Zhukiv Island torn asunder
Unique tract of land in Kyiv has been cut from 1,630 hectares to 196
“Zhukiv Island is a little piece of paradise on earth,” says Vanda Kovalska of Korchuvate, who has been fighting against the cruel treatment of her beloved Zhukivka for a long time. When Kovalska and her husband were choosing a place to build a house 50 years ago, they selected a piece of land close to the island. They were enchanted by the unique beauty of the Zhukiv meadows, water meadows, and the incredible richness of the local flora and fauna that one rarely encounters even in a zoo. Showing me hundreds of photographs, Vanda said that Zhukivka is turning into a piece of highly sought-after real estate.
THE NATURE PRESERVE HAS SHRUNK BY NINE TIMES
Exhausted from the constant mayhem in the coastal areas of Zhukivka, Kovalska and her friends choose only remote corners to relax in, where they can admire the beauty of the flourishing meadows, the beautiful vegetation, and the local fauna. “On Zhukiv Island you can see otters, ermines, and a rare species of white-tailed eagles that have been included in Ukraine’s Red Book of Endangered Species. And now,” Kovalska said in a voice trembling with emotion, “they want to deprive us of this remote corner.”
On Aug. 22, 2007, the Kyiv City Council decided to make the borders of Zhukiv Island Preserve “more precise” by shrinking its territory from 1,630 hectares to 196. This was no accidental decision: it is no secret to anyone that Koncha-Zaspa is a neighborhood much favored by the elite class, where 100 square meters cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Back in 2001 cottages began to be constructed in the area to which Zhukiv Island belongs. One can easily predict that in the nearest future the Zhukiv Island Local Landscape Preserve will turn into another bedroom community of Kyiv.
Last year’s decision of the Kyiv city authorities came like a thunderbolt out of the clear blue sky. All the local ecological and civic organizations as well as city residents had always believed that no one would ever dare touch Zhukiv Island, which is part of a nature preserve and an integral part of Ukraine’s National Ecological Network and the Dnipro Ecological Corridor, which has national and all-European importance. But none of these arguments prevented 67 city counselors from making the fatal decision to reduce Zhukivka’s land mass by nine times.
ECOLOGISTS WANT “EVERYTHING RESTORED”
“Zhukiv Island, the Heritage of Future Generations” is the title of an exhibit featuring paintings and photographs by well-known Ukrainian artists, which was organized by caring people to draw the attention of Kyiv residents to the island under assault by the city authorities. “This unique natural corner of the city should be safeguarded from construction and preserved in its original shape for the future residents of Kyiv,” said Anatolii Kovalenko, the head of the Kyiv City Council’s ecological policy commission. He stressed that the preserve area should not be smaller than 1,630 hectares because it is ridiculous to take the 196 hectares that were “made precise” by the City Council and later expand the recreational area of the preserve. This view is shared by Svitlana Berzina, the president of the national civic organization Living Planet: “Last July we wrote a joint appeal to the Ukrainian president and recently sent a letter to a number of international organizations requesting their support,” she said.
Ukraine has signed a number of international documents that are designed to safeguard land from illegal depredations. One of them is the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (The Bern Convention), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Wild Animals (The Bonn Convention), the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Birds (AEWA), and the Agreement on the Conservation of Bats in Europe (EUROBATS).
Berzina is convinced that there is still a chance to save Zhukiv Island: “We should not give up.” However, the representatives of the State Ecological Inspectorate lack such confidence, as they “do not have appropriate documents and confirmed decisions concerning owners of land parcels,” said Serhii Komarchuk, the deputy head of the Department of Ecological Control of Land, Mineral Wealth, Biological Resources and the Nature Preserve Fund of the State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine. “In a word, we lack information on this question.” However, he is 100- percent confident that “this problem should be resolved in a radical way because that is the only way to ‘win back’ Zhukivka.”
WHO GOT PIECES OF THE NATURE PRESERVE?
After an incomplete list of owners of plots of land on Zhukiv Island was published after numerous appeals to the Kyiv City Council, some questions perplexing the members of the State Ecological Inspectorate have disappeared. Here are the would-be owners of this valuable land: Yunha Ltd. (1.23 ha), AV-Medhrup (6 ha), Sesil Health Center (7.58 ha), O. L. Kurashov (0.65 ha), et al. On what grounds were parcels of land issued to these people? Unfortunately, not a single member of the Kyiv City Council is able to answer this question, Komarchuk said.
Volodymyr Trokoz, head of the Environmental Protection Department of the Kyiv City Council Executive, insists that “Zhukiv Island should be a park zone with enhanced natural preserve status,” but how to do this is a dilemma for him.
Let’s hope that scholars and experts will not think too long about the problem facing Zhukiv Island, which should be saved while there is still something left to salvage: flowers and herbs of every color, rare birds, and crystal-clear waters that reflect the sun’s rays and rainbows. This is the kind of nature that lives in the paintings of Olena Leus, Vladyslav Metiolkin, Serhii Pozniak, Valerii Siurkha and Panas Titenko, who specially created their works for the current exhibit.
It is understandable that many private individuals would like to build their houses there, but if we waste time, we won’t be able to do anything. “Our children and grandchildren won’t forgive us,” said Merited Artist of Ukraine Oleksandr Doroshenko, a member of the National Union of Artists.
