The critical issue of the destruction of the Ukrainian Carpathians by proposed wind farm development has finally reached the level of the national Parliament (Verkhovna Rada)!
In response, a joint, off-site session of two Parliamentary Committees – the Committee on European Integration and the Committee on Environmental Policy – is scheduled for October. We sincerely hope this intervention will help preserve the unique nature of the Carpathians.
The Scope of the Threat
The developers’ plans extend far beyond the Runa Polonyna (a unique, high-altitude subalpine meadow). They target several major ridges, including Polonynas Hostra, Krasna, Apetzka, Svyidovets, and the Watershed Ridge (Vododilnyi Khrebet). If these plans proceed, up to half of the Zakarpattia region’s high-altitude area will be transformed into an industrial zone.
We remind our international colleagues that the situation at the Runa Polonyna is already alarming:
- Circumvention of EIA: Construction began without obtaining the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Conclusion/Decision. In a disturbing precedent, the State Environmental Inspectorate and the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning (DIAM) “somehow” decided that the Wind Power Plant (WPP) foundation is not, in fact, a WPP foundation, and is therefore entirely unrelated to the WPP construction process – a maneuver that completely undermines the EIA process.
- Destruction of Protected Ecosystems: The construction of a logging road to the polonyna not only destroyed documented localities of Red Data Book plant species but also officially recognized primeval forests (pralisy – old-growth forests of exceptional conservation value).
- Pressure on Activists: Developers and their proxies are engaging in unprecedented pressure against activists defending the mountains. This pressure includes a dirty, commissioned information campaign (paid smear campaigns), lawsuits, and intimidation of media outlets.
If this pattern is not halted now, other mountain ridges will be destroyed using the exact same “scheme.” The Runa Polonyna case is a critical legal and ecological test for Ukraine’s commitment to the rule of law and its European integration environmental standards.
