Open AccessENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN EASTERN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF DONBAS REINTEGRATION
Author(s) -
Serhii Ivaniuta
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
strategìčna panorama
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2616-9460
pISSN - 2616-891X
DOI - 10.53679/2616-9460.1-2.2019.02
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , flooding (psychology) , population , geography , environmental protection , environmental planning , water supply , environmental disaster , water security , water resources , environmental science , environmental engineering , environmental health , oil spill , archaeology , ecology , medicine , psychology , psychotherapist , biology
Priorities for ensuring environmental security in the zone of military conflict in Eastern Ukraine as components of environmental protection in the context of the reintegration of temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions have been identified. It is noted that about 3.6 million people in the regions along the demarcation line face problems with access to clean water. It is emphasized that as a result of hostilities there was a large-scale destruction and damage to critical infrastructure. This has led to an imbalance in the temporarily occupied territory, as well as a dangerous decline in the level of environmental protection in the region, which is home to about 5 million people. It is emphasized that uncontrolled flooding of many mines leads to an increase in the number and scale of manifestation of dangerous environmental factors for the life of the population and increasing socio-economic tensions in the area up to 15 thousand km2. At the same time, mine waters rise to the surface and begin to flow into small rivers, flooding cities and entering the Seversky Donets River, which is used for water supply to about 70 % of the population of Donetsk region. It is emphasized that increasing the level of environmental safety, restoring the environment of Donbas in the context of forming an environmental protection program is a necessary prerequisite for its reintegration. The current threats to the security of water supply in eastern Ukraine, the intensification of which is associated with the deterioration of the environmental situation in the region, are analyzed. It is emphasized that in the conditions of flooding of mines and pollution of reservoirs in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions there is a pollution of water sources and deterioration of quality of drinking water. Thus, pollution of reservoirs in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions poses an urgent threat to 300 thousand inhabitants of the region. In order to ensure environmental security in Eastern Ukraine, recommendations are proposed on a set of measures to ensure environmental protection in Eastern Ukraine as a necessary prerequisite for the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories.