In the Mykolayiv region, in the regional landscape park Tyligulskyi, the Chilova spit was built by the MAF and turned into a popular place for recreation. Hundreds of people in hundreds of cars come every weekend to nesting places of red-listed birds, habitats of animals and plants. They park in the middle of the protected steppe to relax on the beach and ride quad bikes.
The editors of EcoPolitic spoke with environmentalists from the Kiteboarding Association of Ukraine, who told the details of the scandal.
Athletes from the Association said that for years they trained and rested at the estuary without harming nature, and even conducted cleaning campaigns.
The unique wild nature of the Black Sea region has been preserved on the spit. However, everything changed with the appointment of a new director of the RLP.
Since 2016, Tyligulskyi has been headed by the well-known environmentalist Oleg Derkach. In December 2021, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitaliy Kim, appointed Oleksandr Dyachenko, a deputy of the Mykolaiv District Council from the Servant of the People party, who at that time did not have a specialized education, as the new director of the RLP.
The Association assumes that Dyachenko and Kim have friendly relations, in particular because of their joint photo. Also, before being appointed to the position, Dyachenko was already engaged in the establishment of MAFs.
Active construction of the spit began in 2023, when the first bar appeared on the territory. Later, tents, cafes, bio-toilets, sunbeds, beach umbrellas, etc. were installed. They also started building a kitesurfing station, which was opposed by the majority of athletes from the Association. They even organized bus transportation to the spit.
"Earlier, 10 cars used to come there. Now all the grass, all the weeds have been trampled. Birds have disappeared in the estuaries, the water has turned green, bottles are floating. They just bring in crowds of people to make money, said the interlocutor of EcoPolitics, who wished not to give his name. – Previously, people were not interested in coming here, they swam closer to the track. Now they come to drink beer and ride ATVs. They made an amusement park."
Entrepreneurs communicated to the MAF, which significantly damaged the soil and vegetation. The headland is a vulnerable biotope, because its banks are constantly subject to destruction, which restrains the vegetation cover. Heavy tourist activity can completely destroy the spit.
The deputy head of the Mykolaiv branch of the National Ecological Center of Ukraine Inna Tymchenko emphasized that such activity violates the environmental legislation of Ukraine.
"They stretched communications and destroyed the soil cover on a large area. This is a violation of current legislation. This destroys the habitats of rare species of animals and plants. Untreated sewage from toilets and from washing dishes will definitely enter the water area. Also, the shore will be littered with garbage. Three species of red-listed birds nest on Chilova spit, their habitat will be destroyed," said Oleg Derkach, ex-director of Tyligulskyi.
Ivan Rusev, ecologist and biologist of the Tuzlivski Lymani National Nature Park, also agreed with his colleague.
"The influx of people, cars and ATVs will destroy the landscape and the birds," he said.
Rusev explained that all activities in the objects of the nature reserve fund are regulated by the project of organizing the territory of the park and zoning. There can be four zones, namely economic, regulated recreation, stationary recreation and protected, where only scientific activities are allowed.
As you know, the Tyligulskiy RLP is included in the territories of the Emerald Network, and the estuary itself is included in the international list of the Ramsar Convention on the Protection of Wetlands of International Importance.
It is worth noting that the RLP administration installed an information board on the estuary urging kite surfers not to practice on the lakes in order not to harm the birds.
However, the Association called such a statement cynical, because the sign is installed on a nearby slope where athletes do not train. In addition, entrepreneurs organized banana rides, and the administration did not issue warnings for them.
Activists suggested that the installation of the sign became a kind of revenge. After all, the athletes turned to the control bodies, which initiated the beginning of the RLP inspections. Thus, a criminal case has been registered with the police. However, there are fears that officials from the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration are putting pressure on law enforcement officers.
In addition, the athletes turned to the State Environmental Inspection. However, the inspection was refused, citing a moratorium on inspections during wartime.
Activists call for:
- stop any activity that may harm the environment;
- to limit the traffic of people and the burden on nature;
- to carry out an ecological examination of Chilova spit and zoning of the RLP, which would satisfy the needs of people in recreation, athletes in the training area and would preserve the natural reserve fund.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in Odesa, judge Oleg Tsyselskyi was suspected of delaying a corrupt case regarding the construction of a sandbank on the coast of the national natural park "Tuzlivski Lymani".
