Environment-People-Law is pleased to announce a September 29 Supreme Court decision protecting the Svydovets massif from short-sighted plans for a giant ski resort.
“Svydovets is our home, not an ATM machine for oligarchs,” “say local activists from the Zakarpattia region. “We want our children to see these pristine mountains and experience the love and joy that their natural beauty inspires.”
Developers have proposed to construct a ski resort complex in the Svydovets that includes 60 hotels, 390 cottages, 120 restaurants, 10 multipurpose centers, and 230 km of ski trails and trails for offroad vehicles. The enormous development would accommodate at least 18,000 visitors a day. More than 400 hectares would need to be cleared, including pristine forests. The complex requires enormous amounts of water and threatens to pollute the untouched mountain site through lack of sewage and waste treatment systems. Approval of the project would violate Ukrainian law tied to public participation and procedures for approving construction plans.
Civil society activists celebrated the Court decision which sent the case for a new review, due to procedural violations. The ruling suspends construction plans that threaten habitat for more than 42 rare and endangered plant and animal species, in a valuable area of the Carpathians that belong to the Emerald network and are protected by the Bern Convention.
“These type investments go against environmental protection, curbing climate change, biodiversity preservation, and current trends set by the European Green Deal and enshrined in nature conservation philosophy now recognized around the world,” says Olena Kravchenko, EPL Executive Director.
A key part of the court decision makes it possible to expand the group of plaintiffs, beyond a local activist and EPL, to include anyone willing to be a party to the litigation.
EPL hopes that by uniting efforts with representatives of civil society who have demonstrated their devotion to protecting the Svydovets that they put a final stop to plans of oligarchs to use natural treasures for personal enrichment.
