Although the reasons have not been determined as yet, it is quite probable that it is an environmental catastrophe brought on by the release of toxic compounds.
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| [Oder river map] |
Thousands of fish have been discovered dead all along the Oder river, which flows from the mountains of the Czech Republic to Poland, through Germany, and into the Baltic Sea. This tragedy has been unfolding over the course of many days. The authorities are in agreement that this is a "environmental disaster" of enormous proportions, which may have been brought about by the leakage of a significant amount of chemical waste. The causes are not yet known; however, they believe that this event was caused by the spillage of large quantities of chemical waste. Undoubtedly, as of right now, there is also evidence suggesting that Poland is the place where the contamination first began. An element that has reopened the controversy on the Warsaw-Berlin axis, with the German authorities accusing the Polish leaders of having informed them of the accident several days late, and only after the first cases of fish deaths had also been found in Germany. This is an element that has reopened the controversy.
In Berlin, there is a widespread feeling of unease around the possibility of a premeditated institutional rudeness or a clumsy effort to cover up an industrial catastrophe that may be embarrassing for the ruling party, the Pis conservatives. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki attempted to justify the delays in communication with the German authorities by explaining that "everyone initially thought it was a local problem." Morawiecki's statement was an attempt to justify the delays in communication that occurred between Poland and Germany. The Prime Minister also recognized that "the scale of the tragedy is really big, enough to indicate that it would take years for the Oder to restore to its natural form."
"Huge amounts of chemical waste have undoubtedly been thrown into the river with full understanding of the danger and the repercussions," continued the Polish leader, while the German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke requested an in-depth probe into what he referred to as a "environmental tragedy." Michael Tautenhahn, the deputy director of the Lower Oder Valley National Park in Germany, told AFP that in addition to fish, mussels and possibly countless more types of aquatic creatures perished: "This is just the tip of the iceberg," one person said.
When water levels drop too low, oxygen levels in the water become skewed, which often results in the death of fish. This is now occurring in a number of rivers in Northern Europe as a direct consequence of an abnormal drought that has afflicted the area. However, the findings of the first tests that were carried out on the German side of the river rule out the possibility that the drought is the sole factor at play here: unusually high concentrations of mercury and salt were discovered. According to Tautenhahn, the calamity might have repercussions for a significant amount of time in the future: "If it's mercury, then it's going to be here for a long time," she added.
"Experts are working full speed on the analyses to find out as quickly as possible which substances and causes led to the mass deaths of the fish and damage to the Oder River," said German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke after a meeting with his Polish colleague. This decision to establish a joint task force was made by the authorities in Poland and Germany before the full picture was available.
But despite both nations' public statements that they are committed to working together, tensions between them continue to rise. It is common knowledge that the Polish government, which is led by PiS (a conservative party that is an iron ally of the Brothers of Italy and Giorgia Melono in Europe), has been engaged in a tug-of-war with the EU and Germany itself on the rule of law, ranging from the independence of the judiciary to the anti-LGBT crusades, for some time now. As a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, relations between the two governments have deteriorated. Warsaw has accused Berlin on many occasions of showing an excessive amount of weakness toward Moscow and of delaying help and the supply of weaponry to Kiev.
Recently, another instance of river pollution, the Bobr, had sparked controversy between the two countries: in that particular instance, however, the sides were reversed, with members of the Polish government asking a German company to account for the alleged spillage of harmful substances into the watercourse. Which, as a side note, is a river that flows into the Oder.