ISSN 2786-4561 (printed)
ISSN 2786-457X (online)

CONSTRUCTIVE GEOGRAPHY AND RATIONAL USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Vol.7.1 (2026). pp. 31-38

Presence and activity of Ukraine's national nature parks on Facebook in 2016

Varukha A.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5905-1107
Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve, Kyiv, Ukraine
https://doi.org/10.17721/2786-4561.2026.7.1-4/14

Annotation. The article provides a retrospective analysis of the representation of Ukraine's national nature parks (NNP) on Facebook as of 2016. The relevance of the work is due to the lack of retrospective scientific data on the digital activity of protected areas administrations and the need to study the evolution of their activities. The study is based on an assessment of empirical data collected manually on the frequency of publications by 48 NNP using the author's six-point scale (from 0 to 5 points). It was found that 69% of NPPs had official pages, which refutes the incorrect data of modern AI systems (Gemini, Perplexity). The key characteristics of the parks' communication were identified: the absence of SMM specialists, the language barrier, and a predominantly one-sided nature of communication. The scientific novelty lies in the first systematic characterisation of the digital landscape of Ukraine's national parks on Facebook in 2016. Despite the high representation, most parks (71%) had low publication activity. Promising areas for further research have been identified, in particular, the correlation between the activity of national nature parks on social networks and income from recreational activities. The work emphasises the strategic importance of Facebook communication as a tool for achieving transparent, effective, and equitable management of protected areas.

Keywords: national nature park, Facebook, Ukraine, communication, nature reserve fund.
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