We’ve heard from our friends at BirdLife Hungary – who have issued their reaction to the shocking toxic mud spill (which I include below). BirdLife Hungary wants to take an active part in the restoration work after one of the largest ecological catastrophes in their country. The ecological implications of the incident add to the human tragedy unfolding in the wake of the spill – the thoughts of our colleagues in Hungary, as are our own, are with those most affected.
Hungary must start to restore the mud-polluted habitats immediately
Hungary must start to monitor the effects of the toxic red mud on biodiversity in the affected wetlands. Although there aren’t any Natura 2000 sites near the reservoir that burst it’s banks, the pollution has got into the Danube and Raba rivers and may cause serious damage in conservation areas. Of particular concern is an Important Bird Area called Szigetköz. Although most of the birds have already migrated from Hungary, amphibians, fish and wetland wildlife has surely suffered heavy losses.
Wetland wildlife is sensitive to the pH of the water endangered fish and other species are at direct risk. The effect of the alkaline water has been obvious in the fish stocks of the river Marcal, all life was lost from the source of pollution to the confluence of the river Ràba. Further downstream the effect of the pollution load will be reduced by dilution.
Restoration work should be carried out as quickly as possible. Mitigating the impact of neutralising the alkaline pollution by deploying acid can mobilise metal pollutants with their own risks, BirdLife Hungary are recommending that actions taken during the mitigation process should be documented and made public in order to enable effective monitoring and conservation measures.
Once the effects of the damage the incident has caused have been identified, the nature conservation sector has to start habitat restoration programmes designed to help native species return to the wetlands avoiding the risk of non-native invasive species establishing themselves in damaged habitats.
This ecological disaster once again highlights that the true value of our natural resources is only recognised when society has to pay for their restoration.