Krasnodar Territory: construction of Sukko-Utrish Highway suspended

On December 10, the UVD (Interior Department) of the city of Anapa and the Azov-Black Sea Nature Protection Prosecutor's Office suspended the construction of the Sukko-Utrish Highway in the "Bolshoi Utrish" Reserve.

"It is the first small but far from final victory of everyone who stands in defence of Utrish," said Andrei Rudomakha, leader of the Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus.

"From the morning the workers brought from Anapa and hired by the LLC 'Glavpromstroy' continued mass wood felling and clearing the route of the planned highway. But after arrival of a big group of militiamen from the city of Anapa, who started their investigatory actions, the works were stopped. The bosses and workers of the LLC 'Glavpromstroy' were informed that the felling and construction works should be suspended," said the coordinator of the organization.

According to the ecologists, the check had revealed plenty of violations made by the "Glavpromstroy", including in the areas outside ecology. In particular, it was found out that this company had employed low-qualified illegal immigrants.

According to explanations and documents received from the "Glavpromstroy", the company works under the order of the Forestry Department of the Krasnodar Territory and builds "a forest fire-prevention road". As of today, the company has failed to present any positive conclusion of the State Ecological Expertise, as Mr Rudomakha has noted.

He is afraid that an attempt will be made to bring the focus away from the essence of the problem. "What is illegal is not the construction itself, which is the most destructive, but not the key element of this illegal process," believes the head of the Ecological Watch. "The starting point was the decision to place the road inside the especially protected natural area. But hardly the investigation will have enough courage to dig down to this decision and the person who had actually made it."

On December 10, a number of ecological organizations of the Krasnodar Territory made a statement in defence of the "Bolshoi Utrish" Reserve. The "Greens" assert that only immediate stop of building the road in the territory of Utrish, located in the territory of city-resort Anapa, and awarding it with the status of a wildlife sanctuary can save its unique nature.

Among the signatories of the statement are the Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus, the WWF of Russia, the Greenpeace of Russia and the International Social and Ecological Union.