Program on Chechnya's ecological enhancement adopted

Russia's Natural Resources Ministry states that Chechnya is "an environmental catastrophe zone".

A total of over 20,000 tons of oil have been spilled into the republic's ground and water since 1994, Russia's Deputy Natural Resources Minister Maksim Yakovenko told journalists on Friday. Chechnya and part of the Caspian Sea look like "a black surface" from a satellite, he said.

Chechnya's space environmental monitoring has been conducted since 1999, according to the Deputy Minister.

The Russian government has passed a special program of Chechnya's environmental enhancement envisaging immediate measures on ground and water protection from oil pollution, including creation of special anti-flood dams, Yakovenko stated.