The current exclusion zone is not only radiation-hazardous areas – it is a valuable natural complex and a nature reserve, with natural biodiversity restored after years of isolation from the individual, as well as a world-famous tourist site that has confirmed the attractiveness of mass visits. In recent years, tens of thousands of tourists visited Chernobyl and the exclusion zone.
The main idea of chernobyl recovery was the attempt to socialize the territory of the Chernobyl zone – in creating infrastructure throughout the exclusion zone, in which the main human activities were taken into account. The designers suggested that the main activities in the exclusion zone will be scientific research and tourism activities, which will lead to an inflow of investments.
Attention is focused on the development of tourism, around which all activities in the exclusion zone are formed. This approach has its own logic – when creating safe conditions for people staying in the exclusion zone and the city of Chernobyl, control over the radiation situation, control and prevention of the negative influence of the alienation zone objects on the adjacent territories, etc. will improve. As this will require the guarantee of safe conditions for tourists to stay. The development of tourism in the project is expected in such areas as ecotourism, extreme tourism, industrial, game and photo-safari. True, photo-safari is essentially an integral part of ecotourism.
The scheme presented below, in a visual form, represents possible directions of development of the exclusion zone.
Chernobyl recovery time
As we see, the developers assume that with the development of tourism, science, infrastructure, ecology, industry will be accompanied by a general economic development.
Unfortunately, the developers did not take into account that in the exclusion zone for a long time there will be working enterprises for handling radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel and the nuclear power plant itself. These facilities should have been taken into account in the future infrastructure of the Chernobyl zone.
Chernobyl recovery and development programme
The infrastructural skeleton of the exclusion zone is formed with the help of four main objects (stations), between which a new transport artery is laid (monorail track). The picture shows the main idea of station location on the territory of the Chernobyl zone.
The first station (called the Casino), designed to receive tourists and personnel of the zone, is organized on the south-eastern boundary of the exclusion zone. The station “Casino” is located not far from the confluence of the Pripyat River in the Kiev reservoir, which allows to use both water and motor transport.
According to the plan of the designers, the station “Casino” will be not only a tourist gate, but also a small settlement with gambling establishments. The gaming infrastructure of the station “Casino” is concentrated in the gaming module – a network of buildings located in the territory of modern villages Parisham, Teremtsy. In Ukraine, casinos and other gambling establishments are prohibited, but in the future, it may be decided to organize a separate city for these purposes. At least Ukrainian politicians have already voiced this idea. The station “Casino” could be such a place. A small distance from the capital of Ukraine, good transport highways – this is a clear trump card for the station “Casino”.
In addition to the station “Casino” it is proposed to create three more stations – Chernobyl, Ilyintsy and … station “Reserve”. If “Chernobyl”, “Il’inz” are abandoned settlements in which stations will be created, the station “Zapovednik” is a new architectural object in the north of the Chernobyl zone. From the west of the station there are wind turbines with the help of which they are supposed to cover all the needs of the infrastructure of the Chernobyl zone in electric power. The purpose of the Zapovednik station is purely scientific, the developers have suggested that this is an ideal place for scientific research, the placement of laboratories and the implementation of scientific tourism. On the development models “Reserve” is no different from the stations “Chernobyl” and “Il’inz”, but according to the rules radiochemical laboratories, test sites, pilot sites should be located at a distance from residential buildings. The laboratory infrastructure should guarantee the safety of tourists. Therefore, the scientific segment requires an “individual” layout.
Below are the model stations. Modular stations – which allows you to quickly collect the necessary facilities and gradually grow the station building, depending on the emerging needs.
Modular station for the delivery of tourists
Chernobyl nature recovery
Ukrainian scientists claim that in the Chernobyl zone wild nature is being restored – in particular, there are once again unique for Ukraine brown bears. As a result of the Chernobyl disaster, the nature of the zone is protected by radiation.
chernobyl fox
And this is a good chance for the restoration of nature in significant areas that serve as a barrier to radiation, work with green lungs and perform a number of ecosystem functions to clean air, water, preserve the climate and absorb carbon dioxide. In addition, the Pripyat River is a reserve source of water, “says the environmentalist Movchan.”
The biosphere reserve project is attractive, because the conditions for farming and nature conservation for biosphere reserves are flexible and functional, and they were developed by UNESCO. The project provides for the maintenance of traditional farming in certain areas, and on the other hand – the preservation of nature, scientific research, monitoring, educational projects, informing society and coordinating the work of various organizations in this territory. ”
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the territory of the future Chernobyl biosphere reserve will be zoned: in certain areas only scientists will be allowed. Other areas will be visited by tourists, but there will be no economic activity. They will be part of the reserve and the territory where limited economic activities are permitted, including timber harvesting. Industrial sites of the Chernobyl NPP and other enterprises in the reserve will not be included