Fires have destroyed the entire protected zone of the nature park on the territory of over 1500 hectares in the occupied Dzharilgach. The statement was made by Irina Sabashenko, the director of the national nature park "Dzharilgach".
According to her, the fire has devastated the protected area where the main part of all steppe ecosystems of the island and populations of all rare animals on the island are concentrated, as well as the largest number of hoofed animals.
"The existing plant groups, which are now under the threat of extinction and are listed in Ukraine's Green Book, belong to rare and disappearing plants. These groups of formations include reed grass, Dnieper cudweed, hairy cudweed, Bessarabian pink, Cicada's golden beard, and others," the director explained.
"The restoration of steppe, meadow, and salt marsh areas takes an average of 4-5 to 8-12 years," said Irina Sabashenko. "Tamarisk thickets take 15-30 years. The damage is being assessed, but it is already in the billions of hryvnias. The fire is still ongoing, so there are no exact figures yet," the director said.
"From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Dzharilgach has been under occupation... The burning area for 5 days is an absolutely restricted zone within the national park, where even human visits are limited. This area holds the main part of all steppe ecosystems of the island (the rest of the territory is to varying degrees marshy or periodically flooded) and populations of all rare steppe animals found on the island," explained the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group.
It is noted that the highest concentration of hoofed animals inhabiting Dzharilgach is within the burning area.
"It was this particular area that received protective status as a reserve back in 1974, 35 years before the establishment of the national park. Without a doubt, the fire, which no one is even attempting to extinguish, will bring colossal losses to the biodiversity of the island," noted conservationists.
Earlier, on Dzharilgach Island, the Russians had planned to establish their military base. Ukrainian soldiers struck at the Russian occupiers and thwarted this plan.
