The damage caused by the war in the Amazon of Europe: “It will take decades to recover”

What impact is the Russian invasion having on the nature and environment of the Ukrainian territories after almost eight months? As thousands of people continue to die in the escalation of bombs and violence in the conflict, Ukraine’s natural resources appear today – even if it is difficult to make concrete estimates – increasingly compromised.

It is assumed that the 30% of the country’s protected areasapproximately 3 million acres of forests, wetlands and natural environmentsit was bombed, polluted or hit by military maneuversaccording to the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection.

Only in the first four months of the invasion are they counted 37 thousand fires: Steppe ecosystems, plants and animals have been paying the bill so far, i polluted Donbass rivers and there are fears of high damages linked to illegal logging of the Carpathians and in particular to suffer they could be 44 plant species endemic to the Black Sea Peninsula. Furthermore, an aspect of which little information is still available, there are all possible damages in the area of ​​the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

In the Donbass Meanwhile, there are reports of various industrial plants damaged or abandoned and the destroyed sewers are pouring pollutants into the rivers, as well as there are critical issues related to some oil pipelines that have compromised the wetlands by contaminating them with oil. Other estimates, such as those from WWF Central & Eastern Europe and WWF Ukraine, indicate the possibility that they are at least 280 thousand hectares of forests destroyed or cut down.

All conditions on which it is complex, and in many cases impossible, to be certain, given that several natural areas are off-limits due to the war. One of these is the important one Drevlyansky nature reserve in Ukraine, once considered a pristine sanctuary for wildlife. Here, together with the correspondents Bbcthe forest ranger Valeri Stepanenko Oleksandrovychin military uniform and protected by a group of armed men, she returned to the reserve to try to trace the possibilities environmental damage caused by the conflict. The scenario is tragic: for the expert it will take decades for nature to recover.

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In fact, in the reserve there is a problem of mines, which have already caused the death of several mammals including the deerand the consequences of the bombing that led to it being burned numerous species of flowers and plants in the area. This area, between lakes, woods, forests and wetlands, is like this rich in fauna – from wolves to lynxes or moose – which is also called the Amazon of Europe.

Located in what is referred to as Polesiaabout 80 kilometers from Chernobyl, after the repercussions of the 1986 accident, the area, also thanks to the absence of human beings and anthropogenic impact, had recovered well enough to count about 500 species of fauna and over 800 of plants.

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Today, however, according to the first inspections by Valeri Stepanenko Oleksandrovych, a large part of the reserve is in danger: “Russian landmines are the worst legacy left by the invasion, together with fires and bombing damage” he explains.

Here they went about 2 thousand hectares of uncontaminated forest on fire dispersing wildlife, fragmenting habitats and burning hundreds of rare plants. According to the expert “the wildlife in this part of Ukraine he will not return soon “, also because the earth no longer offers food or even shelter conditions.

Several animal carcasses have been seen along the paths of the reserve, probably killed by mines: at the same time today those paths and dirt tracks that the rangers used to control the area are too dangerous to use so it is impossible to verify the exact range. damage.

What is certain is that the more the conflict continues, the more the policies necessary for reclamation and to implement conservation and animal protection will have to wait. In doing so, says the forest ranger, “it is likely that we would have to wait decades” before the Amazon of Europe is able to recover.