Ecologists report threat of construction works on unique plateau in Adygea

The Russian government allowed capital construction on biosphere testing grounds, and there is a threat of destruction of unique plants and landscapes on the Lago-Naki Plateau, ecologist Dmitry Shevchenko claims.

On March 30, the SMS-service of the “Caucasian Knot” received a message about the creation of a biosphere testing ground. The relevant resolution issued by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was posted on the website of the Russian government on March 13.

The biosphere testing ground has existed for a long time on the territory of the natural reserve on the Lago-Naki Plateau, and the Prime Minister’s resolution only defined the boundaries of the testing ground, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent was informed by Dmitry Shevchenko, the head of the public organization “Civil Initiative against Environmental Crimes”.

“There have been changes in the laws, which allow creating biosphere testing grounds within the boundaries of natural reserves and using those testing grounds for various activities, including tourism, recreation, sports, etc. That is, roughly speaking, the laws now allow building ‘Krasnye Polyany’ (a well-known resort in Sochi, – note of the ‘Caucasian Knot’) everywhere in nature reserves, where there are ‘tasty’ areas,” Dmitry Shevchenko said.

The ecological activist fears that the construction of ski resorts will completely destroy unique areas of mountain meadows and that the landscape will also suffer. “There is also a threat of the pollution of water reservoirs. Those places are known for their unique caves. There are caves that are among the ten deepest vertical caves in Russia, for example, the Soaring Bird Cave. Of course, if capital construction begins, the karst area cannot but suffer with such an approach,” Dmitry Shevchenko concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 1, 2021 at 05:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.