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ON THE EDGE OF SURVIVAL: Extermination of the environment in the course of the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine Kyiv 2017 UDC +349.6+341.3 BBK 67.54 N12 Preparation and publication was conducted under support of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Canada in the scope of the project “Human Rights Above All” that implemented by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union Views and interpretations, provided in this publication, do not necessary represent t he views of the Canadian Government. Only authors and the UHHRU are responsible for the content of publication. Global Affairs Affaires mondiales Canada Canada General edition: A. P. Bushchenko The author’s group: A. B. Blaga — Chapters 2, 3 (together with M. O. Medvedyeva and T. R. Korotkyy) I. V. Zagorodnyuk — Chapter 4 (together with V. V. Parkhomenko) T. R. Korotkyy — Conclusions and Chapter 1 (together with M. O. Medvedyeva) and 3 (together with M. O. Medvedyeva and A.B. Blaga) O. A. Martynenko — Summary M. O. Medvedyeva — Chapter 1 (together with T. R. Korotkyy) and 3 (together with T. R. Korotkyy and A.B. Blaga) V. V. Parkhomenko — Chapter 4 (together with I. V. Zagorodnyuk) General idea and management of the fieldstudy — O. A. Bida On the edge of survival: extermination of the environment in the course of the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine / A. B. Blaga, I. V. Zagorodnyuk, T. R. Ko- N12 rotkyy, O. A. Martynenko, M. O. Medvedyeva, V. V. Parkhomenko; under general edition of A. P. Bushchenko / The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. — Ê.:, KYT, 2017. — 88 p. with pict. ISBN 978-966-2279-66-5 The publication is dedicated to the complex analysis of the environment in the conditions of the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine. International legal obligations of the states concerning environment protection during the armed conflict were disclosed. The specifics of bringing to liability for ecological dam- age, caused during the war, were analysed. On the basis of learning of the open sources and conducting the own monitoring visits by the UHHRU experst, the state and problematic issues of the situation with the environment protection in the East of Ukraine were determined. UDC +349.6+341.3 BBK 67.54 © A. B. Blaga, I. V. Zagorodnyuk, T. R. Korotkyy, O. A. Martynenko, M. O. Medvedyeva, V. V. Parkhomenko, 2017 ISBN 978-966-2279-66-5 © The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, 2017 CONTENTS Foreword ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Gratitudes ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 List of abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... 7 1. International legal protection of the environment at the period of armed conflict ........................ 8 2. The armed conflict and the state of the environment protection in the East of Ukraine ............. 20 2.1. Usage of natural objects as military facilities ......................................................................... 21 2.2. Damage to water supply and wastewater constructions .................................................... 22 2.3. Flooding of mines ....................................................................................................................... 23 2.4. Damage to ETL that supply electricity to the ecologically important oblects .................... 26 2.5. Damage to industrial facilities .................................................................................................. 27 2.6. Illegal extraction of mineral resources .................................................................................... 29 2.7. Damage to agricultural enterprises and lands ...................................................................... 29 2.8. Damage to national natural parks .......................................................................................... 30 3. Liability for environmental damage caused at the result of armed conflict .................................. 33 4. “Protection of the natural environment during armed conflict”: results of a monitoring visit of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union ...................................... 46 4.1. General information about protected areas in the conflict zone ....................................... 46 4.2. Protected areas in the ATO zone controlled by Ukrainian authorities .............................. 48 4.3. Protected areas in occupation zone ....................................................................................... 56 4.4. Factors affecting the ecosystem and biota ............................................................................. 58 4.5. Analysis of the work of control services ................................................................................. 64 4.6. References and additional sources of information ............................................................... 68 Conclusions and Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 69 Annexes ........................................................................................................................................................ 77 UHHRU 2017 3 FOREWORD Under initiative of the UN General Assembly annually on 6 November the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is celebrated. Its purpose is drawing attention to the ecological consequences of the war and importance of refusal of mean- ingless damage caused to ecosystems in pursuit of military objectives. The UN notes that the damage to the environment in times of armed conflict im- pairs ecosystems and natural resources long beyond the period of conflict and often extends beyond the limits of national territories and the present generation. As it is known in May 2016 the United Nations Environment Assembly issued a resolution concern- ing commitment to protection of the environment in areas affected by armed conflict. And the UN In- ternational Law Commission at present is conducting revision of the international legal basis regarding protection of the environment before, during and after armed conflict with the purpose of developing guidelines which will more effectively contribute to conservation of the environment, especially in pro- tected and environmentally sensitive areas that can be seriously affected by the war. In full, this problem applies to the situation in the Donbass. The long period of human use of natural resources Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the negative impact directly at all objects of the environment resulted in significant environmental degradation. Consequently, even before the outbreak of hostilities experts described the environmental situation in the east of Ukraine as crisis. The armed conflict and connected with it activities of military agents and the local population, in turn, led to a significant number of environmental destruction and established forms of use of natural resources. In particular, there are known facts of deforestation in the “gray zone”; use of preserved areas and natural landmarks in the area of conducting the ATO and the surrounding areas for military purposes; when mining the areas (even protected) maps are not created in all cases etc. But, unfortunately, the majority of the environ- mental consequences of war are ignored by modern laws. It is looking for answers to these and other issues at which the authors and experts who worked on this study directed their activities. In this study the international legal obligations of States to protect the environment during armed conflict and the features of bringing to liability for environmental dam- age inflicted during the war are analysed. Based on research of public sources and the own monitoring visit the condition and problematic issues of environmental protection in the East of Ukraine we analysed. We hope that elaborated recommendations will be useful for authorities while developing strategic documents and programs in the area of human rights protection in the context of the ATO. The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union expresses its sincere gratitude for the financial assis- tance in preparing this publication to the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Canada and to the Govern- ment of Canada. Arkadiy Bushchenko, the executive director of the UHHRU 4 UHHRU 2017 SUMMARY The results of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, apart from human losses, is significant damage to ecological systems and natural resources caused by violation of international principles and the na- tional law. The ecological situation of Donbass, being in a state of crisis for a long time, during military operations has acquired signs of the environmental disaster. That is why the study is focused on the same time both at evaluating the caused damage and the problems of bringing to liability for environmental damage caused during the war. Materials of the research establish that environmental contamination with heavy metals (titanium, vanadium, strontium) due to shelling, poisoning of drinking water and the emergence of the contaminated waters of the Azov Sea and