How breaking Ukraine’s dam threatens the world’s environment and food security | Ukraine and Russia

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine could have environmental consequences that will last for years, according to environmental scientists and organizations interviewed by the BBC.

The United Nations also warned that the event could have a major impact on global food security, with prices skyrocketing around the world.

Crews in the area described seeing oil slicks, dead fish, animals and human bodies floating in the river.

There is also concern about the impact of the heavy metals, fuels, fertilizers and other chemicals that were mixed in the flood.

Hundreds of thousands of people have had their water supplies cut off, crops have been flooded, and there are concerns that the pollutants could cause long-term damage to human health, farmland, and wildlife.

Covering more than 2,000 square kilometres, Kakhovka was once the largest reservoir in Ukraine – so huge that, in some places, it was not possible to see the other side.

“Iron and other metallurgical industries are located along the banks,” says Anna Ambrosova, a Ukrainian ecologist.

“Emissions and tailings from these industries contain heavy metals that have accumulated in sediments at the bottom of the reservoir. But now turbulent floodwaters carry them downstream.”

There are also concerns about the industrial facilities located downstream on the banks of the Dnipro River.

Greenpeace has expressed concerns about oil refineries and gas stations in particular.

REACH, a humanitarian initiative that collects data during crises and disasters, says it has identified 24 sites of great concern because they have been damaged – which were previously used to store materials harmful to human health and the environment.

Some of these sites are located in the Kherson region, one of the areas most affected by the dam collapse.

By e-mail, Rich reported that there are photos showing the leakage of petroleum products from two gas stations in Kherson, as well as oil leaking from the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.

In addition, the organization has expressed concern about the potential leakage of hazardous substances such as antibiotics, chlorine, solvents and isopropyl alcohol into the environment.

Ambrosova also warns that warehouses containing pesticides for local agriculture have been flooded and many of these materials have “dissolved in the water” – water that, according to the ecologist, could end up flowing into the Black Sea.

The United Nations has also warned that the impact on agricultural land will affect people around the world.

The organization refers to the region as the “breadbasket of the world” for producing millions of tons of food, such as wheat, sunflower oil and vegetables, not only for Ukraine but for many other countries.

Global food prices are expected to rise, which will particularly affect vulnerable countries, especially those in Africa.

The Kakhovka Reservoir also supplied the fields with water through irrigation systems that have now been cut down.

Without these nets, Ambrosova and Ukrainian officials say, the land is in danger of drying out and degrading.

This is the approximate time estimated by the Minister to rebuild the Nova Kakhovka Dam and irrigation systems.

Aid workers in the area confirmed that there are also risks to people’s health.

The torrents hit the cemeteries and the places where the dead animals were buried, according to Samir Shalhoub of the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps.

Dimitri Ziyadze, of the Norwegian Refugee Council, also warned about the situation.

“Dead animals have been seen floating and there are fears that people may have contracted cholera. We are preparing for that.”

In addition, the Ukrainian Group for Nature Conservation listed five national parks and more than 30 protected areas, including swamps of international importance, that were affected by the flood.

The Kakhovka Reservoir and the Dnipro floodplain were the main nesting places for birds such as the crabber, little egret, and ibis.

Its fate is now uncertain, just like that of the rat species. Sesista Luriger.

A Ukrainian nature conservation group says two-thirds of the world’s rat population has suffered from floods and fears this could contribute to the species’ extinction.

There is also concern about the effect on reptiles and amphibians such as the python Coloper Caspius and the common newt.

The report asked the Russian Ministry of the Environment for a position, but there was no response.