Moldova will once again ask the European Union to conduct an environmental survey of the project for the construction of the Dniester hydropower complex.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated this, noting that she will voice this proposal during her upcoming visit to Brussels to take place in the near future. The President of the Republic of Moldova noted that during a meeting in Kiev with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the parties agreed to continue the dialogue for the protection and sustainable use of the Dniester. “I expressed concern about the situation on the Dniester, including with regard to the Dniester hydropower complex. The waters of the Dniester provide life and well-being for millions of people. We want the water of this river to serve both our generation and future generations. I suggested asking the European Union again to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the Dniester hydropower complex construction project. We agreed on the need to immediately resume the activities of the working groups within the governments of the two countries,” said Maia Sandu. Ilya Trombitsky, a well-known ecologist, Executive Director of Eco-TIRAS International Ecological Association of Dniester Guards noted that today in the situation regarding the Dniester River there is no alternative to cooperation between Moldova and Ukraine, and it is through the search for the most favorable solutions for the river state that success can be achieved. According to him, not presidents, but governments should agree on the basis of experts' opinions. Presidents can only provide a favorable political climate for this. The ecologist noted that today Moldova does not have a functional government and there is no one to speak on its behalf. But it is precisely through qualified approaches and the exclusion of the Dniester issue from the previously negotiated "package", without the "sale" of the Dniester for any material benefits and other benefits that results can be achieved. Therefore, according to Ilya Trombitsky, it is necessary to wait for the appointment of the government and demand from it to "settle" the situation. According to him, almost everyone is confusing two questions now - what impact will the completion of the Dniester hydropower complex have on the Dniester and the impact of the entire hydroelectric complex on the Dniester. “Moldova today has the opportunity to demand the reconstruction of HPP-1 and the adoption of a mode of operation sparing for the Dniester to reduce the impact. And if the territory is rented out, there will be no more levers,” the ecologist noted. As InfoMarket agency reported earlier, the Ukrainian authorities intended to build 6 cascade mini-hydroelectric power plants on the Dniester. However, at the request of the Moldovan side, they subsequently decided to suspend any work pending an environmental impact assessment of this strategy in a transboundary context. In the summer of 2017, Ukraine ratified the 2012 Rome Agreement on Cooperation in the Protection of the Dniester River, which included, among other things, the creation of a joint commission for the sustainable use and protection of the Dniester river basin. In December 2017, Prime Ministers Pavel Filip and Volodymyr Groysman signed a joint appeal to the European Commission to obtain expert assistance to conduct a broad environmental study of the impact on the entire Dniester river basin. In both states, the Global Environment Facility’s “Enabling Transboundary Co-operation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the Dniester River Basin” project is being implemented. It conducts a thorough analysis of the Dniester River Basin, identifying transboundary problems and risks. In addition, the Swedish Embassy in Moldova is conducting a study on the social and environmental impact on the territory of Moldova of the consequences of the operation of the Dniester hydropower complex. // 14.01.2021 - InfoMarket.
