Jun 9, 2023 04:12 PM
(This post was last modified: Jun 9, 2023 04:13 PM by C C.)
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/kakhovka...ng-ukraine
EXCERPTS: Veremiychyk, of the National Ecological Center of Ukraine (NECU), says the impact of the dam’s destruction is severe. It will range from the obliteration of habitats to the contamination of drinking water...
[...] President Zelensky has called the catastrophe an ecocide—apparently in reference to Article 441 of Ukraine’s criminal code, which defines it as the mass destruction of flora or fauna, poisoning of the atmosphere or water, or other large-scale environmental crimes.
Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, Andrij Melnyk, says the dam’s destruction is “the worst environmental disaster in Europe since Chernobyl.” And various research and conservation groups are now tallying the dreadful toll on the surrounding environment. This is just the latest in a long series of ecologically damaging acts that have occurred since Russia invaded. For many months, experts have been sounding the alarm about the environmental aspect of the war.
Every crime has a perpetrator and, for many Ukrainians and expert observers, that perpetrator is obvious. In an email to WIRED, the head of NECU, Ruslan Havryliuk, calls this “another Russian military terrorist act against Ukraine.” Russia has denied responsibility, but it is important to note that certain Russian statements about the country’s activities in Ukraine have been unreliable.
[...] According to Ukraine’s agricultural ministry, 95,000 metric tons of fish could be lost.
[...] In the path of the flood waters lie homes, farms, wetlands, meadows, and national parks. Much of the wildlife living in these habitats will probably be wiped out, says Veremiychyk: “It will be big losses.”
[...] Birds that rely on the waterways and wetlands, including the beautiful Eurasian spoonbill, reptiles such as the Caspian whipsnake, and vulnerable mammals like Nordmann’s mouse are also considered at risk. “These animals,” the authors of the blog post write, “have no means of survival in the turbulent flow.”
Turnbull says that nature-focused groups in Ukraine are already documenting the many ecological impacts of the war in order to gather hard evidence and establish the true extent of environmental destruction. We can expect to see reports detailing the consequences of the dam’s breaching in the coming months and years.
[...] contaminants from septic tanks and wastewater treatment facilities could also be washed over the land...
Alongside wildlife in the Ukrainian part of the steppe live farmers, many of whom grow grain. The Ukrainian Agrarian Council estimates that the Kakhovka disaster could lead to a 14 percent drop in Ukraine’s grain exports...
[...] For communities that depended on the Kakhovka Reservoir for drinking water and the irrigation of farmland, it will be difficult if not impossible to replace this water resource...
The UNCG estimates that the recovery of species affected by the dam’s destruction could take many years. And this will unfold unevenly... (MORE - missing details)
Concerns about land mines being washed downstream: https://youtu.be/L5pBUCFTs3U
Mass plague of dead fish: https://youtu.be/3aq3T9ZErMg
A look at the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine ... https://youtu.be/c9JQnAcvKCA
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/c9JQnAcvKCA
EXCERPTS: Veremiychyk, of the National Ecological Center of Ukraine (NECU), says the impact of the dam’s destruction is severe. It will range from the obliteration of habitats to the contamination of drinking water...
[...] President Zelensky has called the catastrophe an ecocide—apparently in reference to Article 441 of Ukraine’s criminal code, which defines it as the mass destruction of flora or fauna, poisoning of the atmosphere or water, or other large-scale environmental crimes.
Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, Andrij Melnyk, says the dam’s destruction is “the worst environmental disaster in Europe since Chernobyl.” And various research and conservation groups are now tallying the dreadful toll on the surrounding environment. This is just the latest in a long series of ecologically damaging acts that have occurred since Russia invaded. For many months, experts have been sounding the alarm about the environmental aspect of the war.
Every crime has a perpetrator and, for many Ukrainians and expert observers, that perpetrator is obvious. In an email to WIRED, the head of NECU, Ruslan Havryliuk, calls this “another Russian military terrorist act against Ukraine.” Russia has denied responsibility, but it is important to note that certain Russian statements about the country’s activities in Ukraine have been unreliable.
[...] According to Ukraine’s agricultural ministry, 95,000 metric tons of fish could be lost.
[...] In the path of the flood waters lie homes, farms, wetlands, meadows, and national parks. Much of the wildlife living in these habitats will probably be wiped out, says Veremiychyk: “It will be big losses.”
[...] Birds that rely on the waterways and wetlands, including the beautiful Eurasian spoonbill, reptiles such as the Caspian whipsnake, and vulnerable mammals like Nordmann’s mouse are also considered at risk. “These animals,” the authors of the blog post write, “have no means of survival in the turbulent flow.”
Turnbull says that nature-focused groups in Ukraine are already documenting the many ecological impacts of the war in order to gather hard evidence and establish the true extent of environmental destruction. We can expect to see reports detailing the consequences of the dam’s breaching in the coming months and years.
[...] contaminants from septic tanks and wastewater treatment facilities could also be washed over the land...
Alongside wildlife in the Ukrainian part of the steppe live farmers, many of whom grow grain. The Ukrainian Agrarian Council estimates that the Kakhovka disaster could lead to a 14 percent drop in Ukraine’s grain exports...
[...] For communities that depended on the Kakhovka Reservoir for drinking water and the irrigation of farmland, it will be difficult if not impossible to replace this water resource...
The UNCG estimates that the recovery of species affected by the dam’s destruction could take many years. And this will unfold unevenly... (MORE - missing details)
Concerns about land mines being washed downstream: https://youtu.be/L5pBUCFTs3U
Mass plague of dead fish: https://youtu.be/3aq3T9ZErMg
A look at the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine ... https://youtu.be/c9JQnAcvKCA