The building of the hydroelectric infrastructure planned by the Ukrainian side will destroy the Nistru River. About 3 million people in Moldova and over 1 million people in Odessa region will remain without the main source of drinking water, while the populations of fish and birds that live in the aquatic area will significantly decrease. At the same time, owing to the decrease in the natural flow capacity of the river, the concentrations of noxious substances discharged into the river will increase dramatically, consider representatives of Moldovan civil society who made a call over the negotiation of the agreement on the functioning of the Dnestrovsk hydroelectric complex.
In a news conference at IPN, Eco-Tiras Association chairman Iliya Trombistky said there are many examples of sustainable management of rivers in the world. The efficient management of rivers and ponds brings profit. In the case of the Republic of Moldova, which has such a treasure as the Nistru, the authorities regrettably cannot ensure sustainable and efficient coordination, in concert with the authorities of Ukraine.
During over 20 years, they have been lobbying for the agreement on a modern Nistru. This was signed in 2012 and is to be ratified now. According to Iliya Trombistky, the agreement should have stipulated the main principles of river management, which means balanced access for all the water users. There is now a water user that monopolized the river. This monopolization is to be legalized by an agreement negotiated by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The analysis of the draft agreement on the functioning of the Dnestrovsk hydroelectric complex revealed a number of problems that can destroy the Nistru.
According to him, the provisions about the payment of compensations for damage caused by this hydroelectric complex (costs of services of lost ecosystems) were removed from the draft agreement. Nothing is said about the six additional hydroelectric plants that are to be built along the upper course of the Nistru by the Ukrainian Government. The text of the agreement should specify clear guarantees for the ecological flow capacity and mechanisms for compensating for the loss of ecological services as a result of the functioning of the complex.
By the call concerning the negotiation of the agreement on the functioning of the Dnestrovsk hydroelectric complex addressed to the Governments of Moldova and Ukraine and the foreign partners, civil society demands to publish the updated draft agreement on the functioning of the complex and to give up the idea of signing the accord at any cost and in a hurry, until the end of 2017.
