The impact of hydroelectric construction on the Dniester river is significant - as a result of it migratory sturgeon species completely disappeared from the river, and fish catch in it decreased multiple times. At the same time, only the economic component (the price of fish lost in the Moldovan segment of the Dniester) is 172 thousand dollars a year. And the government's lost revenue from the sale of recreational fishing permits is approximately $ 200,000 per year, Ilya Trombitsky, Executive Director of the International Association of River Keepers Eco-TIRAS of Moldova, stated in an international webinar centering on the assessment of ecosystem services or river basins.
The Eco-TIRAS Executive Director said it is extremely difficult to make such assessments, since there is a lack of data that can be used as a basis for calculations. Anyone attempting to value ecosystem services is bound to face this problem - the availability and access to environmental information. Even now, the volume of collected environmental observations is extremely incomplete and sketchy. Contrary to the Aarhus Convention, countries impose high tariffs for obtaining information, which makes it inaccessible, and the collection and storage - meaningless. Both international organizations and the scientific community suffer from this.
Another significant problem, especially in relation to hydropower, is the poor understanding of the essence of ecosystem services by decision-makers and the population. The scourge of the CECEA (CIS) countries is the pollution of rivers, however, usually, the damage caused is calculated only by the number of fish killed, while other lost ecosystem services of the river are not taken into account. The same happens when, as a result of hydro-construction, the morphology of rivers is disturbed, which is not taken into account at all.
Elchin Sultanov, Ornithological Society of Azerbaijan, noted that the Kura River basin occupies more than 95% of the territory of Azerbaijan and is the most developed in terms of hydropower. On the Kura River itself, a cascade of large reservoirs was created, which completely regulated the Kura River, in addition, more than 20 small and medium-sized hydroelectric power plants were created on the tributaries of this river. The overwhelming majority of these structures were built during the Soviet era with virtually no regard for any environmental consequences. Thus, fish passages were not created on any of them, as a result, the spawning of sturgeon and other valuable fish in natural conditions practically stopped. Many natural lakes and water systems dried up, and instead of them others appeared or enlarged, which in general not only upset the water balance in almost the entire Kura river basin, but also led to changes in landscapes, a drop in ecosystem productivity and a deterioration in living conditions of the population in a number of places affected by these changes.
The expert said the application of the ecosystem approach will allow at least partially to restore or improve the quality or optimize the affected ecosystems, even out, where possible, the water balance and improve the living conditions of the population in areas undergoing large-scale environmental changes.
The international webinar “Assessment of ecosystem services of river basins - an opportunity to assess the true impact of hydropower on the environment” was held in Chisinau in connection with the completion of the project “Impact of hydropower on river ecosystems and ecosystem services - some results of an international project implemented within the framework of the regranting scheme of the Civil Society Forum in the Eastern Partnership of the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the International Environmental Association of River Keepers Eco-TIRAS and the project partners and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
