The Green Ecologist Party, together with other political parties and nongovernmental organizations, sound the alarm in connection with the construction of six hydropower plants on the Nistru River planned by the Ukrainian side. Representatives of the parties and NGOs say they know well the consequences of such a step, namely the accumulation of large volumes of water in reservoirs, flooding of large areas of land, degradation of river ecosystems, loss of capacity to recover the biological resources quantitatively and quantitatively, while Chisinau risks remaining without water.
In a news conference at IPN, chairman of the Green Ecologist Party of Moldova Anatolie Prohnitski said the Greens warned about the situation of the Nistru in 2014 first. Approaches were made to the Premier and the Ministry of Environment, warning these about the dangers that will be faced if the six hydropower plants are built on the Nistru. Appeals were also made to political parties and NGOs. The fate of the Nistru does not have political color and mobilization is needed to take measures, while the government should insist.
Anatolie Prohnitski said it is known that the main owner of a subdivision that forms part of the consortium that designs, builds, produces and sets up installations at hydropower plants is from Russia. There is also information about companies founded in 2011, when there was another government in Ukraine and they suspect that business interests are promoted.
Head of the party “Democracy at Home” Vasile Costiuc said that Ukraine has always been a difficult partner, especially because the impotent government in Chisinau was never able to defend its interests. The project to build hydropower plants is estimated at €1.5 billion. This money will probably be redirected from European funds. “It is expected that the functionaries who manage these projects will yet launder some money,” stated Vasile Costiuc. He noted that according to scientists of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the Republic of Moldova faces rather high temperatures and it is estimated that less precipitation will fall during the next 10-20 years and the Nistru is thus vital for this area.
The representatives of the parties and NGOs several days ago met at an international roundtable meeting where they adopted an appeal to the authorities of Ukraine, Moldova and the European Union against the construction of the hydropower plants. The appeal says the lack of communication in the area of environmental protection and sustainable development between politicians and decision makers of Moldova and Ukraine gives birth to environmental separatism, which can affect not only the dynamic equilibrium in the region, but also human relations. This can generate hidden, but dangerous conflicts, to the detriment of the implementation of European norms and standards.
The signatories of the appeal demand that politicians and decision makers of Ukraine and Moldova, under the aegis of the European Commission, should elaborate and ratify a long-term cooperation agreement addressing protection and sustainable development in the Nistru river bedside area until October 1, 2017. They also request the European Parliament and the Council of Europe to monitor the development of the ecological situation along the Nistru River and ask NGOs and the mass media to show interest in the regional ecological situation and to inform the people from the region about the consequences of the construction and exploitation of six new additional hydropower plants.
