Environmental organizations – governmental and non-governmental – are constantly documenting the impact of hostilities on the environment, the aggressor’s crimes against nature, helping save Ukrainian reserved areas and zoos, and fighting against the influence of Russian representatives on international environmental processes.
This compilation is being regularly updated and includes information on the following topics:
Stay tuned!
Events and facts
National Ecological Center of Ukraine (NECU)
has launched an indefinite campaign to raise funds to support Ukrainians and Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) of Ukraine locally to approach our common victory of good over evil. Learn more
Victory Gardens
is an all-Ukrainian campaign aimed at the efficient use of available land and directing all resources for growing food to prevent the food crisis in Ukraine. The organizers call to use every piece of available land and provide food not only for own families, but also to support as many Ukrainians as possible. Learn more
World Water Day: EU4Environment sounds the alarm on the impact of war in Ukraine
On top of the dreadful human suffering caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war has destroyed infrastructure worth some €90 billion. Meanwhile, the European Environment Agency has warned of toxic chemicals in the water, soil, and air that might remain for decades to come.
“Today, Ukraine needs urgent access to safe drinking water for regions isolated by the war. And it will need support tomorrow to restore and rebuild the country, including its water and environmental governance, management, and monitoring,” EU4Environment warns in an article to mark World Water Day. Learn more
The Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group works twenty-four hours a day during the war to keep Ukrainian natural protected areas functional and support its employees.
In total, one-third of the protected areas and sites, including two biosphere reserves, is currently located in the zones of active hostilities, occupation, and humanitarian crisis.
The government support to these territories and their employees is now substantially limited. Moreover, the national parks and reserves have lost the income from tourism, on which they are so heavily dependent. So, at present, such protected areas have lost their supply and require our aid.
The Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group addresses its efforts to:
- purchase fodder and medicine for animals in zoos and open-air enclosures, evacuate animals, re-equip enclosures, etc.;
- restore the critical infrastructure of nature reserves damaged by the war;
- provide aid to the staff of nature reserves who have lost their homes, are in the zone of active hostilities, require food, water, medicines, etc.;
- adapt and re-equip the infrastructure to military conditions;
- support vital needs to run organizations that manage protected areas.
More than EUR 600,000 have been raised in Europe for Ukrainian zoos
The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) intends to help Ukrainian zoos affected by the Russian invasion.
EAZA said it had already made initial transfers of money to zoos in Ukraine and would continue to assess the situation to ensure that appropriate transfers are made. In addition, preparatory work has been done and is ongoing to facilitate future relocations if they become possible and if the zoos request them.
Tasks of the WWF-Ukraine team during the war:
- preservation of the environmental projects started before February 24 to continue most of them in the recovery phase;
- analysis of legislative changes that soften the rules for the use of natural resources and provide feedback to the authorities;
- assessment of environmental threats of war and information about them, particularly in international media;
- search for solutions and preparation of restoration projects together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine and the environmental protection community in Ukraine and the world in general;
- recording of crimes against the environment caused by the Russian military aggression;
- creation of a special fund for environmental restoration – a financial instrument that will attract international investment in the restoration of the nature of Ukraine.
We feel the full support of many WWF national offices and, most importantly, the WWF Central and Eastern Europe office, which is already working to prepare large-scale environmental restoration projects in Ukraine and attract international sponsors.
Monitoring of crimes against the environment
Situation Map: War in Ukraine
Zoï has documented the environmental impacts of conflict in Donbas since 2014. These two maps published on 2 March 2022 and 23 March 2022 are first attempts to depict the devastating environmental impacts of the war in Ukraine. These snapshots show the situation seven days and one month after the conflict began. Although Zoï has made every effort possible to present accurate information in the maps, the situation remains fluid and reliable data is difficult to obtain and validate. We will correct any errors in light of new and verifiable information.
Zoï Environment Network is a non-profit organization that helps build sustainable societies through informed analysis, visual communication, design and action. One of the main items – Security and conflict, with focus on environmental challenges. Learn more…
Operational Headquarters at the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine
Tasks of the Headquarters: Forming a list of all violations in the field of environmental protection and bringing Russia to justice. More info…
Operational Headquarters at the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine
Tasks of the Headquarters: forming a list of all violations in the field of environmental protection and bringing Russia to justice. If a citizen witnessed an environmental crime, they can inform the Operational Headquarters in any way convenient to them (via phone call, email, or chatbot in Telegram). Learn more
ICO Environment-People-Law (EPL) appealed to the IAEA and other key international bodies in the nuclear safety arena.
Russian aggression on the territory of Ukraine has long since reached the level of nuclear terrorism.
The Russian occupation of the Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants, as well as the proximity of hostilities to the territory of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant, pose a threat of accidents there. The consequences of such accidents will impact not only Ukraine but also Russia, Belarus, and other neighboring countries.
Therefore, EPL calls on the IAEA and other international bodies to:
- immediately communicate with Russian leaders demanding the de-occupation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants;
- guarantee security of Ukrainian nuclear power plants during the war;
- visit the occupied NPPs to check the safety and condition of radiation monitoring at these facilities;
- stop any support for Russia, its bodies, and organizations within the IAEA’s activities;
- mobilize international support and appropriate response to Russia’s actions, including closing the sky over Ukraine.
Saveecobot now has the function of reporting the damage caused to the environment of Ukraine by the military actions.
From now on, everyone can record such crimes of the aggressor country. Explanation on how to do this.
A department for monitoring environmental emergencies is being set up at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
Contacts:
- notification of an event that resulted in damage to the environment: povidomlenya2022@gmail.com
- formation of a list of experts: eksperty2022@gmail.com
- submission of loss calculation results: 2022dei2022@gmail.com
ICO Environment-People-Law begins collecting data on crimes of the Russian Federation against the nature of Ukraine during the war.
Risks associated with damage to communications, businesses, and other facilities that pose an increased environmental risk are of particular importance. The issue is that in the absence of control and the ability to eliminate their negative consequences, they potentially increase the scale of the negative impact every day.
The database is created by the following parameters: impact, date, coordinates, description, consequences, source, photos, and videos.
Send information on the email k.polyanska@epl.org.ua or fill out the convenient Google Form. Coordinator – Kateryna Polianska, ecologist of ICO Ecology-Law-Human.
The State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine has created a chatbot on Telegram for the prompt recording of environmental crimes caused by the military actions of the Russian Federation.
From now on, all crimes against the environment can be promptly reported to a specially created department at the State Ecological Inspectorate. This chatbot allows you to select the type of environmental crime and specify the extent of the violation in the following areas:
- land (explosions, contamination of land with hazardous substances, damage to dams of sewage treatment facilities, other land pollution);
- air (due to burning, explosions, etc.);
- water (leakage of hazardous substances into water bodies, damage to treatment facilities, etc.);
- plants (destruction of trees or forest plantations, forest fires);
- animals (poisoning or other mass animal deaths).
Link to the chatbot: https://t.me/EcoShkodaBot
Block the aggressor!
Regarding the exclusion of Russia from international organizations, professional associations, international projects, etc., as an answer to the appeal of Ukraine.
The Law Division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has provided clarification on the membership in UNEP – it is universal for all states. According to it, the exclusion of any UN member state from UNEP is possible only if the state is excluded from the UN.
At the same time, to prevent the election of Russia to the governing bodies of international organizations, the election of Russia to the bureau of the 6th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) was blocked, and a representative of the Ukrainian relevant agency was elected.
The same goes for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Russia’s exclusion from UN-Habitat is not possible, but the election of Russia’s candidate to the Executive Board Bureau had been blocked, and Poland’s representative was elected. Apart from that, the termination of the powers of the Russian Federation representative as President of the UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA) was initiated.
Russia must be deprived of the right to vote in the UN climate negotiations – its actions pose a threat to the world and hinder the adaptation to climate change.
If this war is not stopped immediately, the world will experience a drop in global supply between 10 percent to 50 percent of major agrarian products including wheat, barley, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower oil, a huge increase in prices, and other negative impacts globally.
During the 13 days of aggression, a territory of 900 natural protected areas with an area of 12,000 sq. km was damaged, which is about a third of total in Ukraine.
The Government of Ukraine asks the Presidencies to start immediate consultations over the suspension of the operation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change regarding the Russian Federation.
(From the speech of Iryna Stavcuk, the deputy minister of environmental protection and natural resources of Ukraine, at the regular session of the UN Framework Convention parties on Climate Change).
