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The Newsletter of
the
Socio-Ecological Union
A Center for Coordination
and Information
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Moscow, Russia -- Issue 10(32),
special, November, 2002
IN THIS ISSUE:
ARE THESE THE LAST HOURS OF THE DANUBE BIOSPHERE RESERVE???
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!
ARE THESE THE LAST HOURS OF THE DANUBE BIOSPHERE RESERVE???
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!
On November 22, 1 pm Kiev time, alarming news regarding the fate of the
Danube biosphere reserve came. The struggle for the reserve came to its
crucial point.
According to information leaked from the Ministers Cabinet of Ukraine, the
Minister of Transport has used its personal influence on the Ukrainian
presidet Leonid Kuchma to pass to him directly (without approval of the
Ministers cabibnet) draft decree on the reserve. The draft states that 5600
ha should be withdrawn from the reserve territory for ship canal
construction. It is also planned to construct cargo loading facilities.
All this will irreversibly destroy these unique European wilderness
wetlands!
Kuchma may sign this decree in the nearest future.
The only way to prevet this is to launch massive fax attack, starting today.
Ukraine wants to enter Europen Union and NATO- so the environmetnal
community should show tha there is no way for governmet to violate its own
legislation and international agreements, as Danube reserve is a UNESCO and
Ramsar site.
THE FATE OF THE DANUBE RESERVE AND ITS INHABITANTS DEPENDS ON YOUR
ACTION!!!!!
For telegrams
President of Ukraine, Kuchma Leonid Danilovich.,
01220. Kiev, Administration of the President of Ukraine,
str. Bankovaya, 1,
For fax 8-10-380-44 ---291-61-61
Secretary phone: 8-10-380-44---226-20-77
Shaparenko Sergey,
President of the Council Environmental Group "Pechenegy"
(13, Zabaikal'ski Lane, Apt. 6, Kharkiv, Ukraine 61105,
pecheneg@ic.kharkov.ua)
Vladimir Boreyko, Kiev ecological and cultural center
(Raduzhnaya str. 31-48, 02218 Kiev, Ukraine, tel\fax + 038 044 433 52 62,
kekz@carrier.kiev.ua; borey@alfacom.net)
BACKGROUND
To protect the Danube delta ecosystems several years ago the Danube
biosphere reserve was created. It is
located in the Ukrainian part of the Danube delta. On February 2, 1999 it
was awarded international
biosphere reserve certificate.
Now this valuable territory is under threat. Ministry of Transport of
Ukraine plans to construct a
deep-water navigation canal "The Danube - The Black Sea". The Ministry of
Transport of Ukraine
insists on pursuing a variant which passes through an the Bystroye Estuary
of the Danube Delta,
which is located within the specially protected area of the Danube Biosphere
Reserve. The Danube
Reserve is part of the UNESCO bilateral biosphere reserve "Delta of the
Danube". Construction of a
canal according to the mentioned project will cause a degradation of the
significant part of the
reserve, killing one of the most valuable natural territories. The reserve
is valuable breeding and
feeding ground for birds, many of which are endangered species. 16 of the
species inhabiting the
resereve are on European Red list, 70 - on Ukrainian Red List. The reserve
is also a Ramsar site,
one of the 200 biodiversity rich wetlands of the world.
At www.seu.ru/projects/eng/dunay you will find more details about the
reserve itself. You can also find some photos from the Danube biosphere
reserve to see the birds, inhabiting this wildlife habitiat in the center of
Europe.
Back to SEU Times home page
This issue was written and complied by
Sviatoslav Zabelin - the SEU Council Co-Chair, svet@seu.ru
Olga Berlova seupress@seu.ru, translation by Alla Kapustina
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