Even though the entire country suffers from problems caused by russia during the full-scale war, climate change remains a threat to our well-being. Some of its consequences are already inescapable and we must adapt to them to suffer less in the future. Moreover, each individual community is vulnerable to different climatic factors in its own way, and the impact of hostilities increases this vulnerability.
Communities affected by russian attacks and planning for recovery can immediately consider the impact of the climate crisis and include adaptation measures in their plans. To help them with the same, we supported four public organizations last autumn. They helped the communities for half a year in this area. Together with experts, they assessed the impact of climate change on their communities and proposed ways to adapt. For some, this was nearly the first attempt to carry out such work, while others used this opportunity to strengthen the processes already taking place.
Below, we will talk about these projects’ results. You can watch their presentation on our YouTube channel (in Ukrainian).
Protection of Wetlands and Other Opportunities for Liubotyn from the “Centre for Public and Media Initiatives” NGO
As part of its project, the “Centre for Public and Media Initiatives” NGO developed recommendations for Liubotyn in the Kharkiv Region. They assessed the state of the town, namely, how it was affected by the russian invasion, how vulnerable it is to climate change, and how it is possible to restore the community and make it more ready for climate change at the same time. In their work, the NGO relied on surveys of citizens, communication with experts, activists, and local self-government bodies, as well as on information received through official requests to authorities.
The research focused on four areas: biodiversity, energy conservation, waste management, and water supply and drainage. The most relevant risks related to climate change for the community were also highlighted. For Liubotyn, these are extreme heat, extreme precipitation, flooding, drought, and excessive consumption of energy resources. In each of the directions, the specialists assessed the current situation, how it will be affected by the risks, and how it can be adapted to such risks.
For example, in the area of preserving biodiversity in Liubotyn, there are considerable prospects. Here, many areas could contribute to the same. However, 45% of the city is built up, and over the last 40 years, not a single object of the nature reserve fund has been created here. At the same time, extreme heat, which will occur more often due to climate change, can cause the spread of invasive species, greater vulnerability of ecosystems to pests and diseases, and fires in forests, steppes and meadows can become more frequent.
Distribution of land use types in Liubotyn. Illustration of the “Centre for Public and Media Initiatives”
Therefore, the set of measures that the “Centre for Public and Media Initiatives” recommended in its study includes those that will cope with these challenges. For example, the organization proposes to make an inventory of the habitats of species that need protection, expand the boundaries of the nature reserve fund, develop and implement measures to combat invasive species, create a list of undesirable plants for cultivation, etc.
The peculiarity of Liubotyn also lies in the fact that many ponds are concentrated here, which can be used both for recreation and as centres of biodiversity. Therefore, to preserve wetlands, the “Centre for Public and Media Initiatives” also recommended monitoring the regime of maintaining the purity of water in local ponds and rivers, as well as preventing blooms. Besides, together with experts, the organization has also developed a series of measures to reduce energy consumption.
More recommendations in the field of biodiversity conservation and other areas explored within the project can be found in the document (PDF, in Ukrainian).
Assessment of the Vulnerability of the Sumy Urban Territorial Community to Climate Change by the “Ekoltava” NGO
The “Ekoltava” NGO assessed vulnerability to climate change and potential measures for adaptation to it in the Sumy urban territorial community. Climate threats inherent in the community were studied, each of which was evaluated by its representative indices. The specialists also determined how strong an impact these threats would have. As a result, it was found that the biggest risks for the community are rising temperatures and flooding.
The analysis of climatic indicators of the community was carried out based on the data of the Sumy Regional Centre for Hydrometeorology. The temperature increase was analysed based on the data for the last 30 years. From 1992 to 2022, the average annual air temperature increased by +0.8°С. The maximum air temperature in all months also increased. The community has a list of the main areas that are already subject to flooding during spring and summer floods.
Among the causes of flooding are the peculiarities of the territory and the low level of groundwater, siltation of waterbodies, non-compliance with building regulations and the destruction of drains. However, the community already has certain measures in place to counter this problem, in particular, pumping stations in the two areas, most vulnerable to flooding.
For each of the investigated sectors vulnerable to climate change, the “Ekoltava” NGO recommended a list of adaptation measures. The results of the work of the “Ekoltava” NGO were handed over to the local authorities so that they could be taken into account in the Sustainable Energy Development and Climate Action Plan of the Sumy urban territorial community. However, these aspects should also be taken into account in reconstruction plans, because the community suffered from hostilities.
An Example of Successful Cooperation with Interested Parties in Zaporizhzhia from the “Ecosense” NGO
The “Ecosense” NGO worked with the Zaporizhzhia urban territorial community. Unlike other projects, a vulnerability assessment was not conducted here, because it was done back in 2020, when the Climate Change Adaptation Plan was being developed. It is already known that the community is strongly affected by extreme heat, extreme precipitation, droughts, infectious diseases, and allergic manifestations.
Due to the russian invasion, the situation here has changed a lot. Zaporizhzhia still suffers from shelling. The city is actively accepting refugees. Twenty-five per cent of the community left, 60% of businesses ceased activity, and 150,000 internally displaced persons were added. It has become more difficult to attract investments to the city. So now the previous plans need to be revised, taking into account not only climate threats but also the war.
One of the consequences of russian shelling in Zaporizhzhia, photo of the State Emergency Service
“Ecosense” has developed new recommendations that combine both threats. They relate to energy, urban planning, critical infrastructure, health care and air quality, green spaces, and water resources. Threats, vulnerabilities and recommendations were identified for each sector. It was even possible to find partners ready to implement some of these recommendations and establish contact with them and local self-government bodies.
Experts in environmental safety, adaptation, energy management, etc. participated in the work. In Zaporizhzhia, a Public Recovery Council was formed as a consultative body. It includes NGOs that deal not only with the environment, but also with urban mobility, entrepreneurship, and work with children, displaced persons or people with disabilities. After all, recovery must be green in any sphere.
In addition to helping its community, “Ecosense” decided to help others who are just starting their green recovery journey. By their example, they wanted to show how civil society could start this process, attract partners, make contact with local authorities, and enlist the support of experts. For this purpose, the “Vidnova” information resource was created, which collects information on climate, adaptation, energy, clean water and air, which was developed not only by “Ecosense,” but also by other public organizations from the Ukrainian climate network. This resource should enable de-occupied communities to use common attainments.
More details are on the Vidnova.info website (in Ukrainian).
Adaptation with a Focus on Preserving Ecosystems from the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group
The Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) focused on the implementation of nature-oriented solutions for adaptation and worked with three communities: Bilohorodka in the Kyiv Region, Krasnokutsk in the Kharkiv Region, and Myrnohrad in the Donetsk Region. Each community has a different situation. Each was affected by the war differently, so the recommendations are not the same.
All recommendations are divided into thematic blocks: water and sanitation, multi-grass lawns, biodiversity spaces, urban greening, forestry plantations, land reclamation and soil erosion control. Of course, not all of these blocks apply to each community, because the recommendations were formed depending on local needs and potential.
The Bilohorodka community is a pioneer in terms of creating protected territories. The advantage of such a decision is not only to protect valuable territories from development (after all, this is an attractive suburb of Kyiv). It also performs a climatic function, because it helps conserve carbon that would otherwise enter the atmosphere and exacerbate climate change. Here, UNCG proposed lands that should be classified as protected areas, focusing on those damaged by agricultural activities. In the future, these territories may become part of the Emerald network.
The territories of the Bilohorodka community, promising for creating a protected area according to the recommendations of the UNCG. Illustration by the UNCG
The Krasnokutsk community is already working on an inventory of forest strips, so they were interested in the UNCG working on mapping and determining the condition of forest strips. One of the proposed solutions for them is the restoration of forestry plantations. Forest strips prevent desertification, help manage temporary watercourses, and prevent dust storms and the spread of invasive species.
The Myrnohrad community decided to concentrate on small projects because it is difficult to make large-scale decisions during the war. One of the solutions for it is lawns with various types of grass. Together with its utility company, the community planned which plot of land could be used for an experimental lawn and opted for the one between the stadium and Gagarin Park. Such a lawn helps retain moisture, retain dust from the roadway, and prevent the spread of invasive species.
Besides, the UNCG has developed unified recommendations for communities that will help them understand why the state of the environment is important to consider in restoration. You can familiarize yourself with them, as well as with the comprehensive list of recommendations for the UNCG partner communities, on the website.
How to Scale This Experience up to the Entire Country
The experience of civil society organizations on these projects has helped to better understand how communities can consider adaptation to climate change in their recovery and how to involve all stakeholders in planning. With such an approach, it is possible to be better than before and more ready for modern realities. These ideas were formed into a position that was already supported by more than 20 public organizations.
In particular, it is important that adaptation is an end-to-end policy, i.e. it is taken into account in all spheres, and not only in the environmental one. For example, state building codes must also take into account the existing and projected impacts of climate change, so they need to be revised. All reconstruction plans must also take into account the Ukrainian Adaptation Strategy, adopted in 2021, and the goals of the European Green Course.
A test plot with various types of grass along the tram tracks in the city of Vinnytsia. Photo from the Facebook page of the Institute of Urban Development
It is also important that consideration of climate change becomes mandatory in community recovery planning. However, for this, communities need help from the central government — a developed unified methodology for assessing their vulnerability to climate change, access to climate and meteorological data, registers with information on the state of the environment, etc. In the restoration, it is also important to fully comply with existing environmental regulations, in particular environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment.
A true green recovery should be based on the principles of transparency and openness, that is, public organizations and local residents should be involved. This can be implemented through working groups, surveys, public hearings, etc. It is important to give priority to the most modern and environmentally friendly approaches: nature-oriented solutions, high standards of energy efficiency, the best available technologies and methods, as well as to use the principles of the circular economy, in particular, to implement the reuse of materials as much as possible.
Supporting us financially is an incredibly impactful way to drive positive change and promote the green recovery of Ukraine. Together, let’s build a brighter, more sustainable future for the country.
The event and implementation of the projects were carried out with the financial support of the Federal Ministry for Economics Affairs and Climate Action of Germany within the framework of the International Climate Initiative (Die Internationale Klimaschutzinitiative, IKI) project. The views expressed in this document are the position of the authors and should not necessarily be interpreted as the official opinion of the donors.