SDG 14. Life Below Water: UzhNU Progress in 2025
Zakarpattia is landlocked, but the region’s rivers belong to the Danube and Black Sea basin, so the state of Carpathian waters affects marine ecosystems. In 2025, UzhNU launched international wetland monitoring, studied pollution of transboundary rivers and took part in the Baltic University Programme, which focuses on sustainable development of the Baltic Sea region.
Key figures, 2025
| Indicator | Value |
| WeVaRe project: partners from Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania / grant to UzhNU | 7 participants (UzhNU as lead) / EUR 182,476.07 |
| Baltic University Programme (BUP) network | over 100 universities from 14 countries |
| UzhNU students at BUP events | 3 at the conference in Tallinn; 1 at the training in Uppsala |
| UI GreenMetric, Water | 462.5 points (+112.5) |
Research on aquatic ecosystems
• The WeVaRe project is creating a database and a system for monitoring the degradation and pollution of internationally important wetlands in Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania using remote sensing and GIS.
• Under the SAIA programme, an environmentally friendly method for determining fluorides was developed and fluoride levels were screened in transboundary rivers of Ukraine and Slovakia.
• UzhNU’s international project work includes studying the impact of river pollution on biodiversity.
Reducing campus runoff pollution
• Rooftop rainwater harvesting at the Botanical Garden reduces stormwater runoff into the city network.
• The storm and sewer networks of the academic and laboratory building and Dormitories No. 4 and 5 were repaired.
Education and international cooperation
• Vice-Rector M. Lendiel spoke at the BUP Symposium 2025; UzhNU representatives took part in the BUP workshop for teaching staff in Lublin (13–14 March).
• A UzhNU master’s student was the only representative of Ukraine among 30 participants of the BUP training on writing master’s theses on sustainable development (Uppsala, March).
• Students have access to the BUP courses “Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region” and “Energy Transition in the Baltic Sea Region”.
