Environmentalists demand to stop construction on the Lago-Naki Plateau

In Adygea, ecologists have demanded to stop the construction of a mountain resort in the territory of Lago-Naki Plateau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Activists have sent a statement with their demand to the prosecutor's office.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in June 2021, authorities of Adygea signed an agreement on the construction of a mountain eco-resort in the territory of Lago-Naki Highlands. The leadership of Adygea would not start dialogue with opponents of the construction, while Russian federal authorities failed to respond to the letter from 124 scientists about the threats to the unique natural site, environmental activists stated in July 2021.

Preparations are underway for the construction of a mountain eco-resort on the Lago-Naki Plateau, the "Kavkaz.Realii"* outlet reported on August 31, citing Adyg eco-activists.

"The works are carried out without any official information from the administration of the Republic of Adygea; the necessary examinations have not been conducted," the outlet has quoted Bogdan Zakopaiko, an activist of the public movement "Lago-Naki, Live", as saying.

Any construction in specially protected natural areas without due expertise is prohibited, it is "a flagrant violation of the federal law," environmentalists have pointed out. "We've sent an appeal on this fact to the prosecutor's office of Adygea," Dmitry Shevchenko, the head of the autonomous non-commercial organization (ANO) "Civil Initiative against Ecological Crime", told journalists.

*This is a Radio Liberty's project, which was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice into the register of foreign media outlets acting as foreign agents

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 1, 2022 at 08:09 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.