The Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strilets, said that Russia violated all 5 key principles of nature conservation.
On October 28, 1982, the UN General Assembly approved the World Charter of Nature, which the entire civilized world has been trying to adhere to for 40 years, Sagittarius wrote on his Facebook page.
He emphasized that Russia, by starting the war in Ukraine, showed its attitude to the established world order and continues to flout the values laid down in international documents.
5 principles of the World Charter of Nature:
- Nature should be respected and its basic processes should not be disturbed;
The shooter noted that the Russian troops burned thousands of hectares of forest. More than 2.4 million hectares of forests have already been cleared, but they have suffered significant damage - burned and dug up with trenches. It will take tens of years to recover.
In addition, about 30% of Ukraine's territory is mined, and for every new day of war in the future, 30 days will be needed to clear the territories.
- The genetic basis of life should not be endangered; populations of all life forms, wild and domestic, must be maintained at least at a level sufficient for survival, the habitat required for that must be protected;
As a result of the war, about 687 species of animals and 857 species of plants and fungi, including those listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, were threatened with extinction.
- These conservation principles apply to all parts of the earth's surface, land and sea; special protection should be provided to unique areas, typical representatives of all types of ecosystems and habitats of rare or endangered species;
Currently, 2 biosphere reserves, namely Chornomorskyi and Askania Nova, are occupied. There are also 10 national parks and 8 nature reserves under occupation, most of which are in Crimea. Desnyansko-Starogutskyi, Dvorichanskyi, Svyati Gory, and Svyatoslav Bialoberezhya National Parks were the most affected.
- Ecosystems and organisms, as well as land, sea and air resources used by humans, must be managed in such a way that their optimal performance can be ensured and maintained, but without loss to the integrity of the ecosystems or species with which they exist;
The head of the Ministry of Environment emphasized that during the 8 months of the war, about 2,200 crimes by Russians against nature were recorded.
- Nature must be protected from degradation caused by war or other hostile actions.
"No comment," said Strilets.
He explained that it is dangerous to violate these norms. After all, when a person commits a crime in society, he bears personal responsibility before this society in accordance with the laws that exist in it. However, when a person destroys nature, the whole world will be responsible for it.
"The environment does not care if the offender is behind bars or not. Under the influence of negative actions, it undergoes irreparable changes. Therefore, the task falls on our shoulders not only to punish the criminal and overcome the consequences, but also to prevent wars in the future", - emphasized the Strilets.
Earlire, EcoPolitic wrote, that Ecologist Oleksiy Vasyliuk said that the Russian army is destroying the very environment of Ukrainians, because all living things cannot survive in conditions of explosions, fires and pollution by chemical substances.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, a preliminary assessment of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the environmental situation showed that war is literally toxic, and future generations will live "with a toxic legacy."
