Feature: Chernobyl zone becomes biosphere reserve as wildlife flourishes

The Ukrainian government has recently declared the territory around Chernobyl nuclear power plant as a biosphere reserve because wildlife in the abandoned area is flourishing without human presence.

On April 26, 1986, one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history occurred at the Chernobyl plant, when a series of explosions ripped through the reactor No. 4.

They sent the clouds of radiation in the air, forcing people living in the area of about 2,600 square kilometers around the plant to leave their homes forever.

Almost 31 years after the disaster, the population of wild animals in the 30-km-radius exclusion zone around the plant has risen significantly due to the absence of residential population and a ban on hunting, forestry, fishing and farming activities.

"The wildlife around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been self-restored. Many plants and animals that are included in the Red List of Threatened Species have returned to the area," said Vitaly Petruk, the head of the State Agency on exclusion zone management.

The population of wolves now exceeds the normal levels, Petruk said.

The disaster area also became a safe haven for rare species, such as deer, elk, lynx, owls and even brown bears, which previously were believed to have migrated from Ukraine.

Besides, the population of Przewalski horses, which were brought in the region in the 1990s as a part of government efforts to revive the contaminated territory is rising.

With the increased number of wild species, Chernobyl zone has good prospects to become one of the most beautiful natural parks in Europe after safe tourist routes will be established along wildlife habitats.

Before that time, the venue, which does not include the contaminated 10-km-radius territory surrounding the devastated nuclear power plant, is due to be used primarily for scientific purposes and research.

The reserve is divided into three parts -- conservation area, protective zone and territory under the anthropogenic influence, with each part representing a unique value for science.

The scientific activities in the newly-established biosphere reserve would be combined with research in the Red Forest, the wooden region around the devastated Chernobyl plant, where pine trees turned ginger-colored after they were affected by high doses of radiation.

"This territory is used as an international radiological testing area because there are few territories with such conditions in the world," said Denis Vishnevsky, head of Ecocenter, an ecological group for radiation monitoring in Chernobyl area.

It draws scientists from all over the globe, including Europe and the United States, who make radioecological and radiobiological research, Vishnevsky added.

To improve the environmental situation in the exclusion zone and the welfare of wild animals living at the site, scientists plan to cover about 2 square kilometers of the biosphere reserve with new trees and greenery this year.

The Ukrainian government has allocated about 200,000 U.S. dollars to support the development of the reserve. Endit