Position of UzhNU leadership regarding the installation of wind turbines on the Borzhava
The leadership of Uzhhorod National University, by means of this public letter, clarifies and confirms its position on the environmental problem, which caused heated public debate and prompt reaction of Ukrainian ecologists and scientists.
It concerns the issue of promoting a questionable installation of 34 150 meter high wind turbines with a total capacity of 120 MW on the top of Borzhava mountain range. According to the plan, the turbines have to extend over a distance of 10 km on the border of Volovets and Svalyava districts, without taking into consideration the construction of a mountain road and underground high-voltage cables.
Almost a year ago, the leadership of Uzhhorod National University supported the scientifically grounded position of the scientists of the Biological Faculty of UzhNU and the environmental community of the region and Ukraine, which is reflected in a letter to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine as of May 14, 2018 (with 6 annexes on 37 pages).
This position is unchanged - it is unacceptable to choose a place on the top of Borzhava mountain ridge for the construction of wind power plants. This will lead to the emergence of acute challenges and threats to the natural, landscape, recreational and tourist values of the mountain range, as well as to the transboundary ecological corridor passing through it. It should also be taken into consideration that there are 4 nature reserves close by, and the wind power plant will be the threat to many Red Book species of plants and animals living high in the mountains, etc.
Therefore, in 2018, the leadership of UzhNU refused to be an expert organization to develop a report on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) about the WPP project for the selected territory of the Borzhava Polonynas. Hundreds of critical remarks from scientists and environmentalists of Transcarpathia and Ukraine, which came at different stages of the development and discussion of the EIA report in 2018-2019 confirmed the correctness of our position on the WPP project.
At the same time, it did not prevent the Department for Ecology and Natural Resources of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration from making a positive conclusion on the poor quality EIA report about the WPP project, which caused a fair, in our opinion, public discontent. The critical and substantiated comments on the EIA report were ignored mainly in the part of the choice of the territory of the Borzhava polonynas for the construction of wind turbines.
Taking into account that the scientists of UzhNU participated in the preparation of the conclusions to the National University of Bioresources and Nature Use of Ukraine EIA report about the WPP project, responding to the request of the Coalition of NGOs and scientists "Forum of the Ecological Rescue of Transcarpathia", the university's leadership states:
1. UzhNU consistently adheres to the principle of democratic development of the institution of higher education, which in particular provides for the right to set out different scientific opinions and positions. At the same time, scientists must adhere to the principles laid down in the "Code of Ethics for Ukrainian Scientists".
2. We reaffirm the continued support of the substantiated positions of the scientists of the Biological Faculty and the University regarding the transfer of the location of the wind power plant to more urbanized foothills or plains.
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