Lukashenko's Goons Arrest Former Employees Of Birdlife Belarus For "Extremist Activities"
One of the oldest and largest wildlife NGOs in Belarus is being forced to shut down after accusations of “extremist activities”, as conservationists warn of “darkness” engulfing a region known for its rich natural heritage. Former employees of BirdLife Belarus (APB) were arrested and one has been in jail for six months under suspicion of attempting to destabilise the political situation in the country under the guise of protecting birds. The organisation has been ordered by a court to close next month after 24 years of work.
Across the border in Ukraine, wildlife scientists working on bat conservation and the gut microbiome of venomous snakes are being accused of working on bioweapons. Vladimir Putin has erroneously claimed “dozens of laboratories in Ukraine” are experimenting with infectious diseases such as coronavirus under guidance from the US.
In Belarus, environmentalists say they are concerned about phones being tapped and the safety of individuals who speak out. A source told the Guardian: “Belarus has pretty much been taken over by Putin. “The darkness that has engulfed the east of our region is catching up also with those protecting the environment,” the source said. “Aside from the sheer injustice, this a massive blow to conservation at a global scale.”
These countries are home to Polesia, a wetlands area more than two-thirds the size of the UK (18m hectares), known as “the Amazon of Europe” for its extraordinary biodiversity, as well as parts of the Carpathian mountains and Danube delta, the largest river delta wetland in Europe. Adham Ashton-Butt from the British Trust for Ornithology has been working in the Belarus and Ukrainian parts of Polesia. In 2019, he said the region felt politically stable, but when he returned after the worst of the pandemic in 2021, dozens of NGOs had been closed down, with a spate of raids and arrests.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/27/ukraine-war-deals-massive-blow-to-nature-as-belarus-largest-wildlife-ngo-shut-down-aoe
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