Ukraine and international partners launch new projects to assess environmental damage from the war
The Ukraine pavilion at the international conference COP29 hosted an event on ‘Cooperation between Ukraine and international partners in assessing war-related environmental damage’, organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The high-level panel discussion was attended by Olena Kramarenko, First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Oleh Bondarenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, and Olena Kryvoruchkina, Deputy Chairman of the same committee. During the event, Saija Vuola, Advisor to the Minister of the Environment of Finland, announced 2 new international projects to help Ukraine assess the damage to water resources and biodiversity.
‘The environment is a silent victim of war that has no voice, but its destruction will have consequences for the whole world for decades to come. Russia’s war against Ukraine is causing devastating damage to nature, and these crimes must be recognised internationally,’ said First Deputy Minister Olena Kramarenko in her speech.
According to her, according to official estimates alone, almost 6,500 cases of environmental damage have been recorded in Ukraine, with an estimated value of over €65 billion.
‘We must not only record crimes against the environment but also seek international recognition of ecocide as a separate crime. This will set a precedent that will make any aggressive actions against nature extremely disadvantageous for a potential aggressor,’ said Olena Kramarenko.
Among the most egregious examples of environmental damage is the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, which destroyed the reservoir, polluted the Black Sea, and destroyed nature reserves. In addition, constant shelling of energy infrastructure leads to massive chemical contamination of soil and air, and fires caused by hostilities destroy the fertile soil layer.
‘Not only people, but also wildlife, plants and the nature reserve fund suffer in the war zone. Our task is to collect evidence of these crimes to submit them to international courts. This is the only way we can achieve justice and environmental restoration,’ emphasised Olena Kramarenko.
The event also presented the results of the work and further plans of the environmental damage assessment project of the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine with the support of the Swedish government. A representative of the NGO Save Dnipro presented a VR installation about environmental crimes, which is available to all visitors to the Ukraine Pavilion at the COP. The content marketing agency Top Lead presented the second edition of an infographic study on the impact of war on the environment, prepared with the analytical support of the Ministry of Environment, at the SDO29.
Ukraine, together with international partners, continues to work on documenting environmental damage to inform the world about the scale of Russia’s environmental crimes and to receive the necessary support for restoration.
