14 September 2015
EPL continues its studies of the state of environment in the Crimea after annexation and has revealed a number of gaps. There are new threats to the most valuable objects of protected areas.
At the moment of annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea by the Russian Federation, there were 196 objects of protected areas on the peninsular, 44 of them with the national status (analogy to federal status regarding particularly valuable protected natural territories of the Russian Federation).
The problem is that the network of protected areas of the Crimea includes also part of marine territories with the status of coastal aquatic complexes (hereinafter – CAC) that are natural monuments of local value. However, in the Russian legislation marine aquatoria are zones of federal subordination and therefore the change of category or subordination is needed for these objects.
EPL experts learned that in the course of development of the draft Scheme of territorial planning of the Republic of the Crimea it was noted that “taking into consideration interests of the Russian Federation in the field of defense and security of borders, particularly valuable territories can be corrected.i Also, the document mentions the necessity to decide on the fate of protected CAC. This is the only practical moment in the 240-page document.
Therefore, EPL experts believe that there is real threat of development of military infrastructure on the territory of coastal aquatic complexes of the Crimea. It is important that several territories such as aquatic cliff complex of the Kazantyp cape, aquatic cliff complex of Karadag and aquatic coastal complex of the Opuk cape belong to wetlands of international importance protected by the Ramsar Convention.
Kateryna Norenko, EPL environmentalist
e–mail: kateryna.norenko@gmail.com, office@epl.org.ua
Oleksiy Vasyliuk, EPL environmentalist
e-mail: vasyliuk@gmail.com, office@epl.org.ua,
тел.: (032) 225 – 76 – 82, (097) 100 – 04 – 73
i Proposals regarding environmental protection and improvement of sanitary-hygienic conditions for protection of air and water basins, soils, organization of the system of protected natural territories. Volume 2. Book 6. http://oopt.aari.ru/ref/921
