Introduction

In countries that made up the former Soviet Union, however much one wants to concentrate on fungal conservation, general infrastructure problems demand attention. Until they have been addressed, little conservation of anything can take place. Ukraine is no exception. A number of agencies are committed to eliminating poverty and sustaining development in the transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe; the Department for International Development (DFID) is the British government department responsible for this. DFID has published a concise assessment of Ukraine's political, economic and environmental background which can be found in the UK Government's 1998 country strategy paper for Ukraine at the web site <http://www.dfid.gov.uk/public/what/pdf/ukraine_csp.pdf>, with the UK Government's environmental strategy for Ukraine being on <http://bc.kiev.ua/english/work/envstr.pdf>. The realities described in these two straight-talking documents make one admire all the more the dedication of those Ukrainian mycologists who have stayed in Ukraine and who somehow manage to continue their work in surroundings that are often difficult. Problems in Ukrainian science and education are a microcosm of those at national level. The issues that must be faced in solving those problems are extremely difficult, and many are contentious. It is inappropriate to discuss them here.

Ukraine does, however, have a national policy on nature conservation. The present work describes efforts by a team of Ukrainian and British scientists to provide infrastructure for fungal conservation within that national policy, through improved computing and informational resources.