EcoPolitic has collected for its readers the 6 most significant cases of environmental damage reported by the press services of prosecutors' offices, as well as the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine and its territorial bodies during the week of March 8-14.
1. A 37-year-old resident of Koryukiv district will be tried in Chernihiv region for illegal felling of trees worth more than UAH 32 million. From June 2022 to January 2023, he cut down trees on a 16-hectare plot of land with the help of hired workers. The man managed to sell part of the wood worth UAH 117 thousand to one of the woodworking enterprises in the district.
The offender faces imprisonment for a term of 5 to 7 years.
2. In Odesa region, on the territory of the Tuzly Estuaries National Park, environmental inspectors together with water police officers and border guards detained a poacher.
Photo: facebook.com/sw.dei.
He managed to catch 212 carp, 5 pike perch and 15 perch.
Photo: facebook.com/sw.dei.
The offender caused more than UAH 4 million in damage to the state.
3. Inspectors of the Polissia District found illegal felling of 1554 pine trees on a land plot owned by the Kostopil City Council near the village of Yapolot, Rivne district. The persons involved are currently unknown. Experts have calculated losses of almost UAH 5 million.
4. Another illegal logging was discovered by environmentalists in Sumy region. Unidentified persons cut down 312 trees of various species on the territory of the Romny city territorial community near the village of Bobryk. The amount of damage caused is almost UAH 2.9 million.
5. Prosecutors served a notice of suspicion of pollution of the waters of the Chornomorsk seaport on the head of a private enterprise whose bunker ship sank due to her negligence and carelessness.
Photo: od.gp.gov.ua.
According to the prosecutor's office, the shipowner ignored warnings about the ship's emergency condition and the high risk of sinking.
Photo: od.gp.gov.ua.
Despite being aware of the danger, she failed to provide maintenance, organized a watch service, and complied with the requirements of the port administration regarding the vessel's basing. As a result, it sank, and more than 1.2 tons of residual oil products leaked into the sea. This endangered human health and marine ecosystems.
According to experts, the damage caused by the disaster is estimated at almost UAH 16 million.
6. In Kirovohrad region, the Znamiansk District Prosecutor's Office served a notice of suspicion to the director of a municipal enterprise engaged in the removal and disposal of solid waste. The company was systematically littering and polluting the land on which it was located.
Due to the inactivity of the company's director, who failed to protect groundwater and to remove and dispose of leachate at the landfill, the city council was forced to allocate UAH 775 thousand from the budget to pay for the damages accrued by the State Environmental Inspectorate.
You can learn about the most high-profile environmental violations from March 1 to March 7 in our previous digest.
