The Neris has long been an important element of the Lithuanian landscape. The uniqueness of its ecosystem provides invaluable value to nature and society. However, today the Inland Waterways Directorate, subordinate to the state, has put forward the idea of turning the Neris into a cargo shipping route. What lies behind this decision - a lack of elementary environmental literacy or a symptom of placing short-term economic benefits above long-term tasks of protecting the public good?
As soon as the news of the Inland Waterways Directorate's intention to deepen the Neris River spread, heated discussions erupted: those in favor of the idea attacked those opposed to the idea and vice versa. Many arguments were made on both sides. Those in favor of the project emphasize the economic benefits, the development of the transport network and ecological compensation. However, environmental experts, scientists and representatives of the naturalist community emphasize that such work may irreversibly damage one of the last natural large rivers in Europe.
In my opinion, as a non-staff environmental inspector, it is worth emphasizing several things again, which may reveal a much deeper problem than at first glance - blindness to the fundamental laws of our survival as a state and the people living in it.
Why is dredging the Neris a bad idea?
The idea of the Inland Waterways Directorate to fully adapt the river section from Vilnius to Kaunas for navigation, in the institution's own view, would require carrying out "cleaning" works of the riverbed: deepening the bed, mining the soil, removing boulders, digging out the ravines, installing bunds directing the current in the bed. The first stage of the works alone would involve the excavation of 900 m000 of soil and would cost 3 million euros, not counting the costs of installing the infrastructure and carrying out further and annual works.
Why is this all a bad idea? I'll start with something small, but very important to me.
The Neris is not a garbage dump that needs to be “cleaned”. Yes, we will find some waste (thanks to irresponsible fellow citizens) both on its bottom and in the water, but not so much that we would have to dig it up with excavators. The riverbed, which has been geomorphologically formed over millions of years, contains naturally developed ecosystems, each of which performs a certain significant function. The very perception of them as needing to be cleaned and interfering with human needs, in my opinion, already shows the flaw in logic.
Getting to the point, it is important to be clear: dredging one of the last large natural rivers in Europe would, in principle, mean blatant destruction of nature.
The reefs, islands and other natural formations that have formed in the bed and banks of the Neris River since the last ice age are like homes for biodiversity. The destruction of reefs, the removal of large stones from the Neris bed and the constant movement of soil during the canalization of the river can lead to an imbalance in water temperature, oxygen and other essential parameters and cause irreversible consequences. For example, the survival conditions for rare fish species, such as salmon, slag, sturgeon or barbel, would become impossible.
All this would mean the destruction of many years of Lithuanian fish farming work (and the budget investments allocated for it!). Breeding salmon, smolt, bream, bream, trout, brook trout and others fish Lithuania has already allocated millions of euros. This project would eliminate the spawning grounds and places for the development and growth of these fish. Without rapids, there is no way for the young fish to survive and grow. In addition, the Lithuanian Government invests large sums every year in restoring the rapids of small streams. However, it is proposed to turn a blind eye to the funds already spent and act in such a way that all of them go to waste?
If you need examples to justify such threats, let's look at the father of rivers, the Nemunas - improper cleaning of the waterway has drastically reduced the population of valuable fish (some, such as the eel, were completely destroyed in that part of the river). The Department of Environmental Protection has already launched an investigation into the activities of the Inland Waterways Directorate in the upper reaches of the Nemunas (although the Directorate claimed to be cleaning the river, in fact it has pulled out large, powerful stones from the bottom of the Nemunas, which is already changing the riverbed, not cleaning). Do we really want to repeat the same scenario in the Neris, whose ecosystem is even more sensitive and important for the preservation of our natural heritage?
It is also worth noting that the planned works would not only change the depth of the Neris riverbed, but would also fundamentally change the entire landscape of the river valley. The forms of the river banks and islands, which reflect the traces of thousands of years of natural and cultural history. Large hydro-engineering projects can push these imprints into oblivion. Such a change in the landscape is not only an ecological but also a cultural tragedy.
Historical utopias of shipping restoration and evacuation routes
Historically, the Neris was used for navigation, but only by small flat-bottomed vessels called "Kurėnai" and small sailboats. However, large cargo ships, such as those now proposed for launch, did not sail on the Neris, and in 1957 even the ferrying of souls on the river was discontinued. One of the reasons for this was precisely the unsuitable conditions for navigation and soul-searching, since the water level in the Neris was generally high only in spring, during the snowmelt.
Therefore, strange attempts to talk about the strategic importance of the Neris waterway, ensuring the movement of military transport or its alleged use for the evacuation of Vilnius residents during emergency situations, are significantly out of touch with reality.
Today, due to climate change, longer periods of drought in summer, and constantly decreasing water levels, the river is simply not suitable for modern cargo shipping. Moreover, the intense change in hydrological conditions would limit the use of the river even for tourist navigation.
If enemy forces destroyed at least one of the dozen or so bridges across the Neris during a military conflict, the mobility of military equipment and the evacuation of Vilnius residents via the Neris River would become completely impossible, thus posing a mortal danger to citizens evacuating in this way due to possible
shipping lane bombings or other intense military actions. It is ten times safer
to evacuate via minor forest paths, than are well known to enemy forces and from the air
completely uncovered and open to the river.
Amnesia for obligations to protect the public interest
I understand, agree and acknowledge that a modern transport policy should aim to drastically reduce pollution from the use of the land road network. However, there should be no solutions to the problem that endanger ecosystems, even if they seem economically attractive at first glance. Instead, let's discuss investments in rail transport, innovative logistics solutions that would optimize land transport, and finally, tourism development that would promote river-friendly use, rather than industrial shipping.
The EU Nature Restoration Regulation and other Community directives to which we are committed clearly stipulate that natural ecosystems must be restored and protected. In addition, the Neris River is included in the Natura2000 protection network, which strictly regulates what is and is not allowed in this area.
It is important to understand that protecting nature is not just green idealism, but a real political priority. Our interests in freedom and health are closely linked to preserving nature. The pursuit of profit cannot replace our commitment to restoring nature and preserving ecosystems.
Every intervention in sensitive natural objects must be assessed not only from an economic, but also from an ecological and cultural perspective. Therefore, I strongly urge current and future decision-makers to listen to the voice of natural science: Dredging the Neris is a decision that risks losing invaluable natural and cultural heritage. If we were to replace it with an artificial shipping channel, it would be almost impossible to restore its naturalness.
I am convinced that our future depends on our ability to reconcile economic needs with the principles of nature conservation. We cannot allow short-term profit motives to replace our long-term responsibility to protect nature for present and future generations.
Laurynas Okockis is a non-staff environmental protection inspector, member of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union. Member, Vice-Chairman of the Lithuanian Green Party
