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Dear
Friends!
Perhaps
the most serious systemic environmental problem
caused by the war is the disruption and weakening
of international cooperation. In Russia, ideas
about a “hostile” West are gaining strength, while
in Ukraine there are calls for the exclusion of
the aggressor country from all international
initiatives. Since the invasion, almost all
intergovernmental treaties are perceived as
invalid.
Taking
place in Egypt this November, the upcoming COP-27
(United Nations Climate Change conference or
Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
will demonstrate how the conflict’s escalation
will affect global climate policy. We will cover
that topic on our website in the weeks ahead.
Today, however, attention must be paid to the
weakening of a number of international agreements,
stemming not only from the Russian invasion, but
also by the political events that preceded
it.
One
of the most complex issues is the shared use of
transboundary natural sites, such as rivers.
Ukraine has taken the path of European integration
at the level of values and law. However, roughly
70% of the shared water resource use is with
Russia and Belarus, countries that have shown
direct or indirect aggression. UWEC experts
Valeriia Kolodezhna and Oleksiy Vasyliuk discuss
approaches to systematic international cooperation
with those countries.
Another
article by Oleksiy Vasyliuk is dedicated to the
management of shared borderlands. This is a
serious issue, given that significant areas of
Europe’s Emerald Network are located along
Ukraine’s border. These are unique biotopes where
scientists seek to preserve valuable ecosystems
and rare species. These same landscapes are the
first to suffer as a result of military invasion.
It is obvious that only joint work among these
countries’ scientific communities enables us to
preserve the region’s nature in the form in which
we know it.
Learn
more about how Ukraine’s most important protected
areas fit into European conservation programs in
an explainer infographic prepared specially for
UWEC Work Group by Valeriia Kolodezhna.
Withdrawal
from international treaties will also have a
negative impact on environmental practices in
Russia. We invited Dinara Ziganshina, Director of
the Research Center of the International Water
Commission for the Aral Sea Basin and Deputy
Chairperson of the Committee for the
Implementation of the UNECE Convention on the
Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses
and International Lakes to discuss how weakening
international agreements could affect
environmental activities both in Russia and
neighboring countries.
In
the future, Russia may choose a path of
isolationism and withdrawal from international
agreements. Populist political forces are the
voices behind that sort of rhetoric. Another
country in the region has already started moving
along this path. Belarus, or rather, its
authoritarian regime, has been waging a lengthy
war against its civil society while also trying to
conceal its participation in the invasion of
Ukraine.
In
2021, almost all environmental organizations were
liquidated by the government, including one of the
oldest such organizations – Ecodom. That
organization protected the environmental rights of
Belarusian citizens and used the Aarhus Convention
to document and report violations of environmental
rights. The Aarhus Convention protects the rights
of people to a healthy environment.
In
response, the Aarhus Committee called on Belarus
to restore liquidated environmental organizations
and end the political persecution of environmental
activists. Belarus’ government reacted to this not
only by issuing a refusal but announcing its
intent to withdraw from the convention. We spoke
with Ecodom representative Marina Dubina about the
organization, political persecution of
eco-activists, and the consequences for Belarus of
withdrawing from international conventions.
Persecution
of environmental activists for their anti-war
stance continues in both Belarus and Russia. One
of those under pressure today is Russian physicist
and nuclear power expert Andrey Ozharovsky. It was
Belarusian persecution of Ozharovsky and other
activists belonging to the Belarusian Anti-Nuclear
Campaign in the 2010s that prompted Ecodom’s
report of Aarhus Convention violations.
Most
international agreements affect the environment in
one way or another. Our expert Eugene Simonov
continues his analytical reporting by examining
“military agreements.” In this issue, Simonov
examines how the Black Sea Grain Initiative has
the potential to affect food security and
environmental protection using the example of the
Danube Delta.
At
UWEC Work Group, we analyze the transformation of
international agreements caused by Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. You can find more analysis of
the war’s environmental consequences on our website, and join the
conversation on Twitter and Facebook.
Peace
and strength be with you,
Aleksei
Ovchinnikov
Editor-in-Chief
UWEC Work
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