[ad_1]
At the Kaunas District Municipal Council meeting held on Tuesday, this decision was approved by all politicians belonging to various political parties, the Kaunas District Municipality reports in a press release.
Stunners and foresters
To make the decision, Mayor Valerijus Makūnas relied on a petition signed by 1,323 locals who opposed the commercial invasion of an exclusive corner of nature.
Resistance of the population recently described and 15 minutes.
It is planned to excavate gravel in the territory of the Pakarklė forest, near which there are several gardener associations: “Kriemala”, “Paštuva”, “Batniava”. The Pakarklė forest landscape is classified as a valuable type that falls within the territory of the natural framework.
“Gravel and sand are needed for construction. However, I doubt that the economic benefits of setting up a quarry outweigh the damage done to nature. After all, a large area of mature forest is planned to be cut down due to the gravel, in addition, the inhabitants of the neighboring towns and tourists would inevitably suffer, ”said the mayor.
Councilors Violeta Boreikienė and Gvidas Rutkauskas also emphasized that the part of the Nemunas Valley that stretches from Raudondvaris to Vilkija is destined for tourism, recreation and recreation, so it is important to have legal guarantees that prevent economic activities in this area.
The Lithuanian Union of Foresters (LMS) contacted the Kaunas district municipality. The leaders of this public organization were surprised by the fact that a few years ago the Pakarklė forest was assigned to the operational forest group IV by decision of the Ministry of the Environment.
“Lithuania is committed to the European Union to increase the area of protected areas. Please explain why Group II b (forest parks) for Pakarklė forest was abolished,” Vidmantas Verbyla, president of LMS, told the Ministry of Environment.
Monika Sadauskaitė Pocė, President of Antalkiai Rural Community, who participated in the Council meeting, thanked the Kaunas District Council for its strong position and asked to mediate to return the part of the Pakarklė forest to its previous state in the future.
Mindaugas Kruopis, head of the urban planning department, stated that after assessing the recreational, environmental, cultural and social importance of the area, economic activity in Pakarklė forest is not possible.
“Based on the legal acts and the information provided by the Lithuanian Geological Survey on the explored mining areas, the mineral plan sites are marked in the Kaunas District Master Plan solutions, but this does not mean that they can be excavated here “, he emphasized the head of the department.
The damage would be irreparable
Jurgita Rakauskaitė, Head of the Department of Environment, who presented the draft Council Decision, stated that the impact of the PEA on the natural environment and the society interested in Pakarklė Forest would be large and intensive, as a mature forest would be cut down and high. capacity technical equipment would be used.
The Council’s decision also emphasizes that the PEA would irreversibly damage the natural ecological balance of the landscape and the stability of ecosystems, which have developed over centuries.
The PEA is planned to take place near objects with cultural heritage values: 0.85 km away is the Antalkiai cemetery, 0.76 km – Žvirgždė mansion, 1.14 km – Kvesų mansion, 1.44 km – site of the Holocaust. It is stated that the PEA will not directly affect those areas, but the negative impact is not considered.
The Municipality of the Kaunas District received a letter from the Department of Cultural Heritage, in which it promised to request the National Council for Cultural Heritage to clarify the accounting data of the objects of cultural heritage in the territory of Pakarklė and their accesses and assets valuable of these objects. .
The Council’s decision highlights that “the protection of the landscape and immovable cultural property is one of the functions of the independent municipalities, which, in accordance with the competence granted by the Constitution and the laws, perform obligations to the community and its interests.” .
When deciding not to support the PEA at all, the Municipal Council took into account the provisions of the 18th Government Program approved by the Seimas to follow the principles of the policy respectful of nature, green the economy, protect the natural diversity of Lithuania’s climate change and human management. activities,.
See a lot of bad examples
According to V.Makūnas, the Vilemai, Kvesai and Drąseikiai quarries on the territory of the Kaunas district are exploited irregularly and have long caused irreversible damage to the environment and people living nearby.
“The quarries that Rizgoniai manages have not been cultivated again, people have been buried everywhere and it is already planned to move the activities to a new location,” the mayor was outraged.
Seimas member Justinas Urbanavičius, who participated in the session, promised to raise the issue of regulation of quarrying activities at the national level. There are also concerns about the supervision of extraction activities, for which the Environmental Protection Agency is responsible.
In the same old age of Batniava, Virbaliūnai village, UAB Benefactor found an area of approximately 45 ha, which is also valuable from the point of view of the landscape. It is surrounded by up to 15 heritage objects: the ancient settlements of Virbaliūnai, Kriemala, Kulautuva and Brūžė, the Paštuva Mound, the Brūž Mansion and Cemetery, and the Valley of the Lithuanian Gliders.
In January this year, the Kaunas District Municipal Council also did not approve the planned economic activity in this territory.
[ad_2]
