Fires destroy entire protected area in occupied Dzharylhach Island
The fire on Dzharylgach Island in Kherson Oblast has been raging for almost a week, destroying the entire protected area of the natural park, which covers more than 1,500 hectares.
Source: Iryna Sabashenko, Director of Dzharylhach National Nature Park, in a commentary to Suspilne
Details: According to the director of the Dzharylhach National Nature Park, the protected area, where the bulk of all steppe ecosystems on the island and the population of all rare animals that are on the island are concentrated, together with the largest number of ungulates, was destroyed by fire.
Quote: "Existing plant groups that are now endangered, listed in the Green Book of Ukraine, are rare and endangered plants. This is a grouping of cladium mariscus, stipa borysthenica, stipa capillata, Bessarabian cloves, chrysopogon gryllus and others."
Details: As a resident of one of the settlements in the temporarily occupied left bank of Kherson Oblast told Suspilne, a fire on the island was visible from the coast of Dzharylhach Bay, ten kilometres from it. Smoke has been observed for several days.
The restoration of steppe, meadow, salt marshes requires an average of four to five to eight to twelve years, says the director of the national park. Tamarix needs around 15 to 30 years [to restore - ed.].
Quote: "We calculate the losses, but they have already reached billions of hryvnias. The fire is still ongoing, so we do not have accurate data."
Background: In early August, a fire broke out in the Dzharylhach National Natural Park; the most valuable steppe site on Dzharylhach Island caught fire.
The Russian military covered the isthmus between the island of Dzharylhach and the occupied part of Kherson Oblast with sand for military purposes. This threatens the ecosystem of the island and its waters. There, the Russian army equipped a military training ground.
Read more: Dzharylhach in chains: Russia's bid to destroy the nature reserve's unique ecosystem
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