Crimean Tatar Resource Centre Experts Warn Against Large-Scale Ecocide in Crimea

The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has recently held an onlineconference to discuss possible extraction and development of freshwater in the Azov Sea areaadjacent to Crimea to ensure uninterrupted freshwater supply to the occupied peninsula.
Participants of the conference discussed options for additional water supply to the AutonomousRepublic of Crimea and possible usage of groundwater in the Azov Sea and the adjacent land areas(the Arabat Spit). The so-called government of the Republic supported the proposal to explore thearea for additional water resources. It was offered to prospect the Arabat Spit, where extraction ofgroundwater might be possible.
On 30 July, the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre held the 14th session of the Crimean Discussion Clubsupported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Ukraine. During the webinarEnvironmental Crisis in the Occupied Crimea in the Context of the European Security System, expertsdiscussed the scale of ecocide on the peninsula and prepared recommendations for the Ukrainianauthorities.
They outlined actual economic and environmental problems of water use in Crimea caused by theoccupation’s destructive plundering of the peninsula’s water resources and ecological collapse.
‘Water problems in Crimea are mainly due to invaders’ negligence in natural resource management.Such negligence leads to the aggressor’s frantic search and uncontrolled use of new water resourcesand destroys unique ecosystems, which would otherwise preserve in Crimea for ages. Without anycanals’, said Borys Babin, Doctor of Law.