Updated: 3/12/2025
RESOLUTION of the International Scientific and Practical Conference ‘The Kakhovka Reservoir Disaster: The Year After Tomorrow and the Prospect of the Future’ The International Scientific and Practical Conference ‘The Kakhovka Reservoir Disaster: The Year After Tomorrow and the Prospect of the Future’ was held at Kherson State University on 6-7 June 2024 according to the work plan (in accordance with the Letter of the IMZO dated 13.09.2023 No. 21/08-1560 ‘On the Formation of the List of Scientific Conferences on Higher Education and Science in 2024’).
Co-organisers of the conference: ● Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, I. Mechnykov Odesa National University, Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, M. Kholodnyi Institute of Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Society of Researchers of Ukraine, Kherson Branch of the Ukrainian Geographical Society, University of Szczecin (Poland), University of Vilnius (Lithuania), Temple University (USA).
The conference was organised in three thematic areas, where reports were presented and discussion platforms were held: 1. Revitalisation of the river, biodiversity and habitats: observations and first conclusions; 2. Social and environmental consequences of the disaster: regional and local development and recovery strategies; 3. Transformation of the economy: ways of development ‘without water’. The total number of conference participants was 105, including: 1 Academician and 3 Corresponding Members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 14 Doctors of Sciences, 30 Candidates of Sciences (PhDs). The conference aroused interest both in Ukraine and abroad, so it was attended by representatives of various scientific institutions, the media, and the public. Speakers and participants of the conference represented the following institutions, organisations and public associations: Kherson State University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, I. Mechnykov Odesa National University, Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Botany named after M.G.
Bilokon; Kyiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Uman National University of Horticulture, 6 Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Telecommunications and Global Information Space of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, University of Freiburg (Germany), Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University, University of Natural Sciences in Warsaw (SGGW), Institute of Hydrobiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, National University of Water and Environmental Engineering, Central Ukrainian University of Law. Law. People, NGO Ukrainian Nature Protection Group, Nikopol Branch of the International Dnipro Foundation, Kherson Secondary School No. 45 of the Kherson City Council, PJSC Ukrnafta, Kherson Specialised School No. 27 with Advanced Study of Computer Science and Foreign Languages of the Kherson City Council, Kherson Secondary School No. 50 named after Roman Nabiegov, and the Ukrainian Educational Platform.
Based on the results of the discussion of the reports on the three discussion platforms of the conference and after the general discussion of all participants, we note the following key points of the current scientific discourse on the consequences of the Kakhovka reservoir disaster: 1) the inter-sectoral, multidimensional and multi-temporal nature of the problems and consequences associated with changes in almost all components of the geographical environment in the area of influence of the Kakhovka reservoir; a wide range of long-term consequences and changes in functioning are observed for nature, as well as for the population and economy; 2) the Lower Dnipro sub-basin has undergone significant changes after the Kakhovka dam was blown up, the Kakhovka reservoir was lost and the natural channel of the Lower Dnipro was restored; in the year since the loss of the Kakhovka reservoir, there has been a tendency for both natural systems and most communities to adapt to new living conditions; This trend may be consolidated by the appropriate activity of scientists and practitioners in a wide range of fields of knowledge and specialties aimed at justifying the development of such types of management and spatial development in the context of increasing water scarcity; 3) the pace of restoration of natural ecosystems at the bottom of the former reservoir is much higher than expected and allows refuting previous forecasts of possible prerequisites for the formation of dust storms, dominant development of adventive flora and spread of quarantine plant species; 4) the the expected transformation of the coastal zone due to the massive flow of sediments formed as a result of the erosion of the Lower Dnipro islands did not fully manifest itself, as did the catastrophic destruction of the shores of the Kinburn Peninsula; at the same time, an increase in the intensity of abrasion processes in the coastal zone of the estuary, in particular its northern and southern shores, was noted; since the water level dropped and the situation stabilised, a significant transformation of the territories has been observed within the Kinburn Spit and the areas that were flooded; 7 5) both on the right and left banks of the Dnipro, within the regions of water consumption from the former Kakhovka Reservoir, a significant complication of water consumption is recorded due to a reduction in water supply and even the complete loss of traditional water sources; in the temporarily occupied left-bank territory, the problem of water supply is one of the dominant ones in the analysis of available sources of information; 6) restoration of infrastructure and livelihoods of the affected communities is currently possible only within the de-occupied communities under the condition of a favourable security situation; the de-occupied territory is already a testing ground for innovative solutions (for example, construction of water pipelines), while significant areas remain inaccessible in the area of hostilities and occupation, which excludes the possibility of starting reconstruction and restoration. Based on the discussion of the reports, taking into account the opinions and discussions, the conference participants propose
● continue and intensify research in the region of the former Kakhovka reservoir and related regions of the Black Sea coast, which will objectively demonstrate the nature of changes and trajectories of the natural environment, nature management, trends in economic and social development;
● develop alternative directions for spatial development, reconstruction and restoration of affected communities and territories based on a reasonable assessment of the possibilities of preserving and restoring the natural potential of the Lower Dnipro (ecosystem services, fish migration and spawning habitat, dispersal and recolonisation of native biodiversity, maintenance of floodplain bioproductivity), assessment of the possibility of maintaining flow dynamics and modelling the contribution of newly formed ecosystems to Ukraine's adaptation to climate change;
● expand cooperation between scientific centres, NGOs and individual researchers for a comprehensive, unbiased study of the consequences of the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP and the liquidation of the Kakhovka reservoir;
● focus on developing modern and urgent solutions to support the local population and communities that need a well-founded vision of ways to adapt to the new situation today (including in wartime);
● disseminate objective information on the results of the study in scientific publications, the media, and social networks in Ukraine and other countries; ● request state and military administrations, local governments, business leaders, and owners of private farms to facilitate research aimed at studying the processes and overcoming the consequences of the Kakhovka HPP disaster;
● information on natural and socio-economic processes related to the Kakhovka HPP disaster should be actively used in the educational process at all levels; 8
● to publish the conference papers as a separate collection of papers and make them available in the institutional repository of Kherson State University;
● approve the vision that the strategic decision-making on the possible reconstruction of the Kakhovka HPP and the future of the Kakhovka reservoir after the victory should be based on the results of a broad discussion of all possible development options with the involvement of the scientific community, the public, and local communities;
● Fulfilling the commitments to European integration and implementation of basin-wide integrated water resources management based on River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), in particular the Dnipro River RBMP, we propose to intensify the work of the Lower Dnipro Basin Council to strengthen the practical implementation of RBMPs and European norms and standards at the sub-basin level, taking into account the current needs, tasks and challenges of water resources management in the Lower Dnipro; in particular, to promote the conclusion of a cooperation agreement at the level of the regions that are geographically separated
● the conference organisers should send a letter to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which, in addition to the main results of the conference, would include the main warnings against premature financing of all projects related to the restoration of the Kakhovka HPP.
Transparency, broad public discussion and the involvement of experts from various fields of science should be the basis for a strategic decision on the future of both the Kakhovka HPP and the Kakhovka Reservoir. Any decision should take into account potential and actual losses for the population, nature and the economy, and provide for economic, social and spatial resources to compensate for them. Decision-making should be considered in the context of the implementation of sustainable development goals, primarily aimed at restoring natural biodiversity without compromising the quality of life of the Ukrainian population both within the Dnipro and in the area where its water resources are consumed.
Compiled by: Darya Malchykova, Ihor Pylypenko, Oleksandr Khodosovtsev, Ivan Moisienko, Yurii Palekha, Serhii Sonko, Pavlo Goldin, Oleksii Davydov, Roman Spitsa, Pavlo Ostapenko, Ihor Kotovskyi, Serhii Simchenko, Oleksii Vasyluk