The Department of Rational Use of Natural Resources and Nature Protection (RUNR and NP) at the Faculty of Geography of the Ivan Franko National University of L’viv was established in 1988 under Rector’s order No. 658 as of 20 April 1988.
Atdifferent times famous scholars worked at the Department: Doctor of Biological Sciences, Doctor HonorisCausa, Professor StepanStoiko; Academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Professor FedirPalfii; Doctor of Geographic Sciences, Professor Heorhii Bachynskyi; Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor AlikManenko; Doctor of Law, Professor SvitlanaKravchenko; Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor PlatonTretiak; Candidate of Geological-Mineralogical Sciences Viktor Ohonochenko. The Department develops such directions of scientific research: ecological-economic and ecological-geographic problems of nature management (Prof. S. Kukurudza, Assoc. Prof. M. Syrotiuk, Assoc. Prof. I. Rozhko, Assoc. Prof. I. Koinova, Head of Lab. P. Telish), monitoring, metrization and ecological evaluation of landscape systems (Prof. S. Kukurudza, Prof. Z. Hamkalo, Assoc. Prof. B. Senchyna, Asssoc. Prof. F. Kiptach), ecological and socioecological problems (Prof. S. Kukurudza, Prof. M. Nazaruk, Assoc. Prof. M. Syrotiuk, Assoc. Prof. O. Perkhach), antropogenic landscape transformation (Prof. P. Shtoiko, Assoc. Prof. F. Kiptach, Assoc. Prof. I. Koinova, Assoc. Prof. N. Blazhko), historical-geographic research (Prof. S. Kukurudza, Prof. M. Nazaruk, Assoc. Prof. P. Shtoiko, Assoc. Prof. O. Perkhach).
Postgraduate Studies function at the Department; its graduates have the opportunity to obtain a scientific degree of a Candidate of Geographic Sciences in the specialty 11.00.11 – Constructive Geography and Rational Use of Natural Resources.
The Department prepares Bachelors, Specialists and Masters in the specialty 8.070502 “Geography”.
After the defense of Bachelor’s thesis the graduates obtain a qualification “Geographer. Lecturer of Geography, Basics of Economics and Ecology”, of Master’s thesis – “Master of Geography. Rational Use of Natural Resources and Nature Protection”.
Eleven lecturers and five employees of scientific-supporting staff work at the Department. The University Laboratory of Ecological Expertise and the Cabinet of Nature Protection function at the Department.
The RUNR and NP Department maintains relations with the Department of Natural Environment Protection in the L’viv Region, the Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians NAS of Ukraine, national nature parks – Carpathian, Hutsulschyna, Yavoriv, Shatsk, Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, “Roztochchia” Reserve, “Znesinnia” Regional Landscape Park, numerous higher educational establishments and non-governmental organizations of Ukraine. Cooperation agreements have been signed with the Catholic University of Liublin and the Institute of Ecology and Management of Warsaw (the Republic of Poland).
Non-governmental ecological organization “Ekopostup” and student ecological circles function at the Department.