul Regional Landscape Park, which protects dozens of bird species, rare plants and unique ecosystems. Here you can see pink flamingos, cormorants, swans, and thousands of migratory birds during spring migration.

In total, the park covers more than 8,000 hectares, of which 20 hectares are set aside and equipped for recreation. According to Oleksandr Diachenko, acting director of the Regional Landscape Park «Tylihulskyi», the popularity of recreation in the park has grown significantly in recent years. Last year, tourists started arriving in May, and this year, due to unstable weather conditions, the season started later. The main flow of holidaymakers is on weekends.

«Compared to last year, May 2024 was hot, and so was June. There were more holidaymakers and visitors in June. The park's territory is 8,200 hectares, and it is difficult to count the exact number of people. But there were more of them than before the full-scale invasion of», says Oleksandr Diachenko.

Oleksandr Diachenko. Photo: NikVesti

Half a million for recreation: how the park uses «tourist money»

A tourist fee of 20 hryvnias has been introduced on the territory of the «Tylihulskyi» landscape park, which helps the park cover the cost of fuel, equipment repairs and other needs. According to Oleksandr Diachenko, these funds are important for the park, but visitors are not forced to pay — the fee is voluntary.

«This is the responsibility of our security department and recreation department. Unfortunately, not all people want to pay these 20 hryvnias, so in order not to create tension and conflict situations, we do not insist on payment. We have barcodes that people can use to pay and immediately receive a receipt on their smartphones. No cheques, no money from hand to hand — the recreational fee is paid using the barcode», says the park's acting director.

In 2023-2024, the park managed to earn about half a million hryvnias.

«The money is spent on refuelling vehicles, cleaning the territory, and on some small things for the park, such as mops and repairing some office equipment. It helps the park a lot,» adds Oleksandr Diyachenko.

The Tylihul Estuary. Photo: NikVesti

To support development and attract more tourists, the park supports the involvement of entrepreneurs who open new locations. In recent years, there have been many more of them.

«We have had an oyster farm since 2018, I think. Now we have a snail farm «Snail Paradise». We invited an entrepreneur from the village of Ukrainka to open this tourist location so that people could try snails. We also installed a playground and a sports ground for park visitors. We opened a location of our kiting federation in Mykolaiv region, and a kite school is now open. A local entrepreneur from Kobleve opened «Fish Bay», which offers fish products caught in the estuary. Another new location is on the beach: with curtains and sun loungers, because there are practically no trees on the territory, and it is very hot in summer», says the head of the park «Tylihulskyi».

Tylihul Regional Landscape Park. Photo: Facebook/ Mykolaiv Regional State Administration

The Tylihul estuary. Photo: Facebook/ Mykolaiv Regional State Administration

The Tylihul estuary. Photo: Facebook/ Mykolaiv Regional State Administration

Parking is prohibited: why there is still no parking for tourists on Tylihul

An urgent problem for the park now is the lack of parking spaces for tourists' vehicles, which can damage the unique plants in the Tylihul Estuary.

Legislation prohibits the construction of parking areas in the park, so there have been discussions for several years about organising a car park outside the spit where cars could be directed. However, this project remains only in the planning stages. The main reason for this is the lack of officially approved boundaries of the regional landscape park «Tylihulskyi».

Back in 2018-2019, the zoning and boundaries of the park were being developed, but due to numerous inconsistencies in the documentation, the process was delayed and criminal proceedings were opened. As a result, the zoning and boundary setting was blocked.

Tylihul estuary. Photo: NikVesti

Currently, a new appeal is being prepared to the Ministry of Environmental Protection to expand the boundaries of the park «Tylihulskyi». In May this year, at a meeting of the deputy commission on ecology of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, it was noted that the actual area of the park now exceeds that which was determined at the time of its creation. In 1995, the park officially occupied 8195 hectares, but in reality the area is approximately 1700 hectares larger. Therefore, these changes need to be taken into account and incorporated into the new plan.

The previous application for approval of the park's boundaries to the Ministry was not supported due to a dispute with the Kobleve community over three land plots. However, these disputed boundaries have now been revised, and the Ecology Department has received approval and is preparing an updated application to the Ministry of Ecology.

After approval, the park's boundaries will be officially approved and a land management project will be prepared. According to Volodymyr Panych, the head of the Kobleve community, it is after the park's boundaries are determined that the issue of parking will be raised again.

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«The boundaries of the landscape park have not yet been approved. This issue is already somewhere on the way out. After that, we will decide together with them (the management of the Tylihul park, —note) where the parking will be, so that we have an understanding on this issue», said Volodymyr Panych.

In the meantime, there is no official car park, and the park has restrictions on entry to certain areas.

«We, in turn, have restricted access to some areas of the park so that cars do not park there and do not disturb the grass cover. Currently, the situation is more or less under control», says Oleksandr Diachenko, head of the park.

The Tylihul estuary. Photo: Facebook/ Mykolaiv Regional State Administration

How the growth of tourism on the Tylihul Estuary affects nature

With the increasing number of visitors to the «Tylihulskyi» park, environmental organisations are increasingly concerned about the preservation of flora and fauna.

The head of the park says that all entrepreneurs must sign contracts for garbage and waste removal with the Kobleve community and are also obliged to clean their territories.

The State Ecological Inspectorate of the South-Western District is supposed to check for violations, but their capabilities are limited due to martial law. Currently, inspectors can only carry out unscheduled inspections when they receive a request from citizens and it is approved by the relevant ministry.

Such an unscheduled inspection was carried out in 2023 near the village of Ukrainka in the Kobleve community. The reason was a collective appeal from citizens about the harmful impact of tourist infrastructure. During the inspection on the Velyka Ukrainska (Chylova) Spit, the inspectors recorded a number of gross violations:

• Wastewater storage and disinfection facilities are located in the estuary's coastal protection zone;

• soil contamination due to wastewater leakage was recorded;

• the territory is littered with household waste;

• the boundaries of the nature reserve fund are not defined;

• there is no project for organising the park's territory and zoning by functional type (environmental, recreational, scientific, etc.).

The total amount of environmental damage was estimated at over 585 thousand hryvnias. At that time, a report on an administrative offence was drawn up against the acting director of the RLP «Tylhulskyi», and the case was referred to court. An order to eliminate the violations was also issued. The case was considered by the Berezanka District Court of Mykolaiv region, but it was closed due to the absence of an administrative offence.

During 2023-2024, the Inspectorate did not receive any new appeals from citizens regarding violations in the Tylihul Estuary.

But during inspections as part of environmental protection measures in 2023 and 2024, inspectors recorded 12 violations. These included 7 cases of poaching, 2 cases of illegal grass burning, 2 violations of waste management rules, and one case of non-compliance with the protected area regime. Nine people were brought to justice, and the total amount of damage caused to the fishery was 7,344 hryvnias.

Tiligulskyi RLP (Anatoliyivska Spit). Photo: Dmytro Matz

Save to return

The Tylihul estuary is not only a picturesque place for recreation, but also a unique nature conservation area that requires careful treatment from everyone who comes here. Despite the challenging situation in the country, the park continues to receive holidaymakers and gradually develop infrastructure for guests. However, as its popularity grows, so does the pressure on the environment. In these conditions, preserving the estuary is a common cause. To ensure that this natural gem remains open for future generations, it is important that every visitor treats it not as a resource but as a value. To have a responsible holiday means to take care of it.

Alona Kokhanchuk, NikVesti