A group of scientists has called the government for a new river management policy to prevent a repeat of the environmental disaster that has affected the Odra River.
Thousands of fish have been killed in the Odra, Poland’s second longest river, in one of the worst ecological calamities to strike Poland in recent years.
Just what killed the fish remains a mystery.
The scientists said that without changes to the national river management system disasters could recur with increasing frequency on Poland’s rivers.
They urged the government to abandon plans to control the Odra, arguing that it should be restored to its natural state.
The scientists, affiliated with a Science for Nature movement sponsored by several colleges and the Polish Academy of Sciences, also emphasised that prompt improvements in management were needed.
“Without changes to the way rivers are controlled in Poland we will be able to observe similar incidents more and more often,” they wrote.