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Dear
Friends!
Unfortunately, the ecocide in Ukraine is
ongoing. In June, we experienced the latest
example of how military actions can impact not
only human lives, but also how they have
extremely negative consequences for the natural
environment. Specifically, the breaching of the
dam at Kakhovka Hydropower Plant
(HPP) this month. That tragedy is a
vivid reminder of the need to openly and loudly
discuss ecocide occurring in Ukraine at the
level of international law. It is even more
relevant to climate change, when climate
adaptation becomes the sole strategy for
humanity’s survival.
It is important for
the Kakhovka HPP to remain a topic of
discussion. We will only be able to analyze and
understand the real consequences of this dam’s
destruction a few months from now, and
understanding consequences of the disappearance
of Kakhovka Reservoir will require a year or
more. For now, we can only survey the near-term
consequences, as described by UWEC Work Group
journalist Viktoriya
Hubareva:
It is
also important to note that the HPP itself is
used to artificially regulate the Dnipro River.
The United Nations is of the opinion that,
in the very near future, the destruction of dams
could become a serious problem not only for
human society, but also for nature. It is for
this reason that experts recommend abandoning
the concept of restoration of the Kakhovka HPP
and the reservoir that feeds it and instead
finding more sustainable modern solutions that
will also meet the principles of a “green
economy”. Community organizations created an
open petition (to which UWEC Work Group is a
signatory) seeking to prevent the HPP’s
restoration:
We
continue efforts to draw global attention to
under-examined environmental consequences
of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, issues not
widely covered, but nevertheless important to
discuss. One such example is the Kerch
bridge. Construction of this “object of
the century” has already caused serious damage
to the unique peninsula’s protected areas and
affected the Black Sea’s entire hydrological
regime and marine ecosystem. Unfortunately, it
is highly likely that the bridge will continue
to have negative impacts. Given its role as a
strategic target, it will be part of the process
to free occupied territories. Our experts
Oleksii Vasyliuk and
Valeria Kolodezhna write the
latest article in our series on the negative
consequences of the invasion for Crimea,
focusing this time on environmental aspects of
the Kerch Bridge’s
construction:
The
war is also weakening environmental policy
within Ukraine. Vulnerable sectors suffer in
particular, including, for example, forestry.
Special for UWEC Work Group, Valeria Kolodezhna
interviewed Ukrainian Nature Conservation
Group’s Yehor Hrynyk. Hrynyk
describes how the war has affected forestry
management in Ukraine, including “hot spots” of
confrontation between activists and government
authorities. One example – the Svydovets
mountain range – is particularly
relevant:
As we
have previously examined, the war has extremely
negative consequences for Russia’s environmental
practices as well. Gradual recognition of
environmental organizations as “undesirable” is
ongoing, not only blocking their work, but also
the possibility of cooperation. Bellona,
Greenpeace, and recently WWF have all been
declared "undesirable". UWEC expert
Eugene Simonov shares his
assessment:
UWEC
Work Group not only publishes articles but hosts
discussions about the environmental consequences
of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In
addition to UWEC’s webinars
organized jointly with Reporters Without
Borders (RSF)–Sweden and the
Svea Green Foundation, our
experts also recently participated in a webinar
hosted by University of New South
Wales–Canberra. Learn about the topics and
discussion in a commentary by UWEC author and
expert Viktoriya Hubareva:
Discussion during the
UNSW webinar inspired UWEC experts Eugene
Simonov and Angelina Davydova to explore
prospects for Russia's “green future”. The
editorial was prepared and published jointly
with Kedr.Media:
As
always, we track and analyze the invasion’s
environmental consequences on our website, Twitter, and Facebook.
Wishing
you strength and peace!
Alexej
Ovchinnikov
Editor, UWEC Work
Group
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