Two weeks ago, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) discovered illegal construction of dams on the Tesnivka and Tnia rivers (both located in the Zhytomyr region, a part of the ecological area known as Polissia) and filed formal complaints.
What has happened since then is alarming:
- Official Inaction: Water management officials failed to “notice” the recently constructed dam on the Tnia River, instead labeling it a “non-owner facility” that has supposedly existed for 30 years. It was later confirmed that no permits were ever issued for the dam’s construction.
- Further Sabotage: Slightly downstream on the Tnia River, the riverbed was also illegally blocked with concrete slabs by “unknown persons.”
- Limited Response: The Prypiat River Basin Water Resources Authority (Basynove upravlinnia vodnykh resursiv richky Prypiat) finally acknowledged the illegal barriers on the Tesnivka River and issued an order to the Adelaida Farm Enterprise (Fermerske hospodarstvo “Adelaida”) for their dismantlement.
- Legal Action: The Zviahel District Prosecutor’s Office has begun a formal investigation into the presence of the illegal dams.
Crucially, however, the most important action – restoring the free flow of the river – has not taken place. While government agencies exchange letters, the Tnia River is dying. The amount of water in the river decreases daily, as the remaining flow is diverted for the irrigation of potato crops belonging to the Adelaida Farm Enterprise.
Immediate Action Required
To halt the ecological damage and prevent the complete loss of these river ecosystems, the government must immediately:
- Dismantle all illegal structures (dams and barriers) in the riverbeds of the Tnia and Tesnivka rivers.
- Suspend all water abstraction permits for irrigation from these rivers until the required Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure is successfully completed.
The state possesses the necessary legal mechanisms to execute these steps. The key question, however, is whether the political will to do so exists.
