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Dear
Friends!
Over
six months have passed since the war caused by
Russia’s invasion began in Ukraine. People and
nature are suffering because of the hostilities,
and the consequences affect not just the region
but the entire world.
Here
at UWEC Work Group we continue to track and
analyze the war’s negative impacts on the
environment and climate. We are also assembling
and proposing solutions to soften those
impacts.
We
recently joined the United Nations Environment
Working Group in Ukraine,
an effort to analyze the war’s environmental
consequences and exchange information. The UN
Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is
coordinating this effort. We
are also expanding our partnerships with both
Ukrainian and regional environmental
organizations.
For
this issue, we interviewed Olha Boiko,
coordinator
of Climate Action Network – Eastern Europe
Caucasus Central Asia (CAN
EECCA)
and climate change campaigner at Ecoaction.
She spoke about efforts to strengthen
collaboration between European and Ukrainian
environmental organizations working not just to
end the war, but also to minimize its consequences
for the environment and
climate.
One
clear example of such cooperation is Greenpeace
International’s investigation into the
consequences of the Russian invasion in the
Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Together with Belarusian
independent environmental media Green
Portal,
we review the investigation’s key
findings.
The
war and accompanying sanctions are seriously
affecting global climate policy. Against the
backdrop of an unprecedented drought in Europe and
weather anomalies in Southeast Asia, we are
reminded that we must work together to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate
change. At the same, Russia is becoming more
isolated and acting to dilute or cancel a number
of climate policy measures. What look at what this
means and how it affects the global climate
agenda.
Renewal
of the Cold War discourse is leading states to
enclose their territories with barriers and
minefields. Białowieża Forest (Belovezhskaya
Pushcha) was recently divided by an impervious
fence along the border of Poland and Belarus.
There is also recent news about new minefields on
the Ukraine-Belarus border in the Polesie forest
area. Although these actions are politically
justified, they can be detrimental for wildlife.
It is absurd to build fences while simultaneously
discussing wildlife corridors.
While
the war rages, Ukrainian and Russian governments
are actively “reforming” environmental legislation
– mostly for the worse, but sometimes for the
better. This summer, both countries updated rules
for legitimizing secondary forests that have grown
on disused agricultural lands. Our experts assess
these reforms.
Stay
tuned as UWEC continues to analyze the war’s
impacts through an environmental lens not only in
Ukraine but around the globe.
Read
the latest on our website
(where you can sign up for our mailing list) and
follow us on Twitter
and Facebook!
Peace
be with us all!
Alexei
Ovchinnikov
Editor-in-chief,
UWEC Work Group
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