Unacceptably high costs and risks associated with the E40 waterway, yet the programme is moving forward. The costs as well as the risks associated with the planned E40 waterway are unacceptably high – according to an expert economic assessment conducted by three leading business associations of Belarus. The study’s authors analysed the 2015 E40 waterway … Read more
Satellite images show evidence that between July and October 2020 the Pripyat, one of Europe’s most pristine rivers, has been dredged at at least seven sites in Ukraine. All of them lie within the Chernobyl exclusion zone – the most contaminated area of the world. Five sites are even located within a distance of ten … Read more
28 million people could be exposed to increased radiation risk if dredging proceeds The limited liability company ‘SOBI’ proudly announced that they started to dredge the Pripyat river as part of the construction of the E40 waterway. The works take place within the Chernobyl exclusion zone – the most contaminated area of the world – … Read more
Save Polesia partners call to save the Pripyat and stop the E40 waterway Every year, the Belarusian conservation organizations APB-BirdLife Belarus and Bahna organize a kayaking event on the Pripyat river to call for its protection and the prevention of the E40 waterway. This year, the so-called “High Five Pripyat!” (“Pripyat day piat!”) event started … Read more
The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority plans to dig the Pripyat river despite protests of ecologists and scientists The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management (SAUEZM) has granted permission to the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) to deepen the Pripyat river in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. This is reported on the website of the … Read more
The Control Committee of Belarus, which is the country’s supreme audit institution, considers the costs associated with the planned dredging and clearing works along the Mukhavets river in the south-west of Belarus as irrational and illegal. These construction works in the Kobrin district of the Brest region would be a step towards building the E40 … Read more
Calls to abandon plan for proposed ‘E40’ waterway in light of unprecedented drought in Eastern Europe Experts have called for a far-reaching response to a devastating drought affecting large parts of Eastern Europe, including Polesia. In April, groundwater levels in Ukraine were reported to have fallen to their lowest levels since records began more than … Read more
The government of Belarus plans to construct a river port in the Belarusian village Nijniye Zary as an infrastructure for the proposed E40 waterway. This would destroy not only conservation areas of international importance, but also local livelihoods as their houses would be demolished. At the end of February, the Belarusian environmental organizations APB-BirdLife Belarus … Read more
In early January, the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure announced that the dredging of the Pripyat river in Ukraine is projected to start as soon as the water level is high enough for shipping. However, as the spawning of fish started, any work on the river is forbidden as of March 20th. Modernization measures on the … Read more
By the end of last year, four international nature conservation organisations produced a three minutes film about the stunning wilderness area of Polesia. The region straddles the borders of Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. It is Europe’s greatest intact floodplain with pristine forests and immense wetlands. The short movie shows the beauty of this incredible … Read more
