The other face of Donbas Oleg Lystopad for Selyanska pravda, Kyiv, Ukraine 24 July 2009 (abridged translation)
Ask somebody what comes into their minds when they think about Don- bas and the usual answer is: “Coal tips, mines, plants, dust, smoke, stuffiness”. However, Donbas, and Donetsk Oblast in particular have another face: charming steppes, quiet rivers fringed by forests in ra- vines and gullies, coastal sand spits with hundreds of wonderful birds flying over them.
These green and blue spots are quite rare on the map of Donetsk and that makes them even more valuable. “Donetsk Oblast makes up just 4.4 per cent of the land area of Ukraine but has 10 per cent of the country’s population and 23 per cent of the industrial potential concen- trated in the province. We are sub- jected to a significant anthropogenic and technogenic load, and intensive use of natural resources which has a negative impact on the state of the environment,” according to the heads of the Donetsk Oblast Council and the Oblast State Administration.
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The leaders of the Oblast acknowl- edge that the destruction of wild nature for the sake of industrial or agricultural land development has reached a critical point in Donetsk Oblast. The area of flora and fauna habitats has declined significantly and as a result the diversity and health of many species has changed. Therefore the establishment of na- ture park areas is especially impor- tant for the Oblast.
Are you wondering where life could be found in areas of the Oblast covered by quarries, ground away by mine
“Until just 150 to 200 years ago, there used to be oak trees with girths of six metres, and pine trees of four metres. Even rivers have disappeared, with nearly 20 lost in the past 350 years.”
shafts and piled up with waste rock? Well, they can be found! A national nature park has been established (the first in the east of Ukraine), and there is also a diverse network of regional landscape parks and other protected areas. Let’s have a closer look at some of these natural wonders!
Green on white These particular colours have been chosen by nature to embroider the scenery of the Svyati Gory national nature park. The white chalk moun- tains on the high right bank of the Severskij Donetsk river used to be covered by pine trees. Nowadays these can only be found in a few places, most of them having been cut down. A 600-year-old oak tree which stands 30 metres high, two metres in girth, has been preserved on the remaining flood plain of the river, a monument to the previous mighty local forests. Until just 150 to 200 years ago, there used to be oak trees with girths of six metres, and pine trees of four metres. Five
hundred years ago bears also used to live here. Now this is all history. Even rivers have disappeared, with nearly 20 lost in the past 350 years.
White on green and blue These colours are from the Kleban Byk regional landscape park. The main area of this park is located along the banks of the reservoir on the Bychok river. This area places many conflicting demands on local natural resources. For example, the power engineers do not agree with the demands of nature conserva- tion regarding water use. The fish- ery would also like to introduce its own rules for the use of water. Due to such conflicts of interest, the lack of administrative coordination and joined-up thinking and action, the water level of the reservoir has dropped significantly.
The local wonder is the petrified araucaria trees which are 200 to 250 million years old. There used to be tens of thousands of them in Kleban
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