Eco-friendly challenges
The Kuialnyk National Nature Park, as a nature conservation body, was established in an area bordering the major city of Odessa. This presents significant opportunities for the development of tourism and recreation, whilst also giving rise to certain problems and threats.
The park has the potential to become a centre for environmental education and recreation for residents and visitors to the region; however, its proximity to the city creates risks of pollution, excessive strain on natural resources and disruption of the natural balance.
Preserving what is unique: the risks and challenges facing the park
Pollution
Various harmful substances from the city of Odessa and other settlements bordering the protected area may enter the Kuyalnik Estuary and small watercourses within the Park. Pollution from organochlorine compounds may also arise as a result of surface runoff from agricultural land. Resolving the issue of unauthorised rubbish dumps, which existed for many years prior to the Park’s creation, also requires joint action with local authorities.
A washing and steaming station belonging to the Odessa Railway operated for a long time on the territory that was later incorporated into the Park. Following its decommissioning, this area and the cascade of ponds have gradually been reclaimed naturally. However, the soils and bottom sediments of some ponds are still contaminated with transformed petroleum products, most of which have lost their toxic properties.
Anthropogenic pressure
Parts of the estuary’s waters and the adjacent areas of the Park may be subject to anthropogenic pollution in the form of atmospheric emissions due to their close proximity to the city of Odessa and numerous industrial facilities (the Odessa Thermal Power Plant and district boiler houses in the Peresyp district), infrastructure facilities (the ring road, the ‘Odessa-Sortuvna’ railway station) and so on.
Excessive salinity of the water
As an emergency measure to improve the hydroecological condition of the Kuialnyk Estuary, a hydraulic structure was built in recent years to connect the estuary with the Odessa Gulf of the Black Sea. This saved the Kuialnyk Estuary from almost complete drying up, but did not resolve the issue of its increasing salinity. Today, salinity significantly exceeds optimal levels and may lead to the loss of the therapeutic properties of the mud and brine. Furthermore, the extensive regulation of the Velykyi Kuialnyk riverbed hinders the estuary’s natural replenishment and the inflow of fresh water into it.
Climate change
Among the global environmental challenges facing the Kuialnytskyi National Nature Park are climate change and desertification. The consequences of these will include rising seasonal temperatures, droughts, wildfires, disruption to the water-salt balance of the estuary, and increased wind erosion of the soil.
Non-native plant and animal species
The spread of non-native plant and animal species can have significant consequences for the Park’s ecosystems. This primarily applies to flora and fauna from other continents that are capable of successfully establishing themselves within the Kuialnytskyi National Nature Park and displacing native species.
Military operations
Military operations pose a significant and widespread threat to the ecosystems of the Kuialnytskyi National Nature Park. As a result of rocket attacks, there is an increased risk of highly toxic rocket fuel components entering the estuary’s ecosystem, causing fires, and damaging rare habitat types. Explosions frighten animals, which particularly affects birds during the nesting season.