Karagol Wetlands Will Live
KARAGOL WETLANDS WILL LIVE
A.I. Shevchuk
The Odessa department of the International Socio-Ecological Union
Odessa
In southern Ukraine, as the great Dniester River nears its end, its waters empty into the Karagol Wetlands, an expansive stretch of aquatic ecosystems that comprises one of the most important wetland areas on the Black Sea. The Karagol Wetlands provide habitat for a large number of resident and migratory species. More than 50 fish species, nine amphibians, nine reptiles, and 31 mammals make their home in this long and narrow (700 - 800 meters wide) swath of rushes and reed beds.
The Karagol Wetlands are perhaps most recognized for their rich bird life. Occupying nearly 600 hectares in the Dniester River delta (between the Dniester River and the Karagol Bay), the ecosystem has been designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. More than 300 bird species have been recorded including the European pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leocordia), black stork (Ciconia nigra), white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), and the Saker falcon (Faico cherrug). The Karagol Wetlands also provide valuable spawning habitat for a number of commercially valued fish species.
The area is valuable for more than its diverse wildlife and habitat. Creating a unique natural water purification system, the rushes and reed beds of Karagol Wetlands absorb and metabolize toxic substances and filter the waters of both the Dniester River and the estuary. Each hectare of reeds sequesters five to six tons of toxic compounds from the water annually - an especially significant fact when considering the proximity of this major wildlife area to Ukraine\’s industrial city of Odessa. An equally important role of the Karagol Wetlands is the oxygen output of the reed beds, which generate more oxygen than a forest tract of the same area.
A key factor influencing the high productivity of the wetlands is the air circulation zone at the mouth of the Dniester River, which completely reverses
its direction twice within a 24-hour period. Thus, the wind-generated current is constantly cycling water and nutrients from the estuary through the Karagol Wetlands. Such a hydrological regime cycles the estuary waters through the wetlands nearly 200 times a year; another calculation shows that the entire volume of water in the estuary is purified by the Karagol Wetlands at least four times per year. Seasonal flooding of the Dniester River also contributes to this process of purification and oxygen enrichment. When stormy weather forces the estuary\’s water further up river, local residents along the Dniester River benefit from the cleaner source for their water supply system.
In 1977, despite the tremendous biological value and hydrological significance of Karagol Wetlands for people and wildlife, the area was designated for economic development. The wetlands, disdainfully referred to as a "swamp," were considered by officials to be simply a wasteland. Construction of commercial fishery ponds in the wetlands was proposed and in 1983 the project was begun before any kind of governmental permission had been granted or any environmental assessment had taken place. By 1987, a dam 1460 meters wide had severed 300 hectares of wetlands from the Dniester estuary.
After discovering the dam construction, environmental organizations conducted a public environmental impact assessment, which documented many of the project\’s destructive effects on the wetland ecosystem. For instance, dam construction had disrupted the hydrological cycle and created an obstacle to fish migrations. Increased water temperatures influenced plant and animal life in the wetlands. The reed beds gradually perished, signaling a long-term decline of the wetlands ecosystem.
Determined to protect the wetlands, the SEU organized a campaign to attract broad public support and are currently preparing to appeal to the Ukrainian Supreme Court. In the meantime, the SEU initiated a project to restore the wetlands damaged by dam construction. In cooperation with Dr.A.N. Befani, a leading hydrologist with extensive experience in the Dniester delta, the SEU conducted a study, which laid the groundwork for this project.
As a part of its program to promote biodiversity conservation in Ukraine, the Biodiversity Support Program (BSP) sponsored a feasibility study and open discussions organized among experts, government officials, and the public. Thanks in large part to the efforts of SEU - people have begun to comprehend the Karagol Wetlands as a fully functioning, biodiverse ecosystem and not just a swampy wasteland.
In July 1998 a decision was made to support the wetlands restoration project by the regional Agency of Ecological Safety (a division of the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety). The agency\’s approval is a first and vital step toward implementing the restoration project and eventually protecting the Karagol Wetlands. Other plans underway will also contribute to conservation of the area. A proposal for the creation of a national park on the Dniester River flood plain - to include the Karagol Wetlands - is under consideration by the federal government. The Odessa department of the Socio-Ecological Union has sent the Project proposal for financing.
References
1. Бефани А.Н., Гидрологический режим нижнего течения Днестра, Обнинск, 1986, 33с.
2. Бефани А.Н., Экологически оптимальный режим попусков воды из днестровских водохранилищ, Одесса, 1987, 14с.
3. Бефани А.Н., О роли Карагольских плавней в функционировании ресурсов устьевой области Днестра и методах их использования, Одесса, ОГМИ, 1995,24с.
4. Бефани А.Н., Шевчук А.И., Проект реабилитации экосистемы Карагольских плавней и залива в низовьях дельты Днестра, Одесса, Biodiversity Support Program, грант DHR-5554-A-00-8044-00, 1998, 104с.
5. Shevchuk A.I., The Future Looks Promising for the Karagol Wetlands, The Conservation Foundation magazine of Network 21, London, 1999, p.6-7.
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