Ecoaction has been monitoring cases of potential negative environmental damage caused by russian aggression since February 24 2022, following the start of russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
This is necessary so that Ukrainians can see the potential impact of the war on the environment, and the Ukrainian government can understand the damage done to nature. All of these cases show how important it is to take environmental protection into account in the recovery process and to be guided by the Green Principles.
This data is already helping to show the scale of the war’s environmental impact, particularly for foreign audiences. After the end of the war, the information collected can help plan research missions to establish the facts of environmental damage caused by the war.
Crimes against the environment are also part of war crimes. According to the Geneva Convention, “it is forbidden to use methods or means of warfare that are intended to cause or may be expected to cause widespread, lasting and severe damage to the natural environment”.
Nuclear power plants, seaports, hazardous waste storage facilities (mineral fertilizers, polyurethane foam, paint, oil and lubricants, etc.), industry, including chemical and metallurgical plants are now in the zone of active hostilities. Fires in oil depots, gas stations, landfills are registered, and there are facts of damage to heating and water supply facilities (sewage pumping stations, filtering stations). There is also a direct impact on ecosystems through fires and the destruction of rare species and habitats, as well as nature reserves and ecosystems of forests, steppes and seas.
To show the diversity of the damage caused, the interactive map of Ecodia displays cases in the following categories: “Livestock waste”, ‘Damage of industrial facilities’, ‘Damage to oil and gas industry facilities’, ‘Nuclear safety’, ‘Damage to energy facilities’, ‘Impacts on ecosystems’ and ‘Impacts on the marine ecosystem’.
Since the intensity of potential environmental damage is different in all cases, Ecoaction also introduced a ranking of cases where 1 – a hazardous facility was hit without direct environmental impact or there is no sufficient information about the consequences of the russian attack; 2 – there is minor and/or localized environmental damage; 3 – there is significant environmental damage and sufficient data on it.
All information presented was collected by volunteers of the Ecoaction from open sources (media and official reports of the authorities), the geographical location of points is indicated approximately.
A complete assessment of the damage will be possible after the end of active hostilities. But Ukrainians will feel the consequences of this war for years. That is why it is so important to document all cases of potential damage, carry out full environmental monitoring and plan for post-war environmental restoration to reduce this negative impact.
The material was created with the financial support of the Austausch e.V. and Bread for the World within the framework of the “Strengthening the transnational public network “EkoNet” for climate and environmental protection” project.
